Josh Okon, Rafi Okon of Marblehead and Roie Shemesh of Danvers spent second session at Camp Young Judaea Sprout Lake in New York and reported having "the best summer of our lives." The session ended on August 16.

The Okon’s mother, Lainie Okon, said, “I have written a special thank you to the North Shore Teen Initiative' which provided Rafi and many other North Shore first-time campers with the financial backing so that they could attend these wonderful Jewish overnight camps.”

Before summer camp had started, Hadassah, which sponsors five Young Judaea camps across the country, held a meeting in Burlington, MA on June 7. It was a celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Zionist Youth movement called Young Judaea.

Josh (age 11) and Rafi (age 8) were selected to give speeches, which they delivered at the event. They spoke on behalf of Young Judaea's monthly youth group meetings that are held in Peabody and on behalf of the two-month overnight summer camp located just outside of Poughkeepsie, NY. Following the speeches and installation of Hadassah officers, those in attendance enjoyed birthday cake and refreshments celebrating the youth group's 100th anniversary. Also in attendance were parents Lainie and Jay Okon, Daphna Shemesh, and proud grandparents Taube and Albert Goodman.

What follows is the Okon boys' speeches:

My name is Rafi Okon and I am exited to go to Camp Young Judaea. My brother has been there for three years and he said he loves this camp and I think I’ll have a great time. I heard about all the fun games like ga-ga and frizbee and tennis.

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My name is Josh Okon and I am 11 years old. This summer I will be enjoying my fourth year of Young Judaea Sprout Lake. I am the first kid from the North Shore to go to this wonderful camp. When I signed up for camp the first year, I was just supposed to go for five days just to test it out. But there weren’t enough kids signed up for the five days. Instead of doing the five days, I did the two weeks and had an amazing time. I also went to spring and fall camp. That happens on weekends and I had a great time. Every year I go, I make more and more friends. Even the counselors make outstanding friends. We also play sports like ga-ga which is Israeli dodge ball, Frisbee, capture the flag, kickball, tennis, and much more. The camp also has a pool, rock climbing, dance, singing and video studio, art room, big field, and many more places. We also have special events like Maccabia, which is color war, water hikes and helping out the community. Camp Young Judaea Sprout Lake is a really cool camp.