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Stelios Papardleas tells us about his experience at the Barretstown Camp both as a guest and a volunteer!

Stelios Papardelas from Crete was diagnosed with cancer in October 2002, aged 14. Stelios, his parents and 13-year-old sister, had to move from Crete to the hospital in Athens for his treatment. He spent 10 days taking part in Barretstown’s teen programme in 2005. Now 18 and on an IT course at University, Stelios came back to Barretstown in August 2006 as a volunteer.

This is his story.

I had chemotherapy for seven months. In the first days I was thinking ‘I’m going to lose my friends for a while, my neighbourhood and my school’.  In the beginning it was bad for my parents because they didn’t know what would happen. A few weeks after, they saw me laughing and running in the hospital hall so it was OK. I shaved my hair as it started to fall out and everyone was looking at me in the street. It was not so comfortable but I got over it.

Before I came to Barretstown in 2005, I had a meeting with the coordinator back in Greece and she told us Barretstown is really beautiful and magical. I thought it would be OK but I thought she was over-acting or something. But when I got here it was something else – I didn’t want to go home. I had such a great time.

Barretstown is such a beautiful place, the hospitality of people here, and the people who work here are so warm. It is the people who are important in Barretstown – they make this magical place.I made so many friends here from different countries and I still speak to them by email.

Last year there was a girl who didn’t have one leg. I went to High Ropes and everyone was climbing. One guy didn’t want to climb. The girl saw it and wanted to show him that even with one leg she could do it, and she climbed to the top! Everyone thought ‘if she can do this, I can do anything. Nothing is impossible’.

Seeing that Barretstown is such a fun place, I thought maybe I could help other kids.

For me, everything is an experience. From this I get mature and see life from a different angle. I learnt new things and met new people. If I was well, I wouldn’t have been to Barretstown. You have to think positive.

I had to grow up fast. I thought about myself six months before and it was a big change – I was another person, but a better one.