A week in the Viata Program begins Sunday afternoon at the bottom of the chair lift. After checking in the campers and assigning them to groups of approximately eleven kids/four leaders, campers and leaders ride up the chairlift together to Cabana Montana, where everyone stays until Friday afternoon. On opening day, the goal of the day is to introduce the campers to the philosophy that guides the program; to do this we utilize both small and large group games that last until dinner. After dinner, the staff introduces themselves and the Viata Program and the staff gives each group a taste of what is to come.

Monday through Thursday include eight blocks of activity (two each day) rotating through hiking, rock climbing, low ropes, high ropes, and orienteering. Low and High ropes are both full day activities; hike, rock climbing and orienteering are half-day events.

For example, a group may have the following schedule:

- Monday morning: hike
- Monday afternoon: rock climbing
- Tuesday morning: low ropes
- Tuesday afternoon: low ropes
- Wednesday morning: high ropes
- Wednesday afternoon: high ropes
- Thursday morning: rock climbing
- Thursday afternoon: orienteering

The evening events vary from night to night. Large group games also comprise Monday evenings. A campfire takes place Tuesday evenings, where S'mores are cooked, songs are sung, and groups present surprises to each other. Wednesday evening includes a large group debrief on the week, a skit based on Max Lucado's "The Song of the King", and a trip to the beautiful wooden Orthodox Church nearby. Thursday night is disco night, complete with prizes for the best costume.

After each activity, and at the end of each day, groups "debrief". Since the goal of experiential education is to learn from experience, leaders pose questions about each activity to reinforce the values taught. A good leader will listen to the participants and will help them to see how their experiences utilizing trust, teamwork, responsibility, compassion, and honesty are beneficial for their lives and society as a whole.

On either Thursday or Friday, in lieu of paying for their week at camp (most of the campers would not be able to afford the Viata Program), the kids complete a community service project to "pay it forward". Projects range from collecting wood for future campfires, hauling and spreading mulch to protect the ropes course, and collecting trash to make the mountains of Straja a more beautiful place.

Fridays do not follow the usual schedule. Instead, groups have a discussion about the week. During this time the leaders introduce the Viata Commitment, and campers are given the opportunity to make a commitment to uphold honesty, to work together, and to share responsibility - the fabric of social capital and moral development. Campers that choose this commitment are given a copy of the commitment and a bracelet as an outward sign of their commitment.

Camp ends around three o'clock on Friday afternoon, and begins again on Sunday with a new group of 55 Romanian youth from the Jiu Valley, Hunedoara County orphanages, and other parts of Romania.

To see photos from previous summers of the Viata Program, click here.