Camping Expedition

Tirthan Valley at the Great Himalayan National Park, Himachal Pradesh, India

The beauty of this place will just mesmerise any trekking enthusiast and it is simply breathtaking.

Forty-five Bronze and Silver participants of Bawa Lalvani Public School, Kapurthala (Punjab) accompanied by five mentors trekked to the Great Himalayan National Park from 31st March to 6th April 2017.

The entire trek was really beautiful and serene. Close to the base Camp Himalayan, the participants experienced the natural beauty of the 'Jhoi' waterfall and trekked and manoeuvred through the crystal clear, flowing River Tirath. The camping experience helped the participants to introspect and develop a perspective to engage in more adventures in the times ahead. Besides trekking the participants also did the different Adventurous Journey related activities too. Splashing under the waterfall was a memorable experience for the entire team.

Thanks to the local guide at Camp Himalayan, who arranged a trek to the Jalori Pass through a small village, Banjar, inhabited by very friendly and courteous folks. This pass is situated at a height of 10,575 feet. Trekking on this beautiful trail led to the mesmerising places like Shoja, Serolsar lake, Sakiran Lambri and the Great Himalayan National Park! Click here for the pictures

Difference between those who care and those who don’t

“What matters today is not the difference between those who believe and those who don't, but the difference between those who care and those who don’t.”

Award participants from Bawa Lalvani Public School, Kapurthala visited and offered their services at the Kusht Ashram (Leprosy Home) in Kapurthala on 20th January 2017. Below is a report from Ms. Ekta Dhawan, Principal, Bawa Lalvani Public School, Kapurthala.

The aim of the IAYP programme is to ‘equip youth for life’. Young people, through this project, work with socially and economically disadvantaged people or people with physical disabilities through activities of the Award Programme. Association through these activities encourages independence, inter-dependence and self-helpamong socially isolated people.

To sensitize the students about the people suffering from leprosy and to boost the morale of the patients and their families, BLPS organised a visit to Kusht Ashram, Kapurthala for Award participants. The staff of the Ashram introduced them to the patients and their families. The participants had healthy conversations with the patients and their families and had a first-hand knowledge of their experiences and lives of people with leprosy.

The Award participants, along with their mentors and parents, have made volunteering for Kusht Ashram a part of their Social Service experience. Parents have helped in preparing the lunch boxes, articles of daily needs (comb, soap, toothbrush) and financial help. The participants, along with teachers, offered help for daily grooming, such as changing their clothes, combing their hair and cutting the nails of physically disabled people and cleaning their surroundings. The participants purchased food items for the patients. This contribution meant a lot to the inmates of the leprosy home.

Medical treatment has brought leprosy under control everywhere in the world but there is still deep-rooted discrimination against those affected by this disease. The Award participants have pledged to serve them in their struggle and to truly overcome such discrimination.

As a weekly affair, the Award participants have decided to enthusiastically participate in the collection for these victims of leprosy. Through this, the participants learn to care of others and understand the importance of contributing to one’s community. It gives them an opportunity to change lives, perhaps even their own, and understand what it means to 'equip for life.'

My Award Journey

Shradha Ramakrishnan, a Bronze Award Holder from Hiranandani Upscale School, Kelambakkam, shares the experience of her Award journey here.

I, Shradha Ramakrishna have completed my Bronze Award journey.

My Service section was a group activity, where we mainly taught under-privileged children some basic computer skills, incorporating other vital concepts as well. For example, on a normal day we would talk about the necessity of staying in good health and give them an activity accordingly on the computers in either Word or PowerPoint. Our talks consisted of a main group talk that summarised the topic at hand, and then we would split up into three groups where we discussed the topic in detail. Some prominent topics discussed were road safety and health. We normally ended our classes with a quick game to gauge their spirits, such as ‘Simon says’. My individual service comprised a day at the Alpha to Omega School, which is a school for children with learning difficulties.

In the Skills section I chose Bharatanatyam. It is a dance form that I am highly passionate about, and have been practising it for more than eight years now. My Arangetram, a dance graduation, was completed in July 2014. To explore this passion further after my Arangetram, was the reason I took this dance form as my skill in this section of the Award. My classes were always very demanding. Some classes involved a thorough revision of the basics and when the teacher was slightly late, it was my mandate to begin some of the crucial exercises for the younger children. Since I had finished my Arangetram, the teacher had taught me longer and more demanding pieces of dance known as Varnam Jathis. These are pieces of pure dance that make up the Varnam Dance. I was taught charis, which are simple, elegant movements that are incorporated in a dance. To keep in touch with my Arangetram dances, we revised them in almost every class. The culmination of my academic dance year was with a performance in March at Tambaram, Chennai, where I took part in the Kauthvam group dance, a solo padam ‘Bho Shambo’, and in the themed dance of Dashavataram, the 10 avatars of Vishnu. It goes without saying that dance is the key to my concentration, balance, discipline and my overall mental and physical health. It is something that I enjoy thoroughly and I explore this art form with my Guru in every lesson!

For Physical Recreation I chose Athletics. Athletics is a sport which I plan to pursue in future and I thought this would be a good opportunity to track my progress. For each athletics session, I spent two hours a day and I went twice a week -- on Saturday and Sunday. The coach gave rigorous training, which increased my stamina and speed twofold. I am currently training four times a week now. The training was unique and sometimes we would go to different places. For example, we went to St.Thomas Mount and we did sprints and other exercises uphill and ended with a brisk 3 km jog. Each class focused on a certain aspect, for example: endurance, speed, power, skill and fitness. I excel mainly in endurance because I am a long distance runner by nature. I had run 10 km in an event hosted by Chennai Runners on 10th January and out of 50 people I came 7th with a time of 52 minutes. On 6th February, the school had a sports day, and my relay team finished third and I finished third in the 100 mts race. The rains in Chennai had affected my fitness as the track was submerged and inaccessible. Getting back to form was another challenge I overcame. I thoroughly enjoyed these athletics sessions and will continue to take part in meets and soon dream to become an International Champion.

The most amazing and interesting part was the Adventurous cum Exploration Journey. For this activity I went to Coorg with my batch mates. We stayed there for 3 days and 2 nights. On day one, we decided to explore nature on our own. We walked up to the Abbey Falls and explored the vast extended forest. The walk there was scenic. After visiting the falls, we visited the source of the Cauveri River known as Thalacauveri, a temple and a historical site, on top of the hill. The second day consisted of major adventure activities. We kick-started with some football and then proceeded kayaking. It was a team exercise; I kayaked while my partner helped with turning. We kayaked for 2 km. After this, the whole group went rafting and I was manoeuvring the boat with the supervisor, again this was also for 2 km. It was a very scenic canal of water. Later on, we went to a lagoon area with rocks forming pools of water, some shallow, some deep, giving rise to different colours. Since it was a team activity we had to help each other in climbing over the rocks. The boulders of rocks surrounded a small waterfall which flowed to a gushing stream. After eating our lunch, we went for a hike to the summit of a high hill. The drive took 10 minutes and from there we proceeded on foot with our mentors. We trekked from one mountain summit to another. The first one had a thick forest which we had to walk through. It is said there are elephants in the area, but we did not see one. We trekked for a distance of 12 km altogether.

After completion of my journey, I can say that getting the Bronze Award is one of the most unforgettable experiences of my life. The Award Programme has given a focus to my interests and helped me sharpen them greatly. Click here for the 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

Walk for a Light

Bronze and Silver Award participants from Ramakrishna Mission Blind Boys' Academy, Narendrapur did coastal trekking for their Adventurous Journey from 9th to 11th December 2015.  Chandan Majumder and Rupanjan Goswami (Award Leaders) sharing the details about this trek.

People who cannot see the light of the world due to their blindness, are always searching for a new light through which they can enlighten their lives and souls.

Ramakrishna Mission Blind Boys' Academy, Narendrapur has been imparting education and vocational training to the visually challenged students through the International Award for Young People since 2002. To complete their Adventurous Journey, twenty-five visually challenged, Bronze and Silver aspirants took part in a Coastal Trek from Chandipur to Digha under the guidance of the Institute of Climbers and Nature Lovers.

The participants started walking for 17 kms from Chandipur on 9th Dec '15 along the beach and crossed Buri Balam river and Kasai river. They stayed at Kasafal in tents beside river Kasai first night. On the second day they set off for Dogara village, walking by the sea for 22 kms and in the last lap they walked 23 kms and crossed Subarnarekha river and finally reached Talsari on 11th Dec '15, walking a total of 62 kms. Four NAA interns, all Gold Award Holders, escorted the participants during this journey.

This costal trek helped the participants gauge their own capacity and develop self-confidence. Now each of the participant says "Yes I can, I am prepared for any tasks, I can see the new Light of Life". Click here for pictures

My experience with IAYP

Gauri Jaswal, Bronze Award holder from Amity International School, Noida shares her experience with the Programme
My experience with IAYP began one sultry August morning in my school's amphitheatre. It was stuffy and I wasn't really paying heed to what the gentleman from the Award Foundation was talking about. I thought: I don't want to commit to a six-month-long competition! And then he said, "The Award is not a competition. It's a challenge for yourself and you are judged by your yardstick, not ours". Suffice to say, that caught my attention! I enrolled and after clarifying (multiple times!) with my Award Leader that you could really do any activity as part of IAYP, I started with the Award.  I chose yoga as Physical Recreation, learning a language (Mandarin and Italian) for Skills and cleaning the area around my apartment building as Service. Although I'd like to say that I enjoyed all four areas equally, the truth is that the most enjoyable part for me, an introvert by nature, was the Adventure camp. I simply loved the week I spent with friends from school! Of course, the days were gruelling and we hardly got any rest, but I got to zorb for the first time, experience the horror of rappelling and nearly succumbed to heart failure while rock climbing! I absolutely loved every second! At the end of that week, I knew that I had made the right decision by participating in IAYP.
The other areas were definitely fun as well, hard as it may have been to get myself to do that one hour each week (and end up doing two!). I am glad that I kept going. Now that my six months are up, I find myself unfolding the yoga mat or logging on to Duolingo. But, I know that I still have Silver and Gold to go!  Click for pictures

IAYP Award Ceremony and Workshop at Jodhamal Public School

On 23rd May 2015 Award Presentation Ceremony for The International Award for Young People (IAYP) was held in Jodhamal Public School, Jammu. The honourable chief guest Bivujit Mukhoty (Programme Manager Award Programme Foundation) was welcomed by Trilok Singh Bist (Principal) along with Monika Sethi (Vice -Principal). Shallu Sharma (School coordinator for IAYP) introduced the chief guest, who inspite of the busy schedule consented to grace the occasion, which was succeeded by the invocation and welcome note by the IAYP students followed by knowledgeable and inspiring address by the chief guest wherein he highlighted the importance and impact of the award on youth. He emphasized that the sole objective of the award is character building and empowerment of youth so that they develop ability, focus and determination for any type of achievement and to face any challenge in the real world. The chief guest facilitated and appreciated the four silver and sixteen bronze awardees. The award ceremony was followed by the various cultural items prepared by IAYP students. They presented enchanting dance performances, inspiring and motivating nukkad natak on women empowerment and exhibited thought provoking paintings. Their work was appreciated by all and had instill desire, confidence and enthusiasm in the minds of aspiring students to join IAYP.  The programme was concluded by vote of thanks by Shallu Sharma.  Bivujit Mukhoty and Shallu Sharma also introduced the Award Programme to the new aspirants and briefed the Award philosophy and structure to them. The entire workshop had instilled desire, confidence and enthusiasm among the new participants.  Click here for more pictures

Bronze Level Adventure Camp at Wangini

The Bronze Level aspirants of Lodha World School, Thane went for an adventure camp to Wangini near Matheran.  The purpose of the camp was to allow the participants to learn as well as to try their hand in adventure activities. The trip was scheduled for five days from the 7th to the 11th of April 2015. 

The morning session for four days began at 07.00 am. Breakfast was followed by adventure activities which the participants looked forward to.  During these four days the participants went through Rappelling, Rock Climbing, Hurdles, Jungle Gym, Raft building, Rowing, Flying Fox, Archery and Shooting.

The participants said that they found the experience thrilling and challenging. Some of them were very excited that they had managed to climb the 50 foot tower. They took great pleasure in aiming straight at the target and trying their hand at shooting. One of the participants remarked that 'Fear is like fire, it will burn till you fuel it', and these activities have helped them overcome some of their fears. 'When we made the rafts and went rowing we realized the amount of strength we have in our hands,' said one of the girls. They also remarked that they learned to work as a team.

Every day the participants returned to help in the kitchen. They took turns to prepare a dish under the guidance of the staff. The participants treated their classmates and teachers to a variety of tasty dishes such as pulav, mixed vegetable sabji, chole puri, etc. It was a proud moment for the participants when they showcased their culinary skills. 

In the evening, the participants played a number of interesting games which required both skill and presence of mind. At night they were taken for a silent walk to the river bank for star gazing. Wangini is a place where astronomy camps generally come to carry out star gazing activities. 

The participants enjoyed themselves thoroughly, lying on the rocks and reveling in the silent murmur of the river -- an experience which according to them will always remain etched in their memory, as it is not one which they could dream of experiencing in Mumbai.

The camp provided wholesome experiences, where participants learnt to work in a team, coordinating with each other and mutually sharing responsibilities.  They continually kept motivating their friends who had certain fears. The activities like making their own raft and rowing taught them the need to work in a systematic and responsible manner.  The culinary activities brought forth their ability to divide and delegate the different tasks, ensuring that they turned out excellent and tasty food.  Surely the camp gave them opportunities to imbibe the values needed to become effective Leaders of Tomorrow in keeping with the motto of Lodha World School, Thane.

On the last night, before they started off for Thane, a bonfire and dance was organised.  The participants enjoyed themselves thoroughly and the trip ended on a high note for all of them. They are sure to look forward to more such adventure trips. This will also motivate them to seek the Silver Level of the IAYP too.   Click for pictures

Our Bronze Level Award Journey

Rakhi Jain and Jyoti Sagwekar (Award Leaders) from Bombay Cambridge School, Andheri West, Mumbai narrated the experience of teachers and participants at the Bronze Level of their Award Journey.

Deeksha Pal, who lead the students for the Service section, said that this was a heartwarming experience. Says Deeksha, "Every time the students accomplished something, I felt proud. While I was teaching them, I learned a lot about myself. My students were really happy and kept praising us, saying that I was a wonderful teacher. Students who used to hate Maths soon started enjoying it; those who didn't enjoy English learned to admire it. This was such a positive experience that I believe that everyone should try teaching at least once in their lifetime."

Mubasshira Shaik says, "The Cleaning drive experience didn't only leave our school and surroundings clean but also left us proud of ourselves. We cleaned the streets armed with brooms and gloves, dug compost pits and spread awareness among local people by rallying across the streets of J.B Nagar and Chakala with posters prepared by us. Apart from this we also molded ourselves for a better and cleaner future. We also hope that our initiative will motivate and leave an impact on society."

Disha Shetty said that the music sessions conducted for the Skills section served as music therapy. It made participants realize the essence of music in their life.

Parth Dand explained how the sessions that they were exposed to during Physical Recreation not only helped them to improve their skills in field events like shot putt and long jump, but also served as a stress buster.

Talking about the Adventurous Journey Shruti Mokashi said, "We, the students of BCSE, thoroughly enjoyed the three-day journey undertaken on foot. We were trained about various aspects of camping: tent pitching, route planning, navigating and map reading a week prior to our expedition. We were split into groups as soon as we reached there. We walked amidst grass, dams, mud and fields in the sun's scorching heat and sometimes rains. We did jungle cooking on the second day which turned out to be as much fun as learning. We mingled with our new group members and helped each other in various ways throughout those three days. We experienced the true sense of team spirit, responsibility and decision making during the journey."  Click  for more pictures

My IAYP Experience

Sarthak Mehta, Bronze Award Holder from DLF Public School, Sahibabad is sharing his Award experience. 

It was just another day in my school when I heard about the 'International Award for Young People' from my health education teacher. IAYP came as an opportunity for me to excel in co-curricular fields besides academics. I gladly accepted the  challenge! I realize now that it helped me discover the latent talents that I had. I have always been a good student, rigorous studies excite me. But after participating in IAYP, not only was I studying, I was playing lawn tennis, I was helping in organizing our school library, exploring Robotics and going on adventures! I was almost a different person, exploring a number of different activities and enjoying them too! My teachers supported me fully and the result was that I completed all my tasks on time. The impacts of IAYP are many and varied in my life. First, I realized that life is multi faceted, so all  its aspects have to be experienced to be a well rounded person. Second, I regained my fitness and stamina that I had lost somewhere in the array of books. I especially felt overwhelmed when our school librarian thanked us for the help we offered to her throughout the school year. I also pursued Robotics which I believe will always be my interest and passion. I would like to recommend IAYP to each and every child because while doing all of this for fun we also get to interact with different people and earn an award for the same! It has been a fun filled journey with IAYP and it will help me with my journey forward in life too! I must say I enjoyed myself tremendously while on my Award journey!