As part of its efforts to deepen the knowledge and understanding of the faith they profess as young Catholics, the Department of Religious Education, in collaboration with Catholic Sisters United for Christ (CSU), Lagos Archdiocese, organised a summer funfair for children in the Archdiocese. The event which was the 2024 edition of ChristTeens Summer Camp, which featured series of activities, including games, dance, as well as spell and explain catechetical competition, brought together children from the various Deaneries that make up the Archdiocese.
Speaking on the occasion, Rev. Sr. Judith Madueke, Director of Religious Education, Lagos Archdiocese, said the whole idea of the programme is to ensure that the children have catechesis going on with them during their summer break. She said the children should not be allowed to just go on holidays without learning about their faith, adding that they should continue with all round formation. On the spell and explain, Sr. Madueke said it is a competition where the children learn, more about their faith, and have other fun activities. She disclosed that the quiz started from the Parish level to the Deanery level and culminated with the grand finale, adding that each competitor represented their various Deaneries.
The director expressed amazement at the children’s ability to learn Catholic terms, tradition, among other things she said adults tend to forget about the faith. Mrs. Edith Jituboh, President, CSU, Lagos Archdiocese disclosed that the spell and explain competition is for catechumens between the ages eight and fourteen. According to her, in the past, it was done with the club called the ChristTeens but now, done to include all Deaneries in Lagos Archdiocese. She urged parents to teach their children the way to go, and ensure they go to Church, assuring that they are going to learn good things, and not join bad gangs. Mrs. Justina Emefiene, CSU Archdiocesan Vice President and Coordinator Summer camp ChristTeens, said lots of work, including financial and voluntary service went into the successful hosting of the programme.
Thanking God for the day, she said it is an improvement on the previous ones, adding that the pattern of the programme changed with the spell and explain, dance and games. She thanked Zenith Bank and other sponsors who brought lots of gifts for the children, adding that this year, they had more than enough gifts for the children. An elated fourteen-year-old Vincent Oduji, winner of the spell and explain competition and other contestants expressed gratitude to the organisers and sponsors of the event as they went home with cash prizes and lots of gift items.
