After all …where there is a will there will be a way!
Our discussions were heated from the beginning of December.
“What if it rains again like during our Deepawali camp?”
“Who will come? Schools have opened.”
“How are we going to inform the people – we don’t want the same kids to come again and again!”
“Shop keepers say it is no use to keep our notices – nobody reads them.”
“Should we just cancel the camp?”
“No – we cannot do that.”
“Now this brochure is good!”
Christmas camp was a 4 hours workshop given over 2 days. It included learning the song Jingle Bells, the popular dance for the song Jerusalema and making a Christmas tree with a star at the top with meditation at the beginning and the end! 21 children came from five different wards of the village. They were very enthusiastic. There were also games and quizzes to break the work. Cake and local savories were served.The feedback from the children spoke volumes:
“Why don’t you run a full school? School is so boring compared to FIN camps!”
“Do I have to return the Christmas tree to you? I want to keep it at home!” [of course – all Christmas trees were to be kept home!]
“I used to throw away the plastic bottles – now I’ll make more Christmas trees at home.”
What did our team like about the camp?
“Madam, in school there is so much competition. Here what was nice was to see was children helping one another to finish their Christmas trees and give feedback.”
Doesn’t this capture the spirit of Christmas – we need one another and we can all do better by helping one another!