Steps towards Service

Sidhartha Sen Gupta from Miles Bronson Residential School (MBRS), Borjhar, Guwahati is sharing a report on the Service Section.

Award participants along with Award Leaders and Mentors from MBRS visited the Missionaries of Charity, Old Age Home in Khanamukh, Guwahati on 15th June 2016 as a part of their Service project. We all were very curious and excited to visit the people over there. We had a good interactive session with the residents of the Old Age Home. We were touched by the sensitive attitudes of these homeless older people, who shared their thoughts and feelings with all of us. Indeed, they poured their hearts out and we were all touched by their stories. They made us feel a kinship, as if we are also a part of their life! We have learned that it’s the adaptability to the environment that is one of the strongest characteristics of a human being. The people we visited there were the epitome of camaraderie, united although all were from different backgrounds, they were happy and ready to lead a better life.

We were amazed to see that through our interaction many hearts were rejuvenated! They treated us as their own children by forgetting their sorrows and worries. It was a fabulous experience to see how happy they all were and made us realise that grandparents and parents are gifts of God, which should be preserved with love and care.

We promised them to visit again and again on a regular basis. We are thankful to our school fraternity for their whole hearted support and guidance and also for bestowing us an opportunity to extend ourselves to others’ needs, to turn their ‘Tears into Smiles’.

The Programme Creates Great Leaders

Pathways World School, Aravali organised a special IAYP assembly to honour and recognise the Bronze participants. Samanata Prashant and Mansi Agarwal, Bronze Award holders share the report with us.

The International Award for Young People, India (IAYP) delivering the The Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award was introduced to the students of Grade 9 in November 2016. Sixty-five students enrolled for the Bronze Level of the Award – which is also the entry level. The programme requires successful completion of the four components of Skills, Adventurous Journey, Service and Physical Recreation. The Bronze Award journey culminated in our achievements not only being carried out but also diligently recorded and meticulously validated by our adult mentors and then approved by the IAYP office. The manifestation of this elaborate exercise was in the form of the IAYP Assembly, which was a special occasion to recognise our skills/achievements.

The room was filled with bliss and excitement as all the awardees walked proudly onto the stage with their Certificates and Badges. After receiving the certificates, there were performances by the students of Grade 9. Displaying great talent, a few of the Award recipients enlightened the crowd with their experience of this journey. The enthralling musical performances, mesmerising dance and mind blowing beatboxing left the crowd spell bound. The proud Award holders will soon continue to take a step forward to achieve the Silver Level. We were congratulated by our Director and Principal motivating us to further take forward this journey and achieve Silver and Gold in the coming years ahead.

This programme brings up great leaders and teaches them to train themselves into independent and balanced individuals. At the Bronze level, we completed 4 components, which required a lot of persistence, effort and willingness. Here at Pathways World School, we get different opportunities to complete all these aspects by unleashing the Adventurous side in us by being a part of the Annual Adventure Camps. As we have Physical education lessons, the students worked on their sport for their physical activity component. For the Service component, the student chooses various ways through which they could help the community and do good for their society. Some students helped keep the school building clean during the breaks, some taught the underprivileged, while others helped in the library and most of us also worked at the Eye camp. Nonetheless, all of them learned something new and it was a good exposure. For Skills, students choose their hobbies and the field they are interested in and worked on them.

We feel really blessed to be offered the Award Programme which has an international recognition and has instilled in us great leadership skills. This was a great platform to showcase our talent in the best way forward.

Football Rani (Queen)

Kalyani Chakraborty, Award Leader Manav Vikash High School, Jharkhand (Special Project) sharing an inspiring story of Rani Ravidas - her journey to become the Football Queen.

Rani Ravidas is a well-known name for football lovers of Jharkhand. Rani represents the Jharkhand Women Football Team.

Rani comes from a small village, Nautandi, near Telco Town, Jamshedpur. Rani’s father Dal Gobinda Ravidas is a farmer and mother Reboti Ravidas is a housewife. Rani is the fourth daughter out of the seven children: five daughters, and two sons. Rani’s sisters married long ago, but Rani refused to marry so that she could complete her studies and fulfill her passion of playing football.

Rani’s love for football started when she was only 10 years old. She started playing football with the boys of her locality. The people of her village did not accept it and questioned how a girl could play football. Rani’s family also worried about her passion, but her mother knew that she is different than other girls and encouraged her to play the game. Her mother told her to “be a good player, be a big personality." Rani's only encouragement was her mother's inspiration. Her mother might not have heard the expression “Women empowerment” but she felt it and expressed it completely. This was a big support for Rani and she decided to do what she wants to do. She started practicing football’s cut and throw every day, and that has made all the difference. She says, “From the very beginning I was quite determined that if I chose a correct and a rational path the others around me would have to change, not I.”

She completed her Matric from Manav Vikas High School in 2012. Nautandi, her village is very far from the school and is not connected to the metallic road. Despite the many difficulties Rani faced, she was very regular at school, her motivation being to complete her studies and practice football.

Rani enrolled in the Award programme in 2010 for the Bronze Level. She successfully achieved the Bronze and has now started her Gold Award journey. Currently, she is studying for her under-grad at Graduate College in Jamshedpur.

Rani looks like a very easy going village girl, but she has a spark. She did not compromise her passion to poverty, illiteracy, and superstitions. She has a very strong will power. Rani’s iron will and mental toughness characterise her. One day, during her under-grad course, she set off to Dibrugarh for the Inter-University Women Football Competition. During the competition she got the news that her mother had fallen seriously ill and was asking her to come back home to be with her during her last few hours. Rani knew that if she stayed back, her team would lose the match. She took her mother's permission and blessings and went for the match. As she reached Dibrugarh the next day, she got the news of her mother’s demise. This was the saddest moment in her life. But this brave girl gathered courage and played her best. The Jharkhand Women Team won the match. Rani says, “I played with only one thought, that I have promised my mother that we will win. I have to give my best to win the match and I did so.”

Rani is a very busy footballer. She has represented her university and state in different competitions. Everyone knows that if Rani is on the team, the Jharkhand’s Women Football team would be the winning side. Rani is now preparing herself for the upcoming Federation Cup.

Rani has become a role model for girls in her village Nautandi, and she is now called Football Rani (Queen).

60th anniversary film

2016 marks the 60th anniversary of The Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award in the UK by HRH The Duke of Edinburgh. Over the last 60 years, the Award has transformed the lives of millions of young people in more than 140 countries and territories, equipping them for life. By celebrating this exciting milestone, we want to encourage millions of youth to get involved, either by doing the Award or by becoming an adult volunteer. We are excited to say that The 60 films to celebrate 60 years of the Award have been launched on Tuesday, the 31st of May 2016. The 60 films project and all the films are now available to view atwww.intaward.org/awardat60. We are happy to announce that the five participants from India,Adrija, Ishita, Pallavi, Ranjana and Vivek have been showcased in this project. Our congratulations to all our Award Participants. To know more updates, keep an eye on our social media for exciting announcements and follow#awardat60.

Magnum Opus - Perspective of Journey

Subrat Sharma, Gold Awardee from Jodhamal Public School, Jammu shares his Award Journey from scratch to finish.

“Don’t live life as it is meant to be lived; instead, change its course to harsh and the mildest of condition and then you will see the wonders of life. I remember my thoughts about the Award were limited when I first heard about it. But believing that it would take me to this height was something beyond my imagination. Now as I write about it, I’d try to create the same magic IAYP created in my life."

I still recall that winter morning when I heard the good news that my school had become the first YES Centre in the State. You might think that there was nothing so happening about it, but being the representative of the school I believed that each thing would count. The people would notice my being a part of something big and life changing, though certainly with time they might forget about it but those who would be inspired by what I earn and learn out of it would enroll and benefit by the Award and would always remember.

After that day I thought twice about enrolling myself in the Award programme. I still remember next morning when my dad read the news of my school's becoming a YES Centre and adding a feather in its cap, he turned to me and asked me to be a part of it. His idea was that it would enhance his son's personality making him a good citizen of the country. And the International Award for Young People team and the school boards had already envisioned something that my dad had thought of.

My journey for the Silver Award had begun long before I filled up my book with my life transforming experiences. I took different activities in each section of the Award like skill, service, adventurous journey and physical recreation and it was difficult for me to understand at that time that I was leading myself to a better future. I got my Silver Award successfully after completing all the sections and now I have mastered them but the confidence those learnings created in me is something everlasting and indelible. All the institutions need to realize the fact that if they want their children to shine one day then they should shape their future in a manner when their children leave the school they should attain the highest level of confidence and skill set which becomes an asset to the society.

The day I started my Silver Award journey I realized that it would help me to inculcate all those values that a leader needs to have. And the Gold Award journey helped me to master those skills further. The service I did was like a job for me and the physical recreation activity had that passion which teamwork teaches. I chose football and got an opportunity to be a part of two CBSE clusters and many inter house and inter school matches. I not just learned some brilliant skills but also inculcated certain qualities that shaped my personality for lifelong victory. A different thing which I also mastered during my Residential Project, was how one should handle problems in society. The school had already adopted a village named Ismailpur Khothe in Bishna, Jammu. There I spent a day less than a week and learned how to milk a cow, played cricket with the people, shared with them how science is a leading subject, taught them a few languages, their basics and encouraged them to learn English. Also being in outskirts for that time period, learning things, taking decisions on my own made me a responsible child. There were several adventures which removed my fear and also helped me in developing a sense of team work, kindness, being helpful to others. I have now learned that the Duke of Edinburgh Award has been the best source of learning values, knowing how to be fearless, gaining maturity and adding countless valuable experiences for every youth who has enrolled for it from all around the world. I personally believe that parents should not have a second thought about enrolling their child in the Award. Board members of different institutions should benefit their students with these kinds of activities for wholesome development of their institution and certainly one day the students would be thankful to them for it is something that turns one into an altogether better version of themselves.

The day was special when I received my Gold Award although I was anxious and was flooded with many thoughts. How changed was I in terms of all that I had inculcated? Was I the same? Or had I still to grow and learn more within? Finding answers to these questions I lead my way to the hall, stepping onto the stairs, looking at the stage where I would be standing in a while receiving my award; that feeling was something I can’t put into words though I’m sure it’s something everyone would want to be a part of.

It was a memorable day for me when I received my Gold Award from Raja Randhir Singh Ji, former Olympic-level trap and skeet shooter and now the sports administrator. He is currently the sole representative of India in the International Olympic Committee. He is also the recipient of the prestigious Arjuna Award in 1979.

IAYP has sharpened my personality and my skills way beyond my own imagination. I am thankful to IAYP and would want to be a part of it all my life.

Gold Award Ceremony 2016 - July 14th

Achieving a Gold Award is one of the biggest mile stones of your life. It shows that you have the ability, focus and determination to achieve your set goals and pursue them with passion and perseverance. It shows that you have done your share to achieve all-round development and at the same time are open to learn from what the future has to offer. Therefore, it is imperative that you celebrate your this achievement with others and The Gold Award Ceremony is designed to celebrate this achievement of yours.

We are happy to announce that Mr. Abbas Ali Baig, former Indian Cricketer, has consented to grace the occasion as Chief Guest and present the Gold Awards to all the successful participants at the Annual Gold Award Ceremony on July 14, 2016 at India International Centre, New Delhi.

We cordially invite you to join this celebration and soon you would receive an invite to GAC 2016. It goes without saying that your presence will make this event memorable and successful.

Please note that the last date for Record Book submission is 5th June 2016.

Donate a Blanket, Save a Life

Two Silver Award participants, Shilpi Daimary and Kavery Mahela from Miles Bronson Residential School, Guwahati, are sharing their experience during the Blanket Donation drive to protect pavement dwellers from the cold.

Inspired and motivated by the initiative of NDTV and Uday Foundation’s mission to keep the pavement dwellers of North India warm, we, the Award participants of Miles Bronson fraternity also joined hands in saving the lives of the people in need. On 3rd December 2015, it was announced in our morning assembly that we had to collect blankets and warm clothes for people who were dying from the cold on the streets, in slums, orphanages and old age homes. On Sunday, the 6th of December 2015, we collected a huge pile of old warm clothes and blankets from the Bronsonians and the teachers. It was wonderful to see that some of our teachers and Bronsonias brought not only old warm clothes but also new blankets, warm clothes, socks and gloves to keep people warm. After collecting the donations, on 13th December 2015, we, the Award participants, along with our mentors, distributed the blankets and warm clothes to the pavement dwellers living near the Sukreshwar Mandir, Panbazar, Guwahati. It was fulfilling to see the smiles on the faces of those pavement dwellers and we wish all our friends and teachers a heartfelt thank you in taking such initiatives and make someone's life worth living in cold winters. 

Culture and Diversity Study Camp

Mustafa Mokashi, an Award participant from Sanganabasava International Residential School, Vijaypur, attended a Culture and Diversity Study Camp at Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary, Kerala. The purpose of this study camp was to interact with the tribal people of the area and to know about their culture and their lifestyle. Here is what Mustafa learnt and explored.

I can never forget my IAYP Adventurous Journey at Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary, Kerala which was conducted from 1st to 6th of November 2015. This journey was one of its kind and taught me how to learn, explore and connect with nature and how to understand people, their culture, and their ways of living. My understanding of the world has changed now, thanks to the IAYP adventure section of the Award and thanks to my school for giving me this opportunity to experience learning outside my class.

This Culture and Diversity Camp was of six days and on the first two days, we got the opportunity to stay on a farm in the middle of Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary and then interact with the nearby villagers of the Adiyalar tribe. This experience was new to all of us, something we had never witnessed before. After the forest walk of the first day, on the second day we proceeded to the Bamboo village in South Wayanad. We stayed there in the homes of our new friends -- the tribal villagers. We interacted with them and leant about their food, culture and habits. Post lunch, we were all guided by the villagers to the bamboo groves and bamboo based village industries run by communities. Here we saw how different sorts of handicrafts, building materials and utensils could be made from bamboo; these villagers were our new teachers. When we saw all these, our textbooks seemed to come alive in front of us. We were further guided through different sorts of spice groves, paddy fields etc., and exploring traditional irrigation system called ‘Keni’ practiced by local tribes. In the evening we visited the Adiyar tribal colony and shared our experience of agricultural labours.

Next morning our group visited Edackal cave arts – the biggest petroglyphs in India, which belonged to the Neolithic culture, followed by visit to a tribal medium and a trek to Chembra mountain peak. We also visited Soochipara waterfalls. It was a good experience for the city dwellers to experience silence in nature. That night was campfire night, which we all greatly enjoyed. So much had happened and there was so much to look forward in the next three days.

On the fourth day, we started our visit to Thirunelli in West Wayanad inside Tholpetty forest through Banasura Dam. From here, we all visited the nearby tribal village and their farms. After the post lunch session, we visited Pazhasiraja tomb. The night was to be spent at the camp Thirunelli. The day was full of activities including exploring Thirunelli forest, Kurichiya tribal village, their traditional farms, Thirunelli temple and Bhramagiri Mountain. 

Next day we headed towards Thirunelli with Kurichiya, Adiyar and Kurumba tribal communities to explore their culture, cuisine and did some volunteer cleaning work. Last day after a small jungle safari the participants returned back to Mysore.

This exploration journey helped all of us to learn a lot about the tribes, which included study about their cooking, medicines and real-life experience. We also got the rare experience to watch and explore the tree houses too. We were shown how the villager’s kept their environment clean and they did it by collecting plastics from the forest floor in Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary. There were demonstration workshops on traditional arts which helped us understand the same. The most amazing part of the study tour was to the insight we gained into the lives of tribal groups and family, interactions with the tribals about their experience and life stories, learning traditional cooking, painting etc.

In a nutshell, this IAYP journey turned out to be the most memorable and rewarding experience for me so far. Click for the pictures

Adventurous Journey for Specially-Abled Participants

The National Award Authority organised an Adventurous Journey camp for differently-abled participants of Raphael Ryder Cheshire, Dehradun from 2nd to 5th March 2016, under Special Projects. The group comprised 25 differently-abled participants (21 boys and 4 girls); among them were 4 Gold, 4 Silver, and 17 Bronze participants. The group was escorted by two Award Leaders: Madhu Rawat and Kishan Rana who work as Special Educators; five volunteers: Ambika Thapliyal, Ameeta Upreti, Purnima Singh, Vasundhara, Shilpi and two members from support staff. Four specially trained instructors of the Institute of Climbers and Nature Lovers (ICNL) Kolkata led them on their Adventurous Journey. The camp was supervised by Bivujit Mukhoty, Programme Manager, IAYP. Priyank Kumar Gupta (Head IT) also represented the NAA for this adventurous journey during the course.

The first day started with a briefing session about the journey. The instructors explained the importance of safety and helped the participants understand the different equipment. They taught them how to pack their backpacks and other equipment while on their Adventurous Journey. Next, the instructors explained the process for pitching tents and helped the participants perform this activity. The students enjoyed the learning activity. The Instructors demonstrated rappelling and other activities and showed the use of different types of rope knots used during the Adventurous Journey. Participants also performed the single rope bridge. The participants enjoyed their evening full of dance and music.

The next morning, the group started their journey to Inside Passage Camp Site, Maldevta Village, Dehradun by bus. Amit Minocha welcomed the group and arranged the stay for the participants. In the pre-lunch session,the participants performed on the Commando Net; in the post-lunch session the instructors organised adventurous activities like Burma Bridge.The evening was spent playing different games and sports as per their ability.

On the third day, the participants went for Tyrolean Traverse on the river Song. The second half of the day was for a track where they visited a natural cave and explored calcite and stalactite depositions. These participants enjoyed the campfire at night. 

The last day of the camp started with different physical exercises and team building games. After the physical fitness training and a late breakfast the group departed for Raphael Ryder Cheshire, Dehradun.

This Adventurous Journey was full of fun for these participants, helping build their confidence and exposing them to a different environment. The NAA expresses thanks to Inside Passage and ICNL team for providing support and organising this camp. click for pictures

Young Achievers Honoured with Award: Challenge India-International Special Project

The annual ceremony for Challenge India - International Special Project was held at Auxilium College on 11th Feb 2016 in the presence of Kapil Bhalla (National Director), Bivujit Mukhoty (Programme Manager, Dinesh Gajendran (Coordinator, Challenge India- International Special Project), Dr. (Sr). Eugini Fathima Mary (Principal), Dr. (Sr). Mary Sheela Susairaj (Vice Principal), Dr. (Sr). Mary Josephine Rani (Vice Principal) and Dr. Beulah Suresh (Head, Dept of Business Administration). Over 200 participants received their Bronze and Silver Award during the ceremony for their active participation in the development process of self and community.

Speaking at the ceremony, Raghunath, a Bronze Award participant from Sukkampatti village near Trichy said, “I have started doing science experiments and research about global warming and climate change in my village, which has been selected as Best Project for Young Scientist Award”. Deveneen Baskar said, “I have been volunteering for the Award activities from day one with the YES centre, which improved my volunteering and public speaking skills and today I am a proud recipient of the Silver Award”. Another participant, Caroline, a BBA Student from Auxilium College said, “I got an opportunity to improve my leadership skills through volunteering service, which improves my team building and networking skills. As a result I have been elected as Secretary of my College Students Union Council.”

Dinesh Gajendran, Coordinator, Challenge India-International Special Project and Executive Director of Audacious Dreams Foundation said, “Over 500 young people enrolled from various institutions from Vellore and Trichy and other rural districts of Tamil Nadu, and are using this Award programme as a tool to inspire the rural young people to challenge themselves by learning life skills and serving the community. The result is that over 200 young people achieved their Bronze and Silver Award. We pledge to take this programme to many deserving young people across Tamil Nadu through “Challenge India-International Special Project of IAYP India”

National Award Authority wish to congratulate all the Awardees for their success and wish them all the best for their further Award Journey. Click for pictures

"The Keyboard Sir"

Abhijay Malviya, Bronze Award holder from The British School, New Delhi is sharing his transforming experience. My name is Abhijay and I’m from the British School, New Delhi. The Award Programme has dramatically changed my personality in many ways. During my Bronze Award journey I continued learning the piano and passed with a merit in my Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music (ABRSM) exam. I played basketball three times a week and participated in the academy level tournament. Moreover, I went on an Adventurous Journey to Southern India, where I cycled long distances and participated in many activities, such as rappelling to name a few. However, the most transforming experience was at a school for the underprivileged children at Saksham Bal Vikas, an NGO in Gurgaon. The parents of the students in the school are mostly workers and street stall owners, who don’t have the money to send their wards to school. I believe that the under privileged in the country need to be educated so that India can grow as a modern nation, and institutions like this should be set up everywhere. What I learnt from interacting with these children is that they are extremely optimistic with big ideas, but did not have the available opportunities to follow their ideas before joining school. Since this school was already teaching academics, I decided to show them another side to the coin, the side they had great desire for and where they could really express their creativity: Music. On the first day, they were very excited to see my keyboard. To cope with the excitement I taught them the basics of composition, a move which would not have been the best at an early stage but I couldn't take the risk of boring them with some theoretical knowledge! They even started calling me ‘Keyboard Sir’. Overall their happiness along with the driving determination for success really made me reflect on my own life, and if I have to take away one learning experience from this, it would be to appreciate what’s given and stay focused to capitalize on opportunities. Click for pictures