A Journey to Saputara

Yashasvini, Silver Award participant from The Cathedral & John Connon School, Mumbai is sharing her Adventurous Journey experience here
On Wednesday 22nd, after a seven and a half hour bus ride, 44 Award participants and four teachers reached Saputara -- and so began our adventures. The next morning we did some exercises and then went on a three hour trek through the dense jungle of Saputara to reach the watchtower on a hill at the Maharashtra-Gujarat border, from where the view was beautiful. We returned to the camp tired but happy and had a hearty lunch. The weather was perfect, a balance of cold, the right amount of sun and a slight drizzle. In the evening we performed the following activities in our respective groups -- ladder climbing, jummaring, crossing the Commando Bridge, and net climbing where we all definitely developed our biceps. Late evening was spent in learning about Warli art, and we were each given a chance to display our skills, which we carried home with us as a memento.
The following day we went on a longer trek down a stony river path and across fields where once again the weather seemed to be on our side. We trekked downhill from 08.00 hrs in the morning to 13.00 hrs in the afternoon and reached Jakhana via Malegaon. The trek through the forest, streams and meadows was amazingly beautiful. We rested on the bank of a river and had our lunch. As everyone was muddy and dead tired we returned to the camp by bus. The evening was spent in team building activity, followed by a session on mountaineering equipment and backpacking techniques given by the students getting their Gold Award.
On the second-last day we travelled to Sabri village in Daang where each one of us planted a Khair tree sapling. We had an interactive session with a tribal household. We were included in one of the tribes for 24 hours after getting a vermilion tikka and a white cap. We ate lunch in the house of one of the tribes, post which we did planting of rice on a big plot. Shin deep in the mud we were all busy planting rice and two hours just flew by. This was a unique experience one may not encounter again. Even the tribals appreciated the effort of our students. Post dinner, we went on a trek where we saw many fireflies, beautifully lighting up the night.
The next day, fatigued but unwilling to leave, we returned to Mumbai by bus, bringing an end to one of the most memorable IAYP camps. 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

IAYP Adventurous Journey Camp for Differently Abled Participants on International Day of Disabled Persons - 3rd December 2014

On the occasion of International Day of Disabled Persons, the National Award Authority is organising an Adventurous Journey Camp for the differently abled Bronze, Silver and Gold aspirants of Raphael, Dehra Dun.  A team of six instructors from ICNL, Kolkata will be imparting training to the participants under the supervision of Bivujit Mukhoty, Programme Manager IAYP.

The group started the activities within the Raphel campus and will head to the Maldevata Village for three days where they will perform different activities at the Inside Passage Campsite.

In all 40 participants (9 Gold, 20 Silver and 11 Bronze) along with 3 escorts have joined the camp. Watch out for a detailed report in this spot.

Mountain Call

Award participants of Govt Senior Secondary School, Kot Fatta in district Bhatinda went for a trekking camp held at Tara Devi in Shimla under the expert guidance of Mrs. Harpinder Kaur Brar, our Award Leader. This was our first camp outside Punjab, and we were very excited.

Our tour started on 19th May 2014 with a train journey from Bhatinda to Kalka, and then on to Shimla on the famous "toy train" -- our first experience on such a train.

The scenic beauty visible from the train was something we had never witnessed before. There were mountains all around us and it felt as if the train was moving like a serpent in a wild forest of tall, green trees with monkeys swinging from branch to branch. After six hours of travelling we reached Tara Devi station. Then we went to our scout centre where we were offered lunch. After having tea and snacks in the evening we were feeling quite fresh and ready to begin our adventure. Our camp in-charge told us about the rules and regulations of the camp and gave all guidelines and schedule of the camp.

Early morning of 21st May we started our day with exercise at 8 am after which we took our breakfast. There was halwa puri for breakfast and it was quite yummy. This was followed by playing outside games like cricket and football.

Next day after breakfast we all were ready for our  hiking and trekking programme. Everybody was charged up to climb the mountains. While climbing, students used sticks for self protection and to clearing their route. The track was quite steep and tough. There was thick jungle all around and it seemed as if we were passing through clouds. While trekking we also saw a helipad. Our instructor told us that water would be our best friend during the trek. We thoroughly enjoyed our trek and also the welcoming nature -- it was a lifetime experience. In the afternoon we reached the Tara Devi temple. After doing our prayers we took our meals and started our return journey back to our scout centre.

On the third day, we had lots of fun participating in various activities like hide and seek, group activities, learning safety knots, tent pitching and a flag ceremony. All the activities were new to us. At night our teacher organised a camp fire and everybody participated in singing and dancing around the fire. It was as if we were in a different world. Next day we went back to Shimla, where we visited Lakkar bazaar. That is where we purchased gifts for our friends and family. We went horse riding on the Ridge and visited the Tibetan market and Sankat Mochan temple. While returning to our camp, everybody was very tired, we had our dinner and soon went off to sleep.

It was on 25th May that we started our journey back to Bhatinda.This adventurous trip was the most unique journey we had ever been on, we learnt about parts of our life that we never knew existed. We reached our school with lots of new experiences and good memories from the trip. The trip was full of thrill and excitement. We will always cherish our trip.