Innes Gamble, Summer 2006 at Camp

Innes Gamble Creates Community

by Paige Lester-Niles

I remember the first time I met Innes Gamble. She was petite, smiling and wearing blue jean shorts when she showed up for her first summer at Eagle’s Nest. Since I was her Cabin Library counselor that summer, I got to spend a lot of time getting to know Innes– during cabin time, through activities, and on a memorable cabin creek hike. I felt then that Innes was a special child; she was kind to her cabin mates, helpful during cabin clean up, and just had (and still has) a general exuberance and joy for life that was contagious. Fifteen years and many summers at Eagle’s Nest later, I know that Innes is not only special, she is exceptional. In her caring work and play she lights the lives of so many and is an excellent example of someone who truly personifies the Eagle’s Nest mission of “the betterment of human character.”

Innes has a long history with Eagle’s Nest. She continued on as a camper at Eagle’s Nest for many years following that first summer in Cabin Library. During her years as a student at Wake Forest University, she started working as a staff member at Eagle’s Nest – caring for the young campers in Cabin Library and directing the camp musicals that she stared in as a child. She also stepped in to many leadership roles, providing our staff members with an excellent mentor and friend.

In the summer of 2005, Innes took a summer off from Eagle’s Nest and traveled to the village of Mahango in Tanzania. When she arrived there, she was profoundly affected in many ways by the people. After finding that there were over 80 orphans in the village, and no infrastructure available to help them, she became motivated to do what she could to affect change for these children and help them in her caring way. Determined to do what she could to help, Innes returned to the United States and raised $3,000 which was matched by the United States Embassy in Tanzania. This fall, after a full summer working as a staff member at Eagle’s Nest, Innes returned to Tanzania where she is currently using her talents and the money that she raised to help build and open an orphanage for the children of the village.

Of her current experiences in Africa, Innes recently wrote:

“I’m able to watch the moon pass through each of its phases on its way to full and I am loving it. The stars are bright and plentiful each night and I appreciate them so much.

Coming back has been so nice. So much has felt so familiar and I have quickly fallen right back into a lot of the patterns of days here. My bucket bath, tea, the endless waiting, the greetings, the visiting, the generosity – these are things that now feel normal and regular again. I have to remind myself that I don’t need to feel busy or useful at all times. I have to remember to appreciate the down time too. How lucky am I to be able to sit and write long letters, record my thoughts in a journal each day, and read books. A wonderfully simple way of life in an intensely complicated world.

We visited a hospital where I saw the sickest looking boy I’ve seen. He laid under a kanga (African fabric women wear) and had a bandage on his arm where his IV was inserted. His mother was diligently caring for him and she stepped outside for a moment to take some clothes from the clotheslines. The boy and I made eye contact and all I knew to do was smile as big as I could and hope he could not detect my sadness. He smiled back the brightest smile I’ve ever seen. We stayed in that exchange for a while before he slowly turned his head to the side and went to sleep. It was such an intense rush of emotion. We walked home in silence as the sun was setting behind the mountains and lighting the sky with wonderful pinks and oranges. That was a full and tiring day followed by a night when I slept really soundly for the first time. So much to take in – so much perspective.”

When I heard those words, I was so touched by her compassion that I couldn’t contain the tears that welled in my eyes. I am so amazed by the gifts that Innes has given – to our campers, our staff members, and to so many people around the world. I am pleased beyond words that she, and so many other exceptional people like her, are working to teach and care for our campers and children. My hope is that her work and example will not only continue to positively influence the lives of our campers and the children of Mahongo, but that others will someday bask in the warmth of the sparks of care and compassion that she has ignited.