For children whose family members are battling a cancer diagnosis, the everyday joys of childhood can often take a backseat. Camp Simba – short for Strong I aM Brave Always—was created to give them space to reclaim those moments.

Jointly organised by students from Duke-NUS Medical School, NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine and the NTU Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, Camp Simba is a three-day-two-night camp for children aged 7 to 16 who have a loved one battling cancer. Held annually, it offers not just a break from daily stresses, but a chance to form lasting friendships in a safe and supportive environment.

Twice a year, Camp Simba invites back campers for Reunion Camps, held in the January and March school holidays. This one-day reunion session serves to allow campers to reconnect with their facilitators from camp and keep in touch with one another. After campers “graduate”, i.e., pass the age of 16, Camp Simba invites them back as facilitators – affectionately called “Simba Siblings” – so as to give back to their fellow campers whom they have also grown up with.

This year’s edition welcomed 61 campers, each paired with trained student facilitators for a weekend of exploration, laughter, and shared endearing experiences.

Fang Kexin of the Duke-NUS MD Class of 2028 (left) with Lucius, one of her campers

Said Dan Yuet Ruh, a member of the Camp Simba Committee from Duke-NUS’s MD Class of 2028, “I think it's just very interesting to see how [the children] interact with each other and how the campers will find one thing about a person, and that's their nickname for the whole camp. It's quite wholesome.”

Fang Kexin, another Committee Member, also from the MD Class of 2028, agreed, saying, “When we were playing games, one of the campers started drawing me, actually. So, I got to be a model. She asked, ‘What dress would you like best?’ And she was designing a dress for me. I thought it was a very cute experience.”

This year’s theme featured the Battle of the Milkyway, where campers were kept busy, often from morning to night, with thoughtful activities designed to engage the campers’ creative and social worlds. Many activities were designed to foster teamwork or spark curiosity about the world around them, such as partaking in an Amazing Race or an educational tour of the Singapore Science Centre. Highlights of the trip included the Star Dreaming Show at the Science Centre’s Omni-Theatre, where participants were able to experience the otherworldly beauty of the cosmos in a uniquely immersive screening.

As facilitators and campers deepened their emotional bonds, they were able to create safe, supportive spaces throughout the camp for campers to open up about themselves, and many provided a listening ear when the need arose. The facilitators had been specially trained by the Medical Social Workers of KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital to address sensitive topics with professionalism and care. Camp Simba is thus not only a valuable learning experience for them as future medical professionals, but also a rare opportunity to learn how to interact with children amidst medical school.

“I think being able to be vulnerable with a kid who is also vulnerable is a completely different experience because no matter what, I can't say that I can relate to their experience as well because I'm not going through what they're going through. [I wonder,] is this a place for me to talk about their actual life experiences and what they've gone through so far? Or do I just want them to have fun?” Anbazhagan Pavithra, a first-year MD student from Duke-NUS and Camp Simba committee member, mused.

Pavithra (left) takes a breather with her fellow facilitators during lunch

She continued, “So it's like a lot of these things, I want to weigh and figure out for myself, and that takes a lot of emotional understanding about what the kids are going through. I think that kind of awareness, and also self-awareness and compassion towards others, is very, very key for medicine.”

Marking the end of the three-day-two-night camp was the camp’s finale – where the campers, in their respective groups, were invited to give 10-minute performances and showcase their various talents and skills. Campers put up talent shows, comedy skits, and choreographed dancing. The finale was nothing short of fun, interspersed with laughter and tear-jerking moments. Among the Guests of Honour invited were Duke-NUS’s very own Vice Dean of Education, A/Prof Shiva Sarraf-Yazdi, and Associate Dean of Student Affairs, Clinical Associate Prof Ng Yee Sien, to present awards such as “Best Flag Design” and “Most Enthusiastic” to the various groups.

Throughout the camp, the bond between campers and facilitators deepened, many forming friendships that will stretch beyond the final campfire. From thoughtful programming to moments of spontaneous creativity, this year’s Camp Simba was not just a retreat, but a reminder of what can happen when empathy meets action, and when children are given the space to just be kids.