July 10 - 23, 2005
Edison, NJ
Summer vacation
is a time for children to relax, play, and enjoy themselves.
Learning and working are meant to be done during the school
year. But this July, balaks from all over North America came
to Edison, New Jersey between July 10 and July 23, 2005 to
take part in Bal Summer Training Camp 2005. With the theme
of "Ădarsh: Now and Forever", this camp was designed to help
the balaks progress in satsang, develop their talent and abilities,
and strengthen their moral character.
With the aim of
molding future karyakars and the leaders of tomorrow, the
camp had a rigorous schedule filled with classes, workshops,
and activities.
Each day of the
Summer Training Camp had a different theme that highlighted
important aspects of satsang, such as asmita, dharma, atmiyata,
seva, satpurush, etc. On each day, classroom sessions were
related to these themes. For example, on Sanskruti Din, the
classes were "Proud to Be a Hindu" and "Mera Bharat Mahan."
Furthermore, there was a Gujarati class every day that all
balaks had to go to, depending on their level.
Also, each balak
attended three separate talent development workshops, choosing
from public speaking, nirupan, decoration, graphic design,
singing, and writing. In addition to this, every balak that
attended the camp received training in playing classical Indian
instruments - either tabla or harmonium.
For five days, the
balaks were taken to the Appalachian Campsites in Pennsylvania,
tucked away in the mountainside. In addition to their regular
training, balaks got the true camping experience by living
in wood cabins, eating outdoors on picnic tables, and taking
part in camp activities. These camp activities provided a
fun way for the balaks to learn leadership skills and to develop
the ability to work well with others in a team.
The balaks also
took part in a variety of games and activities throughout
the camp to help them get better acquainted with one another.
These included a volleyball tournament, kirtan antakshari,
etc. Though the balaks had a full schedule, with as many as
nine hours of class time in a day, the fourteen days flew
by in quickly, leaving memories to last a lifetime.
Due to the grace
and inspiration of Param Pujya Pramukh Swami Maharaj, this
training camp turned out to be a huge success.
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