The present-day OCEP has been finely tuned through 10 years of various incarnations, exciting acronyms (OCEP, OSEC) and, above all, experience of running successful Summer camps in our target countries. As a result, we have the know-how, contacts and structure to have a positive influence in the lives of children worldwide and to ensure an enriching, immensely enjoyable and safe experience for our volunteers.
OCEP in its current form was founded in 2004 by a group of students at Oxford and Cambridge universities. It retained much of the structure of a previous organisation, OSEC UK, which was established in 1998 by two Oxford undergraduates. OSEC UK operated large camps in Asia every Summer between 1999 and 2003, and was finally wound up in 2003.
Since 2004 OCEP has operated 35 successful camps in mainland China, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea and Vietnam. To learn more about individual projects, see Projects. The main focus of each camp is to teach English, but over the years there has emerged a strong sense of identity surrounding an OCEP camp.
Sending enthusiastic and able student-teachers has enabled us to support the local educational apparatus, complementing rather than conflicting with the teaching methods that the children meet during their normal schooling. Fostering close links and friendships with local teachers has therefore been a vital part of OCEPs continuing function. For more in-depth information on how we seek to achieve this, see Our Aims.
Beyond the commitment to education, another significant aspect of the identity of an OCEP camp is the great deal of time and energy devoted to extra-curricular activities such as sports, music, drama and evening parties. These have eased the teaching process, as students have come to know their teachers in a more relaxed environment and practiced their English outside of the pressure of the classroom. It has also made the camps so far extremely enjoyable for all concerned! To learn more about the structure of an OCEP camp, see What we do and why.
This structure has evolved over several years of operating Summer camps. After completing each camp, the trustees compile reports and strive to find ways to improve their organisation.
Since its inception, OCEP has worked towards its mission statement:
How OCEP contributes to this ambitious mission is discussed in more detail in Our Aims.
To this end, OCEP has aimed to run camps for children of all backgrounds. They have been funded in a variety of ways, including contributions from commercial and charitable organisations in the UK and Asia.
OCEP has operated commercial camps in wealthier areas, such as Hong Kong and Changsha, in Chinas Hunan province. These have enabled OCEP to operate other camps for the less prosperous, such as that set up in 2006 in Qinghai province in western China, and for children of migrant workers in Beijings suburbs. OCEP has also worked with local charities to fund other projects, such as solar panels and sanitation facilities in Qinghai. All the OCEP camps so far have therefore contributed to the overall aims of the organisation, and we look forward to continuing long into the future!