Staff Reporter
Personality development and learning skills were among the benefits that more than 100 children derived attending the annual Summer Camp of the Bhartiya Samaj Charitable Trust in Auckland last month.
The five-day Camp, held at Mt Roskill War Memorial Hall during daylight hours from January 12 to 16, also witnessed the members and volunteers of the Trust helping children in all their activities ranging from physical fitness to eating well.
Hierarchical Needs
Core Purpose
Jeet Suchdev, Founder and Chairman of Bhartiya Samaj Charitable Trust said that the core purpose of the Camp was to help children help themselves.
“Our annual Summer Camp is philosophically grounded with the Trust’s ‘Hierarchy of Needs.’ Simply put, we firmly believe that everyone has physiological needs that must be met to further other abilities. For example, a child will not be able to enjoy mental and physical activities at the Summer Camp without proper nutrition. We therefore provide ‘culturally appropriate ‘traditional food straight from the kitchen to the dining table.
“Similarly, children will not be able to build confidence and friendship if they do not feel safe and secure. We recognise the importance of these factors in organising our Summer Camps,” he said.
Good Sports
Mr Suchdev said that the Summer Camp is based on seven ‘core principles,’ the most important of which is ‘Fun,’ with every child enjoying the activities in a clean and safe environment.
“Respect, Honesty, Physical Activities, Learning, Accountability and Integrity form the main pillars of the Camp. We teach children the value of honesty by acknowledging that everyone is prone to make mistakes but it is important to admit and learn from them,” he said.
He said professional sportspersons and teams handled physical activities. They included four coaches from ‘Kelly Sports’ (an organisation that provides opportunities for children and encourages them to be involved in sports), and ‘Bolliworks’ exercise sessions by Health & Fitness Instructor Ella Kumar.
Personality Development
The Children attended workshops dedicated to personality development, public speaking, leadership, fine arts and other subjects.
“All participants including teachers and volunteers were responsible for their words and deeds, making the Camp a positive event. By being respectful, honest and accountable, we contributed to fostering a culturally appropriate community event with integrity. The annual Summer Camp had a congenial environment for positive interaction,” Mr Suchdev said.
Teenager Varun Kadpal was awarded a special trophy for “exceptional fair play and teamwork at the Summer Camp.
