Well, HALLI SUMMER CAMP- something which we were looking forward to ever since we started thinking about it, was finally about to begin. It was all set! All of us gathered near Bake Point at 7.30 am and it was heartening to see all the volunteers pouring in with loads of excitement and determination. The village was around 25 km from Mysore and we reached there pretty much on time, i.e 9 am. The kids were instructed to be present in the school by that time, but when we reached there, we could hardly find anyone. We waited for half an hour more and still no sign of kids!! All of us started getting cold feet as this was something we never expected to happen. Is that it? Did the summer camp turn into a big fiasco even before it started ? Have the children forgotten about the camp ? Or have they decided against coming? So many questions in mind, no answers. Then suddenly at around 9.45, we saw a bunch of kids walking into the school. First hint of smile on our faces. And then it started.. They started pouring in and soon by around 10 am, there were atleast around 30- 35 of them! We had planned for 50 but this was not a bad number at all to start with. And from then on we never looked back!
Jayanth started off with an ice-breaking session to let the kids know each other better. Initially they seemed to be a bit uncomfortable but very soon they let out their inhibitions and started actively participating in the events that followed.
Vinay, Girish and Vidya came up with some simple science experiments to explain a few concepts to the children in a very interesting manner. Transmission of heat(like radiation, conduction etc), transmission of light(reflection, refraction) etc. were some of the topics covered and the kids showed a lot of interest in them. The effort taken by Vinay and Girish to find out the Kannada words for all these scientific terms, to be able to explain everything to them in their mother tongue, was seriously commendable.
After that it was brunch time. We made it a point to take food for them on all days of the camp and the kids loved it. After the break, we wanted to do something more in the classroom for a while before their outdoor activities began. So it was time for a short session on spoken English. Anupam and I didn't actually take a session as such, but it was just an attempt to find out how much English they knew. We soon realized they could hardly manage to speak in English so it was a much bigger challenge. We managed to teach them some simple words and their opposites to start with. Soon after that, it was time for some outdoor action! Under the supervision of Anil, the "official fitness expert" of AF-Mysore, we took the kids to the nearby grounds and made them play a few games. They had loads of fun and so did the volunteers.
After that it was time to call it a day. One down, many more to go. But we were certainly happy with the kinda start we got.
DAY 2 : 25th Apr '10
The USP of Day 2 was painting and so we had arranged for an expert from Infosys- Mrs. Sandhya to come and give some basic tips to the kids on drawing and painting. At the end of it, the children were asked to make a painting each, using their own ideas and creativity. All the necessary logistics were provided by us and they came up with some wonderful pieces of art, each better than the other. The post-brunch session was similar to Day 1 where we started with our English session helping them to form simple sentences in English. Anil's outdoor session on Day2 included some serious agility training for both boys and girls.
So that's about the first two days. Will be back with more about the subsequent weeks so keep reading. :)
Click here to see pics of Summer Camp- Weekend 1.
To know more about Aashayein Foundation, visit our official blog by clicking here.
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