Posts Tagged Holy Ghost Camp
Family Reunion
Posted by Jr. in Volunteer Files... on January 8th, 2009
Funny thing happened today…
At the Holy Ghost camp a couple of weeks back, when Jithin was doing his Mad intros, he introduced me and said I taught at YMCA in passing..
I figured nobody was paying close enough attention, but apparently someone was..
At the end of the day, as I was packing up and preparing to leave, one of the girls, Kausalya, if I’m not wrong, came up, quite timidly, and asked me if I indeed did teach at YMCA.. And I said, “Yeah, why?”
She asked me if I knew Abhimanyu.. Her brother, apparently… I faintly remembered one of my Level 1 guys mentioning a little guy of the name, and telling me how impossible a prankster he was and all.. But since I don’t actually teach Level 1, I didn’t know for sure..
So I took my lap, and pulled up the YMCA Christmas celebration pics.. And there he was !! Making faces at the camera, pulling out Santa’s beard, generally running around, he was there in most of the pics.. 
She was so happy that she called all her friends and they all crowded around to take a closer look at his antics and tut-tut him and all..
Before I left, she asked me to tell Abhimanyu when I saw him, that I had run into his sister, and that if he didn’t behave, she would knock some manners into him when they met (not kidding)
She reminded me again the second day of the camp as well, and said “Cheta, marakkalle” before I left that night…
And I’d completely forgotten about it…
Today, as part of the New Year spirit and all, Arun, Prakash and Sumit, my Level 1 guys were doing some group activity or the other, and since I’d already finished off my class, I joined them..
I saw Abhimanyu there, and remembered…
So I told him I’d run into his sister a couple of weeks back..
And, man, was he happy..!! He jumped up and down around me for five minutes, clapping his hands, and telling his friends what had happened..
I dint tell him about the disciplining part though.. It just felt too good acting messenger between the brother and sister who apparently hadn’t seen each other in a long time..
Going to Holy Ghost this Saturday.. Have to tell Kausalya that her brother said Hi…
Holy Ghost Camp – Day 2
Posted by Bindia George in Camps on December 27th, 2008
Stretching and pulling; twisting and turning; bending and moving; thats how the second day of MAD camp started at the Holy Ghost today - with the continuation of the ”Art of Living” class by Mr Venkat Mani. After making “fruit salads” yesterday, today’s main theme was playing with animals.. Stretching up into the sky to imitate a giraffe.. Rotating your shoulders and jumping to imitate a peacock.. All with smiles.. By the way.. a word of wisdom.. Do you know that one cannot laugh and talk at the same time? (Info Courtsey: Mr Venkat Mani). The session was filled by the small words of advice on to how to look after ourselves.. Emphasis on the fact that “self” is the most important person in the world.. and we need to strive to improve ourselves constantly. Kids were so excited from the sessions that they promised on doing 30 minutes of these exercises everyday…
Kids expressing their joy after the class with Mr Venkat Mani
The next session which immediately followed was one on Personal Care and Grooming to help build the girls’ confidence. It started with a small game to improve communication and interactions between the team members to solve any problem. First they were asked to stand in a circle – holding each others hands.
And then Priyanka moved around holding the hand of one kid.. going around the place.. below the other kids hands.. went on & on.. until the kids were completely tangled up. And they were asked to untie the mess.. and go back to formation of circle… while still holding hands… This was repeated a second time.. and this time with eyes closed… They were some casualities here… as the kids refused to leave the hands.. and got completed crumbled up in the mesh. But then at the end of it, they realised that a smooth flow will happen only if the kids interacted with each other guiding each other through speech (as eyes were also closed.)
Entangled kids…
After the small meaningful game.. the kids sat in full attention holding on to each word Priyanka voiced.
Meanwhile the volunteers worked on solving a small technical problem with the laptop & projector – for showing a small video.
Next game – it was more of Ad-world.. Each team had to show an ad-show on the product “Shakalakha shampoo” for a smooth, long, straight, silky beautiful hair All the four team showcased their ideas in actions while enacting on the themes.. Check out one of their videos:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S2NgZhEzpYw
<am really sorry here.. but someone need to help me on how to embed the video on the blog>.
This followed by a video on Sushmita Sen winning the Miss Universe & couple of other videos on how distorted “beauty” is now on screen.. & the ill effects of hair straightening.. Did you know Sushmita Sen could speak only hindi (no english)? And it was her perseverance & efforts which has taken her to the crown. (info courtsey: Ms Priyanka Idicula)
After the breakfast-break.. (iddi-appams and chicken curry)… the next fun-team-activity was dressing up one kid (from each team) using newspaper. The imaginations ran wild here.. while the teams battled with newspapers & cellotape and scissors…
Decking up with newspapers…
And this is how we decked her up.. With all smiles and fun…
All decked up gals… before the start of ramp walk..
The next was creating “Mummys” in the teams.. Guys/gals.. dont go into your corrupt minds.. This is pure Egyptian Mummy creation using Toilet-paper. The kids went round and round with rolls of tissues wrapping up one of the girls in their team.. head to toe with the white paper… Very less use of cellotapes.. as they took care not to tear the tissues..
Next came an interactive sessions when they had to list points down.. on what qualities they think a “Miss Universe/Miss India” should posses. They came with all kinds of answers from beautiful body and mind, selfless love, pleasant personalities etc..
The session futher progressed - asking the kids to write on the Noble Prize winners for the last 5 years.. the teams who won the World Cup.. the girls who had won the previous Miss India titles.. etc. Actually, we volunteers were feeling embarassed to realise.. that the girls at Holy Ghost were able to say more names than we could even think of… But then.. this event was not for us.. 
so.. no comments.. we just encouraged the kids to think and write This was then followed by asking the kids to write names of people with whom they would like to spend time with; favourite teacher etc.. This was a piece of cake for them(and for us too)..
This small activity was done to emphasize the importance of friends/mentors in our life.. Though Noble prize is a big thing.. its the people who has touched our hearts who remain in our hearts for a loooonnnnnggggg time… And it is our personal responsibility to be a good friend always.. And get into others hearts.. by our words and actions…
Goodbye love to Ms Priyanka Idicula
Next came a “Happy Birthday to you” song to Annapoorni by our sweet-hearts… It was remix version of the song.. went something like “Happy happy happy birthday…”. That was a moment i realised that i belonged to the previous generation from these beautiful angels.. I didnt even know that a remix song existed for this one
Next 2 hours was certainly a page out from “Taare Zameen Par”… Self expressions through Art.. By Ms Tessa of Thought Factory Design… The session started with a small interactive session.. on some points to help the kids express themselves better through art. First one was on “eyes”.. on how the different “eye” expression can convey the complete mood of a face.. Second was on a cartoon face.. On how small difference in the drawing changes the complete emotions.. happy.. laughter.. anger.. sad.. etc…
Kids watching “the eye” series..
The emotions of the kids (and the volunteers) – emotions related to the MAD Camp – came to life in the next hour.. with crayons & pencils & water colors and a bright big Art Book.. It was speechless experience watching the kids bring to life their feelings.. Let the pics speak for itself:
The tree and the tyres.. and herself..
Indepth into the self-expressions
Go MAD with MAD Volunteers……. Renjini Jose from “Voice of Kerala” also graced the occasion..
The Sky Walking and Monkey Gliding Exprience in canvas
This was a proud moment for MAD volunteers.. when she wrote a small write-up in ENGLISH
The jubilant kids with their at pieces of arts…. with Ms Tessa and Ms Renjini
Santa’s little Helpers.. wrapping up the presents to be given for kids during camp-fire.. Pens.. Sketch Pens.. Watch (with MAD logo).. I tried by best to get hold of one watch.. but to no avail.. It is a beauuuttiiuffuull watch… specially imported from Bangalore.
Prior to lunch, Ms Renjini Jose enthralled the girls with rocking “dailamo dailamo”.. the girls went wild with the dance and the songs..
Post lunch (noodles and chicken & chocolate ice creams – how cud i miss that one.. simply delicious); we re-started the dance sessions with Ms Radhika.. Ice breaking session was dance on newspaper.. kept on folding into halves.. until the last pair was left.. This is how it went:
Happily.. lavishly dancing on a full newspaper..
And then the paper folding starts… until it was tooo tough to even stand
This was how the winning pair won… and they were cute little darlings.. desperate to win
And then it was back to “my Desi girl.. my desi girl.. girl.. girl.. girl.. jhoomka girade.. lo mila le agar woh nazar se nazar mitade.. nachke dikhade.. sabki dhadhkan bhi kadam se kadam milade……………..who’s the hottest girl in the world.. my desi girl.. my desi girl………….”
You must have seen the volunteer dance in yesterdays blog.. Now lemme tell you how it was supposed to be… how the kids danced to the tune..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIo-FR8NIuQ
This was followed by a complete dance session.. kids putting steps.. and they certainly did make us dance to their tune.. It was energy & enthusiasm filled hour.
After a small tea-puffs break… All of us assembled for a formal “vote of thanks” by our dear coordinator Natasha & team.. Individually naming all volunteers who made a difference to this camp…… and “thank u”.. name shoutings.. cheering etc from these wonderful girls.. It was so cute to see them cheering for all of us from their hearts.. they face fully lit with the love and appreciation for the event.. That was one of heart-touching feelings i had during the camp.. What makes MAD worth all the efforts a volunteer put in.
Volunteers… during the session
The beautiful smiles lady..
Couple of group photos……
It was overall a completely filled… hectic…hecticly fun filled weekend.. 2 days of frolic fun… fun.. enjoyment.. exercises.. running around.. learning to express ourselves better.. public speaking.. confidence building.. and a whole lotta smiles… I can certainly say with guarantee that this was certainly one of the most SMILES filled days i had for a loong time… It was just an amazing experience.. just to be a part of the whole show…
I just cant seem to thank enough the efforts put in by each and every person.. On the ramps.. behind the stage.. everyone at MAD who made this a HUGGEEEE SUCCESS.. It was a HUGE success indeed.. 3 cheers (i think it shud be more) to the Holy Ghost Team..
We wound up the “thank u’s” by 5.45pm today to give ample time to the kids to refresh themselves for the gala Christmas celebrations and Camp fire.. Complete with Santa Claus, Christmas Tree and gifts..
Now you have to watch out this blog space for more details on this..
Enthazaar ke fhal meete hote hai..
So hang around..
And keep looking……..
Holy Ghost Camp – Day 1
Posted by Bindia George in Camps on December 26th, 2008
This is the best ever camp i have been to.. And i must say it was just amazing.. Not just amazing but absolutely astounding, awesome.. just great… (am out of adjectives to descibe what i felt )
But one thing certain.. i dont think there was a second today when i didnt enjoy.. A complete mind-boggling experience.. And 3 cheers to all the volunteers who have worked on this day and night.. Absolutely great..
Though Jitin Jr, has already captured the day through the snaps, I just cudnt help myself but to share my experience with the not-so-fortunate souls who couldnt attend the camp. Check out Mad Camp At Holy Ghost & his other blogs.
It kick started at sharp 7am with the Art of Living class by Mr Venkat Mani. 5 minutes into this session, and i knew that I was never gonna repent coming on this camp trip.
He had a unique way of connecting with the kids, through his simplistic approach – converting the basic yoga exercises into a fun activity. For eg: the way he demonstrated making of fruit salad – of stretching to pluck the fruits, on twisting to put into your basket, moving your body to define the shapes of fruits, on twisting and turning and jumping while mixing the fruit salad..
It was just fun. It was also a confidence building session along with meditation.. through small pointers given during the hour, which girdled into our hearts – opportunity comes seldom, and it is our responsibility to grab them.
Art of Living Session By MrVenkat Mani
Kids enjoying the stretch
On the paths of Making “Fruit Salad” Yoga
Meanwhile, the other volunteers chartered out the plans of the day.
Soon after we had an introduction session of all the volunteers.
And then after relishing a quick breakfast of delicious appam and chicken curry.. and hot-hot tasty tea; Rohini took on the centre stage – with a small game to divide the kids into 4 teams – Elves, Pixies, Fairies & Lapricorn – to build team spirit and competition.
The first event which followed was tressure hunt. The team spirit shown by the kids was incredible, they ran helter-shelter looking for clues which were well hidden by the Volunteers.
Innovative techniques were used by the kids when they didnt have pencil or chalk to do mathematical calulations – they took a stick and calculated on the ground. It was fun watching the enthusiasm and energy carried by the kids.
Trying to decipher the clues leading to the Grand Treasure.
Mathematical expressions on the ground to crack the clue
The gr8 mobile clue giver 
with his prized possession…
And the WINNERS are ELVES…………. In Jubiliant Moods…
Victory Dance by all teams:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lNWI-AeB788
A round around the ground to shout their joy in winning the treasure hunt.
The next session was by the eminent journalist – the distinguished Leela Menon. I was so excited seeing her… She has been kind of a lady role-model for me since young… the way she reported news.. the way she went out to the roots of the news.. travelling around to get the accurate information. She is one of the first woman journalists from Kerala. She came with all smiles; her trademark big red pottu.
Then came a heart-to-heart talk with the kids.. on the hard realities of life.. emphasizing the fact that girls are not behind men. They stand shoulder to shoulder in all activities of todays world – And how the girls need to look after themselves, to stand strong and face the world with boldness.. to be confident.. It was simple flow of language between her and the kids.
The group photo with the kids
In the next session all looked on with rapt attention – a session on Public speaking – small tips to speak more confidently and convincingly by Mr Sooraj of “Career Dot Com”.
The girls in Rapt attention – noting down each point by Mr Sooraj
He emphasized of 12 points to make a successful speech – this was well demonstrated in the interactive session (i also learnt about the common mistakes i make while speaking – it really was useful for all). So…. here comes the points (what i learnt today).
1. Maintain eye contact with the audience – of around 3 secs per person.
2. Initially greet the audience – with a smile. Be pleasant.
3. Stand on both legs – steady – without continous shifting of weight between the legs.
4. Dont play too much with your hands/shawl. Do not keep it hidden in pocket/behind.
5. Through movement of hands & variations in speech tone bring emphasis to speech.
6. Bring emotions to your face. Believe/feel what you say. Speech should NOT be monotone.
6. Do not point fingers at audience. In case of need to point to something/someone – use the entire palm for the same.
7. Check your speed of speech – not too fast – not too slow.
8. Do not make the “eh” sound while speaking.. while giving a pause during the speech.
9. Other than the language for speech; use any other language only after approval from audience.
10. Use simple language. Sentence should not be too hard/long.
11. Duration of continous talk should not too long. Look at sentiments of audience.
12. Give thanks to audience at the end.
Mr Sooraj capturing the audience by his play of words
It was good session, and each girl got a chance to step on the stage with a mike and confidently speak 2-3 lines (either in english or in malayalam). It was certainly a good achievement for the shy girls who were scared to be in the limelight; let alone hold a mike. But the morning sessions, and patient efforts by MAD volunteers became fruitful, as the girls stepped on to the podium with a 3 line speech – many of them using their own words.
The tummys had started rumbling by this time.. It was close to Noon.. and hunger was on the rise. After a mouthwatering chicken friendrice & chilly chicken; it was the turn of the heavenly ice cream.. I scream.. you scream.. we all scream for “Ice Cream”
The “Ice Cream” Gal
3 cheers to the creator of ice creams.. yummy yummy……….
Time to Relax.. The “Holy Ghost” Volunteers.
Where are all the ice creams????
Ahhhh…. here it is.. The “Ice cream” smiles….
The next big event was something to completely digest the lunch. A hip-rocking, shake-a-leg dance by the kids…under the guidance from Ms Radhika… a talented dancer. This started with a balloon dance, where the kids had to dance around in pairs holding the balloons (all blown by the girls themselves) between their faces.. It was surely a galla event.. with the careful dances.. and everyone joining in the fun..
Start of the Balloon Dance
And Pappu can dance Sala…………..
Volunteers trying their bit on popular demand from the gals…<video>
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGyC7AWtVJM
Gals in jubilance with their new dance teacher.. Ms Radhika
Next was the tea-snacks break..
where all of us shared the lighter moments of life.. filled with talks and fun..
The 3 Jithin’s of MAD….
All energized with the coffee and snacks; we started on of the most exciting and adventerous event of the day (actually it was 4 events)… Let the pics talk for themselves.. and you wud know the fun we had..
Walk through the shaky bridge – Sky walking
And down we go.. whooooooooooooommmmmmmmmmmm…. – Monkey Gliding
There sure was lotta talented monkeys around…
A compete mind-blowing experience….. Gimme more………
Event 2: Up the tyres we twist and turn and goooooo – Reptile Act
Event 3: Walk through the ropes…. – Rope Walking
Actually in the above pic.. they are supposed to walk from one end to another individually.. but seeing the spirit of the girls on the ropes playing.. i just cudnt resist clicking this one.
With these.. my activities of the day came to an end.. <sob sob>..
There were more activities planned out for the day.. but I had to make a move.. Hope to see more of that in the other blogs…This is me signing off.. too excited and and eager for the Day 2 camp tomm.
For those who didnt come today.. I am really really realllyyyy sorry for your loss… <try to make it atleast on Day 2>
And for those who did.. Let’s ROCK Day2
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