When Ilze Kreismane (in Latvian – Kreišmane), a Latvian American, in 1993 visited Latvia with her daughter, she knew right away that she wanted to live here. “My children were grown and I realized that I wanted to be a part of something that is still growing and taking shape – my Latvian roots said this was home...” Ilze remembered. Instead of choosing a cosy and headache-less life, which she easily could afford with benefits from the US, the exuberant yet humble woman opened her language school – it is in Lielvarde where she lives and is, as she says, very successful – and runs yearly a popular summer camp for local youth.
Relocation was not difficult
“While living in the US, our family was very active in the local Latvian community. I had Latvian school on Saturdays, folk dancing, Latvian friends. I learned a lot about Latvia, I yearned for it and I wanted to give it back what I could,” she says. To rewind her family’s history, her Latvian parents met and were married at a Displaced Persons camp after the second World War. But she and her two sisters were born in Germany and in 1956 relatives living in the US sponsored their family’s move to the US. Relocation to Latvia was not difficult for her at all, Ilze says, especially that her family supported Ilze’s choice 100 percent.
“I had friends here, who made me feel at home. It was difficult at first to get used to not seeing my children and grandchildren regularly, but I realized that I did not see them that often in the US either, since we did not live in the same city,” Ilze said. “I knew from the beginning I cannot just sit on the couch with my hands clasped – quite the opposite, I wanted to get as busy as possible,” she added.
Camp idea brought from US
And she could not wish for more – she teaches and manages her own language school – the demand for English lessons keeps growing, she earnestly takes on multiple translating and proofreading gigs and, yes, orchestrates the summer youth camp, her true darling. She can speak hours and hours about it.
“The summer camp I run is for curious, active and motivated Latvian teens. It is based on the idea of the Latvian Summer High School located at the Latvian Center in the state of Michigan in the US. The camp in the US runs for six weeks every summer and exists to strengthen young people’s ties with Latvia, the Latvian language and culture,” Kreismane explains.
According to her, she quickly realized that kids growing up here in Latvia also need this kind of informative environment that would let them fully appreciate the country they live in.
“Unfortunately, it is quite modern to complain about how bad it is here, the grass is always greener elsewhere, right?” she asks rhetorically. This in combination with the fact that a lot of parents are working abroad made her realize how important it is for young Latvian people to have real ties with their homeland.
“Travel is great and studying abroad is wonderful, but they still ought to care about what happens in Latvia, they should feel a special closeness to their homeland. In order to establish close ties with anyone or anything, you have to get to know more about that someone or something,” Kreismane reasoned.
Things have gone smoothly so far
The Summer High School “Saulgriezi” (SVV) was established in 1993, the Latvian American took it over in 2000 and has been running the program ever since. The average number of teens attending averages about 35–40 each summer. The kids are from all parts of Latvia and some, whose families now live outside of Latvia, come from abroad (Norway and Luxembourg last year). The camp is for Latvian teens age 13–17 and lasts three weeks every summer.
According to Kreismane, organizationally everything has gone quite smoothly so far.
“We have a very good system of registering summer camps in Latvia and I feel this helps assure that our camps are high quality and are run by highly qualified people. We spend time in the fall of each year deciding what area we will visit the following summer, then we contact schools that seem appealing to us and set up visits. We tend to visit anywhere from 5–10 schools that we consider potential candidates for SVV the next summer,” energetic Ilze relates. “As you can imagine, this takes quite a bit of time, but it has always been well worth it, because we make our choice based on not only seeing the schools but also talking to the people involved.”
“Our best advertising is word of mouth. The kids do not need to be academically at the top of their class, but they should have a natural curiosity about everything. Our purpose and aim is to make them realize what a great country we live in,” Kreismane underlined.
Camp changes location every year
The camp is located in a different part of Latvia each summer, giving the boys and the girls the opportunity to get to know local artists and craftsmen, local politicians, history buffs, folklore fanatics etc.
“One of the additional benefits is personal growth. Many teens don’t have the experience of spending three weeks away from home...this means that the socializing aspect is very important...they learn to live together, work together, they organize events, they participate in creative activities, they support each other. It is also a great opportunity for them to discover their own hidden talents and get actively involved in the program,” the camp leader underscored.
Patriotism is another characteristic of the camp – not flag waving loud patriotism, she says, but the kind that comes from the heart by doing Latvian things together.
“We raise the flag every morning and lower it in the evening to show respect for our country. We can argue about the politics and politicians of our country, but we really ought to appreciate the fact that we are a free nation living in its own country,” Kreismane said.
A lot of activities
The kids sing and dance and participate in musical ensembles, they make their own year book, get involved in art and crafts activities and sports. Pottery, woodworking, sewing, making “pastalas” (leather slipper type shoes made from one piece of leather with ties around the ankles) and many more activities offer the kids a wide range of things to do and make. The kids also have also lessons every morning in which they learn more about the language, literature, history and traditions of the district we are living in that particular summer.
“By meeting and working with local people, by meeting new kids and renewing friendships each summer, by doing things together and by sharing their thoughts and feelings with others these young people not only get to know each other very well, but they get to know themselves rather well in three weeks. They become immune to apathy, they are ready to fight for things or take a stand against something because they care. Judging by the fact that we continue to attract about 35 and more kids each summer, they enjoy what they experience at camp,” Kreismane noted.
“The values we try to instil in our young people are a basic respect for the history of Latvia and the people who worked hard and often gave their lives to ensure that we have a free country. We try to instil respect in our kids in all aspects of life...respect for each other and respect for ideas, even when they differ from their own. And of course, a respect and love for our national and cultural traditions,” she adds.
Coy boys and girls turn into confident leaders
Over the years the Latvian American has seen shy young people become confident leaders.
“I have seen countless kids try something for the first time and get so interested that they have gone on to careers in the arts, politics and teaching. It is most rewarding to watch young people grow and become confident in their own abilities. Most of the young people teaching at camp or working as counsellors have been campers themselves at one time,” Ilze notes.
Yet she does not deny that she has dealt with a share of troublemakers in the camp over the years, but the camp’s organizer is convinced that the kids in the camp are too busy to get into a lot of trouble.
“They are allowed to express themselves in so many creative ways that they blow off a lot of steam by doing positive things. Our counsellors and teachers are demanding yet compassionate young people and our kids know that they can trust them and talk to them whenever they feel there might be a problem of some sort. It is clear that boys will always play pranks on the girls and girls will always return the favour, but that is a healthy part of things,” Kreismane told The Baltic Times.
Camp works wonders for most
“Getting things packed up on the very last day of the camp is never easy, but the worst thing often is packing my own things – such a feeling of emptiness follows as for the last three weeks we have had the constant company of some of the most active and creative young people in Latvia and now...And what a joy to hear that most of the kids from camp are getting more actively involved in school and social activities as well as various clubs and groups,” she smiles.
To ensure smooth operation of the camp, Ilze and her devoted team work very closely with local municipalities every summer, since they are an institution that they need to register their camp with.
“They are always very cooperative and usually quite interested in what we do. They often find it difficult to believe how full and interesting our program is. There are many events that we invite local inhabitants to so they get to know us and we get to know the local community a bit better. Local authorities and institutions are always supportive and that makes it a pleasure to collaborate,” Ilze Kreismane concluded.
This summer the Latvian High School “Saulgriezi” will take place from July 7–27 in Skrunda district in a small town called Dzelda.
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