A Sunny Experience

Lessons from the SYG Fellowship Camp 2003

 I feel myself fortunate in having played a part in the organisation of the Sunshine youth group fellowship camp. When Nisha  asked me to help out with the camp, I was eager to be of help in Mother’s work. However, I had no idea that I would learn so many lessons from the camp.

 It was an enthusiastic preparation on the part of the organisation team. Preparations went on for two sections - activities for children above ten and for those below ten. Learning sessions, games and workshops - the list was long and kept growing. And a week before the camp, our enthusiasm was further heightened as the number of participants in the camp went up from around twenty to forty-five. Along with the enthusiasm came the fear - would we be able to manage forty-five children for two days? Especially when so many of the children were under ten? Needless to say, there was no cause for worry - the camp, as I had mentioned, was Mother’s work, and it was Mother who took charge of it for me -right from the start.

 Dire promises of showers from the weatherman the day before did not do much to dampen our sprits. As I heard later from seven-year-old Akila’s mother, Akila was meditating the day before to make sure that it did not rain during the camp! Such was the enthusiasm shown by the young children that soon, it spread to all of us and the camp began with a very cheerful swing.

 We began the camp with a prayer to the Mother. "Glory to Thee" is one of my favourite prayers and I felt that it was wonderful to start the camp with a prayer for those who wished to serve the Divine. After all, that was the goal of our camp - to go a step further towards being true servitors of the Divine.

 Immediately after tea, we were separated, the older children joined a session conducted by Mr Venkatesh Rao -a session on looking within. The younger children were hoisted off to a handicrafts workshop by Mrs Jaishree who taught them how to make Chinese New Year decorations, after which they were taken cycling by seven of our volunteers, all before the we older kids came back! Several grumbles ensued but everyone quietened down with the promise of a walk along the beach and cycling the day after. However, it was to be seen that things happened in a completely different way. The rest of the day went as planned - with a guided meditation session and a talk on Astronomy, given by Mr Sanjeev.

 The next day began for us with a walk up Mount Faber followed by brunch at Mr Daya’s place. We can never thank Mrs Kim enough for accommodating all forty-five of us at her place and for treating us to an absolutely delicious Peranakan lunch. However, the highlight of the brunch was the introduction on Sri Aurobindo and Mother that Charles  gave the children.

 After the brunch, we were left to our resources for a short while and then I got the smaller of the children together for a floral art workshop. But if truth be told, I hardly taught the children anything besides how to glue the flowers on the cardboard pieces that were given to them. With preserved flowers, glue and wonderful creativity, the children came up with bookmarks and cards far more beautiful than any of us would have expected. In fact, Ashish, who came by later, refused to believe that the work was done by little children.

 What followed was a workshop on communication by Hari and Tapan. While Hari  briefed us about the importance of communication and the different modes by which it could be carried out, Tapan gave us interesting examples of communication links and why problems arise in communications. We were then taken to a games session that Anand had organized for us - which included everything from tug of war to quizzes.

 When we returned to our room, really tired, for a quick wash and nap, we were horrified to find out that about twenty small children had taken hold of it and were playing indoor games as the weatherman’s predictions had come true a day late. After meditation, they had planned to go to the beach only to be confronted by an onslaught of pattering raindrops. Hence the room. However, our horror soon gave way to smiles as we watched Jaishree involve the children in various games and activities that had all of them participating and having fun.

 A cultural event followed dinner. Each chalet was asked to come up with a programme. Again, we enjoyed a whole spectrum - a play, a mime, a poem, a song- you name it, we had it!

Monday brought good-bye time and the children gathered in the morning for a learning session by Mr Venkat, who taught them about the origins of the forms of the Divine Mother - Durga, Lakshmi and Saraswathi. A session at the beach followed, with games that all the children participated in. At eleven in the morning, we said our goodbyes in the middle of another onslaught from the skies. As parents waited under umbrellas, the children were given their trophies, after which they dragged their parents to show them the handicrafts that they had made, which were put on sale.

 It would be impossible to describe completely the lessons that I had learnt from the Sunshine camp. A step towards perfection. Mistakes were made, realized and corrected. Be it staying in a room with seven children, conducting workshops, attending the learning sessions or working with the camp organisers, every experience was a lesson, an experience that I absorbed with relish like feasting on a well-loved dish. And talking about food - there were all the people who provided the wonderful meals that all the children enjoyed.

 The Sunshine camp was a team effort that was designed with the aspiration to take a step in Mother’s work. With teamwork and organisation, mistakes and lessons, I am sure that we had done our best to achieve that purpose.

 -          Kiruthika