Vayktimatv Vikas Shibir Report 07/15/2010

24 – 25th June
Total students attended = 105
Number of Volunteers = Approximately 15

Vayktimatv Vikas Shibir , a two days camp was conducted in a Basti(slum)

called Janta Vasaad in Pune. This brief camp was organized by approximately fifteen young
volunteers of Vart , a group of young people working with Sewa Sehyog for the Basti
children. As reflected in the name of the camp, the main purpose of the Shibir was to
provide Basti children an opportunity to engage in multiple activities that along with the
entertainment also promote overall personality development and values in children. On the
first day of the Shibir , 24th June , the children gathered in the government school of the
Basti around 4pm. The volunteers could be easily spotted diligently working on their
specific tasks such as directing the children to the room for attendance, jotting their names
down for the record purposes and giving them their name tags etc. During all these
activities, one of the volunteer engaged children’s attention with her tongue twisters in
Marathi .The preparation of the camp went smoothly and the shibir started on time.

After finishing the documenting tasks, the children were directed to a big hall
where the games were to be conducted later. Thereafter they were divided into eight
groups and each group had a volunteer as its group coordinator. Few other volunteers
opted to give instructions on the games and to ensure the justice as umpires. Each group
consisted of approximately 12-15 children altogether. The names of the groups were based
on the rivers such as Saraswati, Baramhaputra , Kaveri , Ganga , Godawari , Yamuna etc.
Before starting the games children were instructed to work as a team and to play with the
feeling of a unit. This feeling of togetherness was further encouraged through slogans like “
Jai Bhawani , Jai Shivaji” and “Bharat Mata Ki jai” .
 The first Spardha (competition/game) was riley race. Each group was asked
to mutually decide on sending six representatives from each group who would participate
in the game. For a while the hall filled with chaos as everyone wanted to be a part of the
first game. However with the help of the volunteers, each group sent 6 children from its
group. All the children of the same group formed a single line next to the other group’s line.
The rules were explained and everyone was asked to cheer up their group team. After the
signal from umpire first person from each team was asked to run as fast as possible to the
target in a specific way such as with one leg and return back to the line to touch the
subsequent person. The second person was then asked to run in other way such as with a
balloon between his/her legs. Similarly, the task for every other member of the team was
asked to perform the race in a different way. Finally the team who finished its task fastest
won the game.
 The second spradha, frame game, was targeted to bring out the creativity in
the children. In the same way as earlier, every group was asked to select 6- 7 children to
participate in the game. This time, new people were given chance. Again the rules were
explained and children were asked to encourage their groups. As from the name of the
game, the game required a team to create a scene with actions while other guesses it. For
example a team could create a scene of typical cricket game with having one of its team
member acting as if balling or batting. The team who guessed first was declared as winners.
 In the same way many more games were conducted. The most interesting
games included,” flour and coins” where two members of opposing teams were suppose to
search coins hidden in a plate of flour. The cheering and chaos became increasingly louder
with the success of every coin. The volunteers also joined in to play the game that increased
the enthusiasm of children even more. “The hanging Jalebis” was also very well received.
The rules of the game required the shortest member of groups to come and stand under a
jalebi tied to a thread way above his head and jump to get it. The child whoever finished
his/her Jalebi was the winner. The waves of enthusiasm spread all over the hall as a child
bit the first mouthful of Jalebi. Children also enjoyed another game called “mirror reading”
a lot. Around 7 pm , the first day of the camp finished with each and every volunteer sitting
with a group taking their feedbacks on what was liked by them most .
 The second day of the camp started around 10 pm , with some more games as
the previous days .However this time girls and boys were divided and sent away in
different places under the supervision of a specific volunteer. Games like “Treasure
Stealing” were played. Each group was given a set of treasure that it had to protect while
also trying to increase it by stealing other group’s treasure. A lot of strategy and planning
was required in order to succeed so long sessions of discussion took place in each and
every corner of the hall. After couple of games , children were given lecture on the
importance of studies while also practicing patriotic songs and tongue twisters .

The lunch break started around 12:15 pm and everyone was asked to form a
circle to eat his or her lunch. Everyone ate together sharing their food including volunteers.
The sight of everyone having lunch together was beautiful. The Indian culture of taking joy
in sharing couldn’t be reflected in any better way than this. The lunch lasted for 30-45
minutes and children were ready to venture into new activities again.
The next activity was called “building ideal basti” . All the groups were asked to
think creatively and build a model of an “ Adarash Basti” . Each group was also allocated a
volunteer to help them with the model. Building materials like thermocol, colors, charts,
papers were distributed equally among everyone. The activity lasted for one and half hour
within which everyone was supposed to create their own ideal model. This activity
particularly was devised to make children think about what makes a place ideal. While one
basti had windmill, other had proper sanitation. One could be taken by surprise easily with
the depth of the ideas and thinking that children put into their models. After completing
this activity, each group was asked to select a representative to explain and present the
model to others. While explaining their models, they were also questioned by judges. This
whole activity was very appreciated by everyone and could also be called the best activity
of the whole shibir.
 Having finished with this activity, children were then showed selective funny
clips of Mr. Bin and other comedy shows which made every one of them break into
laughter, filling the atmosphere with joy and excitement. Followed by this activity came the
dance performance by few girls. The dances were brilliant for which they were awarded
prizes later on. The final activity of the shibir , prize distribution started in the time around
5:30 pm . Each member of the winner team (Ist and 2nd runner up) from all the sessions
were given prizes which consisted of beautiful stationary pouches. The beam of smile and
pride on the faces of the winner teams was noticeable. The shibir ended up with everyone
cleaning the hall and collecting trash from the whole day. Everyone returned to home with
joy and feeling of accomplishment in one or other way and the shibir ended successfully.
07/15/2010
07/15/2010