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Camp offers girls new rhythm of life

At-risk teenagers use drumming to sort out their problems.

By PAULETTE LASH RITCHIE
Published July 30, 2005

FLORAL CITY - In ancient times, those who dwelled in the Withlacoochee forest communicated with drums made from stretched and dried animal skins.

If you stroll into the forest today, you may hear similar sounds.

It comes from Camp E-Nini-Hassee, an Eckerd Foundation therapeutic program for at-risk girls near Floral City.

The camp provides a safe place where the girls can learn to deal with anger, communicate and practice social skills. The drumming is part of the program.

It was introduced to the girls by Rosalind Chou, 27, who recently left the camp for graduate school at Texas A&M University. Chou was a program director and drum facilitator. She learned about drumming as a therapy at a workshop and brought it to the camp in February 2003.

This summer, she and Patty Hernandez, 26, another camp chief, took 10 girls on a drumming tour throughout the southeast United States.

"We went to other camps like ours and acted as role models," said 15-year-old camp resident Brittany (the residents can be identified by first name only). "It's structured. It has to fit together. We have to work together."

Their travels included stops in Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, Maryland, Georgia and Washington, D.C. They played and sang what Chou called West African Drumming, traditional ceremonial songs from Guinea, Nigeria and Mali.

"Other girls really enjoyed learning the songs and want to start their own drumming programs," Brittany said.

The girls raised funds for their travels by washing cars, working in gardens and collecting used cell phones and ink cartridges.

Some of the girls saw mountains for the first time. Brittany sat on the edge of a cliff and recalls, "It was the greatest feeling."

For other camp residents it was a chance to bond and just have fun. It was an opportunity for "just being goofy," said camp resident Morgan, 14.

"We didn't have a day that we didn't smile or laugh together," Brittany added.

Chou is convinced of the benefits of the drumming program. She tracked the use of physical restraints for aggression three years before the drumming program began and their use since. There was a significant difference.

"I could see it in individual campers," she said. "Some of the girls have anger issues and the drumming helps get it out."

The activity is also something that all of them could learn. "There are people not good at sports or something," said Anna, 13, "but there's always a place for drumming."

There are other benefits as well, including confidence building, coordination, culture diversity appreciation and relief for stress and anxiety. There is also a practical side.

Fifteen-year-old Cassie was recently released from camp and plans to go into business. "I'm going to start a drumming program," she said. She hopes people will be willing to pay $10 an hour to learn the art.

Chou had hoped the drumming would be applicable to the real world. Here was an example.

For more information about Eckerd wilderness camps, visit the Web site at www.eckerd.org

[Last modified July 30, 2005, 01:09:17]