Deepest condolences on the passing of Rajan Ray, Trustee Award Programme Foundation

Mr. Rajan Ray, Trustee Member, Award Programme Foundation, passed away on 10th September, 2016.

Mr. Ray was a retired banker who held senior positions in India and overseas. He started his career with National & Grindlays Bank in 1968 and worked with them for a total of 20 years; ABN Amro Bank NV for 11 years; EODC (Asia) Ltd for 3 years and lastly Standard Chartered Bank for 2 years before retiring in 2003 after serving more then 35 years of his tenure. He was currently a non-executive director of a few companies in India and overseas. Mr. Ray joined the Award family in 2015 as member Trusteed with Award Programme Foundation.

On behalf of the IAYP, we convey our deepest condolences to the bereaved family of the departed soul Mr. Rajan Ray.

Adventurous Journey Report from the Diary of a Silver Level Participant

Sanjib Chakraborty, Award Leader from Sri Sri Academy, Kolkata is sharing the Adventurous Journey report from the diary of a participant. As a part of the IAYP Adventurous Journey section, Silver Level Award participants braved the Singalila ridge. The Journey started on 16th March when we left for New Jalpaiguri. On 17th after a long bus ride full of optical delights - a treat from Mother Nature, we reached Manebhanjang, our base camp. On the way we passed through the town of Kurseong - the land of white orchids. We were duly treated to a narration of a ghost story, the haunting tale about Margaret's Hope, a tea estate, the facts about the old toy train running from Kurseong to Darjeeling and some more spine chilling facts about this notorious town by our accompanying teacher. We also had a short acclimatisation trek of about 3 kilometers. That evening we had a session on rope knot and track signals on mountains. Next day we underwent the rigorous but fun trek to Tumling after a short warm up session. This is the only trek which provides a view of the tallest peaks like Mt Everest, Kanchenjunga, and Lhodhse all together in a panoramic view. The weather was predicted to be rainy. It was a daunting 12 km trek. We had three stops in between - Chitrey, Lamidura, and Meghma for about 7 hours straight. We saw shrines with Nepali engravings for the good fortune of the trekkers. We were at the India-Nepal border, standing with one foot in India and the other one in Nepal! On 19th March at sunrise we went to the viewpoint to behold the scenic beauty of the Sleeping Buddha. It is so called because it resembles a sleeping person. The head is the Kumbhakarna, the torso is Kanchenjunga and the foot is Pandim. This view is famous since the mountaineers are not allowed to put their foot on the summit of Kanchenjunga as it is considered holy by Buddhist monks. On the left side of this we can see the view of Mt Everest, Makalu and Lhodhse. When the sunlight falls on the snow capped peaks, they appear to have taken the hue of alluring gold. Tumling, at a staggering height of 10,000 feet, also boasts of diverse flora and fauna. Rhododendrons both white and red, Magnolia, birds like Verditer Flycatcher and pheasants, animals like the Red Panda (native to Singalila) and Himalayan Black Bear abound. During our stay we had the chance to taste some authentic local Tibetan food. We made and served hot chocolate and paani puris to the residents and the students during the self cooking session. On the evening of that day we had a fun campfire session. The participants conducted three events - Quiz, Antakshari and Charades. While we were sad to go back from the cool weather of Tumling to the sultry scorching heat of Kolkata, we were back at home with lots of memories to cherish in the days to come.Click for Pictures

Adventurous Journey Camp to Susunia Hills

Twenty-one Silver and Bronze level Award participants of Emmanuel Ministries, Kolkata completed their Adventurous Journey at Susunia Hills from 14th to 17th March 2016. A report by Timothy Barretto (Award Leader) follows.

Thirteen Silver level and Eight Bronze level Award participants (10 girls and 11 boys) of Emmanuel Ministries, Kolkata started their Adventurous Journey on 14th March 2016 to Susunia Hills, West Bengal. The group was escorted by Timothy Barretto (Award Leader) and Munna Barik (Community Teacher) along with four experienced instructors of the Institute of Climbers and Nature Lovers (ICNL), Kolkata. To begin with, the mentors briefed the participants about the basic requirements and information pertaining to travelling and discipline. After the overnight journey from Howrah station to Chaatna station the group trekked to the campsite in Susunia (11 kms) for 2 hours and 45 minutes.

The group reassembled at 11 am and were introduced to the first practical class “Rope Knots”. The key to this class was “Easy to tie knot and easy to open”. Every type of knot was demonstrated and the purpose of each knot was described. The next activities to follow were the single rope bridge, monkey crawling and Jummering, which were novel experiences, especially for the Bronze participants. These exercises were centrally focused on team building and capacity building, giving the participants an impetus to achieve and a feeling of exhilaration and stimulation. The day drew to an end with an inspiring session on mountain manners and self-motivation by instructors.

The next day the participants trekked to an altitude of 1600 feet up Susunia hills. The instructors briefed the students about the basic techniques of Rock Climbing. The participants formed groups according to their levels and each one had to do climbing, rappelling, traversing and chimney climbing. This turned out to be one of the best experiences for the participants, many of whom said that they were able to conquer their fears after their first climb. In the second half of the day they were taught about Tent Pitching and Tyrolean Traverse. A camp night was organized to add to the fun and amusement.

On the final day of the training the participants trekked through the dense forest and visited the Shiela Lippi monument. A memory down Indian history was recalled when instructors explained some of the historical facts about the dynasties of Bihar, Bengal and Orissa (Anga, Banga & Kallinga). The camp ended with a round of applause and group photographs. After enjoying a wonderful outbound experience the team returned to Kolkata. Click here for pictures

My Passion for Music

Utsav Sharma, a Bronze level participant from Amity International School, Vasundhara, Ghaziabad shares how the Award Programme helped him to explore his hidden passion for music and talent for playing the keyboard.

I have always had a passion for playing musical instruments and was encouraged to play an instrument even when I was a child. But somehow or the other, I never developed my talent, nor did I grab any opportunity that came my way. With IAYP coming in my life, everything else changed for the better. For the Skills section of the Award, I decided to take up keyboard playing, since it was my favourite musical instrument. And even before I started taking my first keyboard lesson, I felt the magnetic pull of eighty-eight black and white keys on my fingers.

During the IAYP programme, I received a lot of support and encouragement from my mentors and teachers and learnt how to set my goals and achieve them through consistent and continuous efforts. While earlier I had plenty of free time (which I just wasted), but now, for me, every second counts and I have come to value my time and its usage. I not only enjoy the time spend in learning the keyboard, but I also look forward to attaining my Award and learning a lot of things which will help me in my future. I am very thankful to this Award programme and my school for providing me an opportunity to grow and refine my talent. With the help of this programme, I am confident that I will achieve many milestones which I couldn't have managed on my own. Thank you IAYP for helping me to value myself!

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

Special Project Adventurous Journey Camp for JCB Supported Govt. Schools in Faridabad

The National Award Authority organised a three-day Adventurous Journey camp for JCB Sponsored Government Senior Secondary Schools of the rural areas of Haryana, from 19th to 21st January 2016 at Rocksport's Camp Tikkling, Badshahpur (Gurgaon). Participating in the camp were 35 students doing their Bronze and Silver (22 girls and 13 boys). They completed their Adventurous Journey related activities under the supervision of instructors from Institute of Climbers and Nature Lovers (ICNL) Kolkata and Bivujit Mukhoty (Programme Manager).The camp activities includes Rock Climbing, Rappelling, Fixing Rope, Building Burma Bridge & Single Rope Bridge, fixing Tyrolean Traverse (for river crossing), tent pitching along with learning Rope Knots. The participants also learned Team Building Games with Spider Net. All the participants successfully completed their activities for the Adventurous Journey. The NAA team thanks ICNL, Kolkata and Rocksport, New Delhi for their continued support to the Award Programme. We also wish to thank Neelam Singh (Award Leader, Govt. Sr. Sec. Schools) for her valuable support and help. Clickfor pictures

Award Leader Training (YES) Workshop at Award Training Centre, New Delhi

The National Award Authority organized an Award Leader Training Workshop at the Award Training Centre, New Delhi on December 22-23, 2015. The participants included delegates from Vivek High School, Chandigarh; Saupin's School, Chandigarh; and Scindia Kanya Vidyalaya, Gwalior. Kapil Bhalla (National Director) started the workshop with an ice-breaking session and then introduced the Award to the participants. Over a span of two days the participants were given in-depth knowledge regarding the four domains of the programme i.e. Skills, Service, Physical Recreation and Adventurous Journey and also the Residential Project for the Gold Award Programme. The participants were also introduced to the technical aspect of the programme, which included Risk Management and Branding. Bivujit Mukhoty (Programme Manager), Priyank Kumar Gupta (Head IT and ORB), Ranjana Rai (Member NTP) and Pallavi Gill (Member NTP) lead the workshop for two days.  The trainers shared their own experience as trainers and Award Leaders and had an engaging discussion with the participants. 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

Pangarchulla Expedition

Tabassum Akhtaer, Bronze Level aspirant from Future Hope School completed her Adventurous Journey in Garhwal region.  Tabassum sharing her this memorable journey experience with us.
One of my most lively and memorable experiences was the recent trek to Pangarchulla, a 14000 ft peak in the Garhwal region of Uttaranchal.
The long drive to Joshimath via the four prayags or confluences namely - Devaprayag, Karnaprayag, Rudraprayag and Nandaprayag was most amazing. At Joshimath we were lucky enough to be accommodated in one of the finest guest houses run by Birla that night and we left for Auli next morning where the trek originated. The windy trail from Auili to Gairson Bugiyali made the trek even more exciting. Our tents were already pitched on the lush green meadows of Garson Bugiyal, our first campsite. Tired after the long ascend from Auli, we soon curled up inside our sleeping bags inside the comfortable tents and fell asleep.
The next day was much brighter and we saw some of the surrounding peaks showing up, though not very prominently. With fresh energy and excitement we soon set out for our second campsite Khullara. The trail from Garson to Khullara is a part of the popular trail known as Lord Curzon trail. This particular terrain led us through beautiful landscapes of valleys, far stretching meadows, forests of oaks and ferns, their leaves glistening in the sun, the cacophony of birds chirping and many more of natures amazing events. Soon the surrounding peaks started showing up and made our journey memorable. As we gained height the towering peaks of Mt Abagamin, Dronagiri, Kamet, Nilkanth, covered in snow made their presence felt and left us speechless.
The following morning we scaled the pangarchulla peak. We celebrated our success, on the top of the cliff, took a lot of footages, and started counting the numerous peaks surrounding us trying to get their names accurately from the guides.
Back in Kolkata even when I think of the expedition to pangarchulla, I sometimes find it difficult to believe my good luck and pluck.

From Toronto to Accra - John May, Secretary General

In Toronto, I likened our development as an Award family to making coffee. I spoke of the need to use percolators as well as cafetières -- to allow ideas room for discussion and consideration as well as driving down hard on the plunger of change. I believe that Forum 2015 gave us the opportunity to percolate a set of ideas and to begin to reach a common vision of our future.

Over the coming months we will be following up on this work: sharing with you further results from the discussions that were facilitated by Group Partners, and suggesting how those discussions might continue and transfer into action. We have further work to do on developing the memorandum of understanding and we look forward to working with members of the International Council on this task in the first instance. And we hope that, in planning for regional conferences and other meetings over the coming three years, we can capitalise on the amazing spirit of co-operation and collaboration that we created in the Fairmont Royal York Hotel.

None of this could have happened without the hard work of everyone: our amazing Canadian hosts, Foundation staff, volunteer facilitators, members of review groups, delegates and guests. Thank you for making Forum 2015 the success that it undoubtedly was.

Before Forum 2015 I wrote to you about the 'road to Toronto'. We have now begun our adventurous journey along the 'road to Accra'. It'll be quite a journey and I have no doubt there will be twists, turns and the occasional exploration in what turns out to be the wrong direction. As Robin Sieger said in his speech, "let's concentrate on the 'where' and not worry too much about the 'how.'" If the Award really is the wonderful thing that so many of us believe it to be, then it is nothing short of our duty to bring it within the reach of as many young people as we possibly can; and to do that with rigour, with skill and with urgency.

Forum 2015 - Asia Pacific Regional Board Meeting

Forum 2015 - Inaugural Session at Canadian Hockey Hall of Fame

The Indian Delegation led by Himmat Kalsia (Chairman), included Dr Sanat Kaul (Managing Trustee) and Kapil Bhalla (National Director)

A Memory of a Lifetime

Anushka Ghosh, Bronze level aspirant from Delhi Public School, Gurgaon took part in her first Adventurous Journey during her Bronze Level Award.  Here she is sharing her experience with us.The excitement began a week before the fourth of November as the bags began coming out of the closets. The trip kick-started as all the Award aspirants who were thrilled to see the teachers accompanying them left for Rishikesh on fourth night. After an overnight bus-ride, enthusiastic singing and dancing, the participants finally reached the destination, Beas Ghat in Rishikesh. We were elated to see the campsite on the banks of the river Ganges. The tents were beautiful and the view of the river and the serene mountains was splendid. During the days spent there, activities such as flying fox, trekking, beach volleyball, river rafting and body-surfing were introduced to the participants. Rafting emerged as the most thrilling activity for the participants, especially as it was a new activity to the majority. Apart from the rapids, we were allowed to swim freely in the chilling Ganges waters, which took the spirit of adventure to a whole new level. All the difficulties and fears faced by us were taken care of by the instructors and our teachers too ensured that we were well taken care of. The trek arranged for us gave us a new perspective and a deep bonding with nature. The view of the turquoise waters blending into the orange of the skies due to the setting sun left us in complete awe.  The changing colours of nature, the tinge of purple in the rocks and the rustle of the leaves narrated a different tale to each one. Singing, dancing and enjoying meals around the bonfire, and watching the beautiful starry skies was absolutely euphoric. Apart from this beautiful experience and the joy and knowledge of the unknown, Rishikesh gave us a memory that will always be an intrinsic part of our lives.  Click for the pictures

Adventurous Journey for Bronze and Silver Level

The IAYP Silver & Bronze levels Adventurous Journey was held for Symbiosis International School, Pune from 25th to 30th October, 2015. Forty-five Silver level and two Bronze level participants were taken to Manali. They took a flight from Pune to Delhi followed by a 14-hour bus journey to Manali. They stayed at Prini base camp located 3kms from Manali.

The participants reached Manali on 26th morning. The 3rd practice trek took place on the first day from the base camp to Jamdigni Rishi temple. The overall trek was 6kms long and all the participants were able to complete the trek successfully. It was a fitness and endurance test and the participants showed the same perseverance like the 2 earlier practice treks. The same evening, they participated in a number of team activities like stretcher - making things out of limited resources available in the wild - and pitching tents. They learnt valuable and crucial life skills. It also promoted team spirit, co-operation and using presence of mind and analytical skills among the students.

On the morning of 27th October, the participants were divided into two groups. Half of them went for a cycling journey and the other half went for rafting. The cycling team travelled to Naggar castle located 18 kms from the campsite. The total journey was 36 kms to and fro. The cycling trip pushed the participants to their limits. It was a test of extreme perseverance and grit. Most of the participants had never covered such a massive distance on a cycle, which made it difficult for them to keep up but they worked to the best of their abilities and completed the journey. The road journey had many uphill and downhills at various points and the castle was located on a hilltop. The trip was extremely strenuous and challenging, however, the participants did not give up. This journey boosted the confidence of the participants and showed them the importance of stamina and will.

While half the group participated in the cycling trip, the others went white water rafting on the river Beas. The starting point of this was Pirdi. The journey was 14kms long and ended at Sharavai. The challenging part of this journey was the extreme temperatures of the water, which was very difficult to bear. The participants coped well with this physical as well as mental challenge. Rafting also promoted team work and co-ordination. Overall, it was an extremely enjoyable experience.

The same activities continued on 28th October. The group that did cycling switched to rafting and vice- versa.

A cultural programme was organised for the participants in the evening where a local dance troupe performed 'Kulvi Pahadi Naati'- their folk dance. This helped the participants understand their culture.

29th October was the last day in Manali. The participants embarked on a trek in the morning to Arjuna gufa (cave).  It was a to and fro journey of 10kms. They travelled to a cave where Arjuna, an important mythological character in the Mahabharata, had meditated in peace. This was an insightful experience and the participants got to admire and appreciate the elaborate history and beliefs of the religion and country. The trek was quite tiring physically but the participants were motivated as it was the last day. They completed it in time. The participants covered a humongous 60 Kms trek in 3 days.

Finally the participants leisurely spent the evening at the local market before leaving for Pune. The Adventurous Journey was extremely memorable for all the participants. They learnt important life lessons that will stay with them for the rest of their lives. This exhausting yet enjoyable journey left an indelible impression on each one of them.  Click for pictures

Adventurous Journey to Scottish Highlands: A report by Aayush Srivastava

As the last leg of my Gold Award (International Award for Young People), I went to an adventurous journey in a place called Great Glen in the Scottish highlands. The Great Glen is one of the most spectacular geographical features of the British Isles. The ten-day trekking trip started on February 2nd 2015, the day I boarded a train from London King's Cross to Edinburgh in Scotland. After this six-hour journey, I boarded another train to Glasgow, and finally from Glasgow Queen Street it took another four hours to reach Fort William, where I met other colleagues, guides and settled down in the chalets there. Fort William acted as the nodal point of the trip from where we would trek radially to different places the following days. Scotland, like the entire United Kingdom, is known for unpredictable weather and being a person from India, the extreme cold is something I always dread. Anyway, we were lucky with the weather. The first three days were very gloomy, but the rest of the trip was good sunshine and blue skies. The main highlight of this entire trip was not just adventures but also getting an insight into the ice advance in the region, considering this part of Scotland has witnessed serious climatic changes in the recent past. 

The first day involved an expedition to Ballachulish and Corran. We all found it challenging as it was raining a lot and that added to the bone-chilling weather. Well, that made the entire group ready for the following days as it was just the start! For me, the sky-lift to the highest peak of Scotland was the attraction of the day. To my surprise, the sky lift was open (with very little safety provided!). For an acrophobic person like me, it was a really tough experience, however the stunning scenic beauty at the top made up for it. The next two days, we travelled to Arisaig and Achnacree respectively, where we scaled several hillocks and did coring at several sites. Coring is actually a tiring job, especially when the weather is not supportive and the land is all marshy, nevertheless, it's very important to understand the soil beneath and inferr other information from it. 

The fourth day, the sun was kind and we trekked to Loch Lomond, the largest lake in Great Britain. It is also a very popular boating site and we all did various water sports. I myself went canoeing and really enjoyed it. The following day we went to a national park on the other side of Loch Lomond, a site considered very sensitive to environment changes and home to various indigenous flora and fauna. I was lucky enough to spot a golden eagle and a herd of red deer. The park is so big and dense that we really had to walk a lot to get a glimpse of a few animals. The sixth day we went to see the great "parallel roads" of Scotland which are actually shorelines of a past ice-dammed lake, which are at considerable heights. The "roads", slashing through the hills have left scientists baffled for really long. Below these "roads", we saw the River Roy which splashes down its rocky course, surrounded by a narrow strip of woodland. 

The seventh day marked our journey to Drumlochter which bears the marks  of massive glaciation with  its legacy of moraines, eskers, raised beaches and ice dammed lakes. This place has some really rugged terrain which makes it a paradise for people looking for 'adventurous treks'. We did, however, scale much height owing to security concerns but it indeed looked stunningly tempting. The eighth day was the relaxing day for us and most of us chose to stay in our chalets and enjoy local Scottish cuisine. The ninth day saw us again exploring a new lake, this time Loch Etteridge. It's a relatively longer lake than Loch Lomond and we were to boat till its centre and collect some cores from the surface underneath. Boating all by yourself in a big loch was a certainly memorable experience. The local birds and bright Sun added to the memories and the coring, generally a tough task, finished in no time. 

Like every good trip has an end, we too had to head back to London on the tenth day. Early in the morning, we left our chalets and boarded the train to Glasgow from Fort William. As it is verily said, the very basic core of a man's living spirit is his passion for adventure, I thoroughly enjoyed this trip which not only introduced to me a new dimension of adventure but also brought me closer to nature.  Click for pictures

How the Award Programme transformed differently-abled participants

Rupanjan Goswami, Award Leader, Ramakrishna Mission Blind Boy's Academy, Narendrapur, Kolkata reports on the Award Programme at the Academy.

Ramakrishna Mission Blind Boys' Academy, Narendrapur, Kolkata -- a pioneer institution for visually differently-abled boys in India -- has been participating in the International Award for Young People (IAYP-INDIA) since 2002. This institute provides various forms of support to the boys to assist in mainstreaming them into society.

The R.K.M.B.B.A offers multifarious activities inside one campus, such as a residential setting, vocational training centre, braille press, agricultural training centre, talking book production centre etc.  The ambience and infrastructure of the academy gives enormous support to the students for their all-round development, so that they become contributing members in our society. We aim to nurture them as leaders in our society and don't regard them as differently-abled; we encourage our boys to tap their potential.  With the introduction of the Award Programme, these participants proved that they do not need to be treated as differently-abled. The National Award Authority is treating our participants at par with other participants and this has boosted their morale and self-esteem. Our boys follow the same programme and perform the same tasks allotted to other students, successfully scaling all the parameters required by the Award.

We all know that the Award is challenging and not easily attained, but our participants accepted the challenge bravely, completing all the sections within the time frame.  Here is an account of the different activities in which the participants are involved. 

SERVICE

The participants undertake Service to develop a lifelong commitment to society as civic or social volunteers.  They take up different subjects as part of their Service Section such as Environmental Management, Cleaning drive, Braille teaching, Food Serving etc. in the school's hostels. All their activities are strictly monitored by the Award Leaders.  We have noticed the benefits of Service among the participants. The Service section of the Award enhances their patience, tolerance and feelings of fellowship. It helps them deal with fear, ignorance and apathy, which are the main barriers to achieve a sense of responsibility towards the society. We have also noticed an improvement in their communication skills and sense of responsibility.  The Award has helped them break the barriers and fears that inhibited them from being involved in social duties and responsibilities.

SKILLS

For their Skills section our participants choose one of these subjects: Chess, Clay Modelling, Classic Indian Music (Vocal & Instrumental), Computer (Jaws supported), and Hand encrypted Braille magazine production.  Under the supervision of concerned teachers and instructors the participants successfully complete this Skills section.  We have noticed their amazing transformation and the development of their talents.  Their self-confidence has been boosted as they become aware of their potentials.  After successful completion of the Award many participants have successfully established themselves as professional entertainers and performing artists. Skills section opens their scope to choose their livelihood too.

PHYSICAL RECREATION

Our Award participants take one of these: Yoga, Swimming, Cricket, Football, Athletics (Track & Field) etc. as their Physical Recreation. Our Academy has a standard swimming pool and well maintained playgrounds. Under strict guidance of qualified swimming instructors and physical instructors and coaches our participants develop their physical ability and fitness and adopt a healthy lifestyle and habits.  Their sense of achievement emerges and they learn how to work as a team when they approach team sports like cricket and football.  

We are proud to inform that some of our Award participants among the best swimmers in our country.  These participants lift more or less all the medals and trophies in the State and National level swimming competitions for the visually challenged youth. Not only that our participants lift most of the prizes in the Pare-Olympic games, where they take part regularly. One of our participants took part in the International Para-Olympics in Germany.  In cricket our Award participants also lift trophies in National and State level tournaments consistently. We believe everything is going in the right direction due to the structured approach of the Award programme.

ADVENTUROUS JOURNEY

This is the most awaited section for our participants. They regularly take part in Adventurous Journeys to different, challenging, unfamiliar locations.  Sometimes it is altitude trekking in the great Himalayas, sometimes it's Coastal Trekking along the seashore of the Bay of Bengal and sometimes it is in the invincible mangrove forests of the Sundarbana. At other times they attend nature camps and rock climbing courses along with training on survival in different critical and hostile climatic conditions.

Since 2002, Adventurous Journey are being organised and evaluated by the the Institute of Climbers and Nature Lovers (ICNL). Qualified, experienced and die-hard ICNL instructors supervise the Adventurous Journey segment strictly. There are no modifications or adaptations to make the Adventurous Journey of our participants smooth or easy. These visually challenged participants face the same challenges, same conditions and same tasks given to their sighted counterparts.  The participants enjoy the practical phase of strenuous rock climbing and survival courses.

This segment of the Award programme enhances their leadership skills, improves their planning and organizational ability, and helps to understand group mentality and dynamics and role of others along with their own roles. Adventurous Journey section develops their self-reliance, independence along with enhancement of their mobility and sense of orientation in the lap of mother earth.  Adventurous Journey improves their skills for working as part of a team and skills for overcoming challenges

RESIDENTIAL PROJECT

To enhance experiences through involvement with others in an unfamiliar residential setting, our Gold Level participants take up different subjects for their Residential Project. Some participants choose activity based projects like outdoor sports, skills development by joining cricket and football coaching camps, some of them select environment and conservation projects in unfamiliar locations and work in restoration program of rural religious temples and mosques, village roads and dikes.  Some participants take personal training course like Spoken English course, Computer course, etc.

Our participants take all these challenges wholeheartedly and complete their Residential Project as perfectly as they can.  We get remarkable response from the society, Village people who tell us that they are being inspired when they watch our participants help and solve the village's problems with their own hands and can't resist joining in with our participants.  We feel great when we see our participants successfully strike on the apathy of the village people for their own problem. This is what we can call leadership. We also notice that our participants are getting accustomed to unfamiliar places and unknown people with enriched sense of responsibility and communication skills.  They are able to build new relationship with different people regardless of their age, race and religion.  We believe this segment broadens our participants' outlook and horizons, which is the sparkling philosophy of the Award.

ARRIVAL OF NEW LEADERS

Our visually challenged participants have emerged as leaders in society after successful completion of the Award and their education in our institution.  A few decades ago visually challenged people were subject to be ignored and were often considered permanent liabilities of society. But assimilation of the philosophy of the IAYP with the ideology of world famous spiritual organization Ramakrishna Mission Ashrama has changed the scenario.  Our participants emerge as the leaders in society.  In their life they become teachers, lecturers, professors in the schools, colleges and universities. Some of them join in different Govt. sectors and private sectors companies even as IT professionals.  Some of them choose different types of business, like one Award participant has established his own FM radio station along with an ultra-tech sound recording studio.  Some of them are working as radio jockeys.  Some participants have founded a professional rock music band named X-RAF, which has attracted national fame within a short span. Click for pictures

Photography has developed my sense of colour balancing

Mridul Upadhyay, Gold Award participant from the Open Award Centre is sharing his experience as he learns photography for his Skills section

I was introduced to the Award programme during my visit to Sri Lanka to cover the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting. I applied as Open Award Participants for Gold Level and set my goals, which I have completed now. 

Photography was my goal for the Skill section. I was interested in photography because of my artist friends, who helped me develop a sense of colour balancing and framing. Previously, I was able to take average frames from a point-and-shoot camera but DSLR camera opened more opportunities with 'Manual' mode.

When I first started photography, I was very puzzled about aperture (A), shutter speed (S) and ISO. I call this the "Illuminati triangle of confusion" because they're all linked to each other and I couldn't differentiate the effects between them by reading.

But one thing made it easy for me. Eyes! Our eyes pretty much work the same way as a camera. The light passes through our pupil, via the hole of the iris, and focuses it on the retina.

SHUTTER SPEED

The pupillary light reflex is the reflex that controls the diameter of the pupil, in response to the intensity of light that falls on the retina of the eye. In other words, when you stare at something bright, our iris shrinks and the pupil becomes smaller, so less light penetrates through. 

"So shutter speed is the time for which you want to keep your stutter open to allow the light to pass through to the camera sensor." The higher the shutter speed, the more light is allowed through. When you are taking a picture in a place that's terribly bright (like directly under the Sun), then your picture would be overexposed (way too bright). So don't forget to reduce your shutter speed.

APERTURE

Stare at the room around you for a while. Slowly focus on an object in front of you. Keep doing it. Now, do you realize how everything around the object is blurred (the object becomes more prominent). But when you want to see a group/crowd/landscape, the same eye allows you to see everything clearly. That's exactly how aperture works.

Basically, aperture controls the depth of field in focus. When the aperture is greater, the depth of field of an image is shorter. In other words, the object in front of you is clear and the background is blurred out.

Aperture also controls the amount of light that reaches the image plane because aperture acts as the entrance of our eyes. Like our eyes, the pupil is the hole that allows light through in our eyes. 

"So aperture is the shutter size which you want to keep open for a particular time (shutter speed)." 

Aperture is calculated in stops (the size of the hole that allows light in). Same as the pupil of our eyes, the bigger the hole, greater the aperture, and more the light that passes. But here's the confusing part: aperture is measured with f/numbers on the camera. The smaller the f/number on your camera, greater the aperture: the more light that reaches the image plane, making the image brighter and more blurred background (less depth of field).

ISO

It is the measure of how sensitive your camera is to light. Basically, the image sensor, the one that controls the ISO, is the component that changes the camera's sensitivity and transforms the light into an image.

The higher the ISO, the more sensitive it is to light. Therefore, the camera sensor can capture images in a low-light surrounding without a flash when using a higher ISO number. But you need to give something if you want something. Higher sensitivity adds "noise" (grain) to your picture. The fine dots that make the picture look pretty bad.

So, my advice is to always stick to the lowest ISO number of your sensor. Basically, it produces an image with the highest quality and minimal noise! It also retains the most details of an image.

Also there are a set of rules for composition like rule of third, golden triangles and spirals, leading lines and leaving space etc. But photography is also more than rules.

So in a nutshell, shutter speed controls the amount of light; aperture controls the depth of field, and amount of light; ISO allows you to take pictures in dark areas without a flash, but it creates noise. Photography is all about balance of these three.

Don't worry if you still haven't gotten the hang of these three. Play around with your camera and you'll soon see how easy it is. It worked for me!  Click for few more pictures

Personality Development through Social Service

Sanganabasava International Residential School and Kavalagi village Panchayat have decided to collaborate for the overall development of the village by initiating a number of focused projects. The programme was formally inaugurated on 23rd November 2014 at the Kavalagi school grounds, in the presence of all the Award participants and mentors. The school has planned to build two blocks of 40 toilets (20 for Kavalagi and 20 for Honnutagi) each at two locations of the village as part of the Swachh Bharat Programme.

The ethical values that the school has nurtured in students was motivated by the "Clean India Programme" initiative of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The Award participants in groups of four took an oath on 25th Sept 2014 to undertake the programme.

The development programme is planned to be comprehensive. It includes a basic literacy programme, a health development programmme and maintaining a plastic-free zone in Honnutagi & Kavalagi. The people from the panchayat attended the inauguration. A powerful video programme was arranged to educate the people about the perils of alcoholism and smoking. Thanking the school authorities and students for the development initiative, the principal in her concluding message said, "A happy, prosperous and peaceful life for every Indian is a dream that we should cherish and realize".

Besides this effort, a literacy campaign was also promoted in these two villages. Each participant adopted 10 people to be taught. This ongoing programme will contribute to the growth of the country and the development of the nation's citizens. Click for picture

A lesson to remember....forever...(Karaumbiah Academy of Learning, Gonikappal, Karnataka)

The KALians of Grade X were buzzing with excitement on a bright Friday morning, eager to get away from the monotonous ritual of classroom study. They were all set to learn a bit of the ways of Nature through the IAYP camp as part of their Silver Award.

The sky was blue, the air fresh and the surroundings a lush green, as the young KALians reached their destination to start their two-day trek up the Brahmagiri Hill, one of the highest hills of Kodagu. Guided by Mr. Ramesh Belegare and Mr. Krishna Murthy, two experienced nature conservationists, the team set out into the untouched wilderness, among leeches and wild elephants.

The eight-kilometer trek winded up stony paths crisscrossed with small streams which were refreshingly cold. Misty clouds blanketed the hills, keeping it fresh. The forest guides also kept us informed about the various life forms and trees of this magnificent belt of wildlife. The journey provided valuable information to the observant crowd about the various species of butterflies that are the jewels of the ecosystem. After almost six hours of climbing, we reached the "Narimale Resthouse" which would serve as our base camp. The place, constructed in the remote area shows the confidence of the workers and their hard work, yet the partial destruction caused by the pachyderms is a grim reminder of how they still dominate the area. The participants gathered firewoods themselves and drew water from a nearby stream and divided the work- girls do the cooking, the boys collect firewood and draw water. After a tiring day, the young participants sat by a campfire and were given a presentation on the importance of nature. After a sumptuous meal, the leech bites and thorn pricks did not hamper the enthusiasm of the participants.

The next day, the participants were divided into teams and were assigned various duties mainly to observe and report what they saw. Armed with pens, notebooks and cameras, the trekkers soon set forward to conquer the hill. On the way, various elephant signs were reported and deciphered with some help from Mr. Belegare. It just showed the importance of elephant conservation. The participants understood it and were aware that Elephants=forest=water=life=Us.

The participants also spotted deers, dholes and some birds which are also a vital part of the ecosystem. The behaviour of a female elephant when with her calf and the minute signs and actions done by her to protect her calf was truly admired by all.

Finally the team were climbing on all fours, in their final phase of conquering the hill and the view was indeed worth the trouble. Up on the peak, the participants were delighted to be "on top of the world" which provided a panoramic view of Kodagu-Kerala border, dotted with numerous peaks and lush green forests dotted with tiny villages in the far distance. We were beginning to realize that though people can climb a hill, they can't conquer it; we can only be infused with humility in the face of Nature.

The participants returned and after what seemed like tons of food, they gathered in the opening of the resthouse and discussed what the had learnt. Humility, respect, love and concern were some of the lessons learnt. How true!

The day ended and the participants slept for the last time under the stars, amidst nature, not affected by human expansion on a warm night.

The third day, the participants cleared the place up, tidied it and bid adieu to the resthouse and set off on their journey back to civilisation. Wisdom and a firm resolution to protect Mother Earth sparkled in the morning light in the eyes of the participants...  Click for pictures

IAYP Activities report from Saffron City School, Distt. Fatehgarh Sahib

Social service and skill based activities facilitate in the development of various domains of mind and personality such as intellectual, social, moral and aesthetic development. These activities are the components of non-academic curriculum that help to develop various facets of the personality. For all round development, there is a need of emotional, physical, spiritual and moral development that is complemented & supplemented by social science and skill based activities. So being a part of IAYP we have done lot of activities under Service & Skill that help young people unlock their potential and build a brighter future. Here comes the list of activities:-

Service:-Leprosy centre: Award participants took the initiative to visit a leprosy centre in Sirhind as a part of their social responsibilities. Students went around the centre and met all the patients. They interacted with the leprosy patients, listened to their grievances and shared their pain. The students made an effort to make them smile and forget that they had been ostracized. They distributed food items and clothes to the patients and discovered feelings of compassion in themselves.

Visit to a slum area: The participants visited slum areas a number of times. They went around the whole area and took the initiative to start 'Safai Abhyan' by cleaning roads and streets and motivated people all around to keep their area clean and green. They also visited the slum school and distributed stationary items and books to the children. They taught them the values of good hygiene and good practices such as keeping their habitat clean and green. They planted saplings there and taught students that it is through our own actions that we make these saplings grow: taking care of them would make them healthy, while neglecting them would stunt their growth, just like a small child.

Learning Skills: Participants took part in various group activities. One of the activities was learning pottery. The students made pots of different shapes and decorated and painted them. Another activity was learning the art of making envelopes of different shapes and decorating them. They shared various ideas among themselves. In another activity they learnt how to wrap gifts and make them look attractive. The items made by the students were displayed at the school exhibition, and the money collected was used for charity. Click here for pictures