Raphi Massil was 15 when he came to Toronto from his native Bombay in December, 2004, and like anybody starting a new life in a new country, he yearned to fit in, and make friends his own age.

Thanks to UJA funding, Raphi was able to attend Camp George his first summer in Canada, and his life has never been the same since.
“Going to Camp George was a turning point in my life in Canada,” he says, smiling. “I made a lot of friends and learned a lot of new things about not only Canada, but about Judaism, too,” says Raphi, now studying business at Brock University. “I made so many friends at camp, some even have come to visit me at Brock.”

After having been made a senior counsellor in 2008 at Camp George, Raphi is anxious to return to the camp this summer as a ropes specialist.

“All in all, the Jewish camp experience has given me a lot of good friends and a lot of new Jewish values which will stay with me forever. If it wasn’t for camp I wouldn’t be connected to Jewish life.”