Bringing a Ray of Hope

Call of the Wild

I Sing to Myself: Its a Wonderful World

In thisissue

AwardIndia

Issue: 3 Year: 18 September 2014

Rajarshi Banerjee Honorary Editor

Dear Readers,

As you will find inside, eighty Awardees achieved their Gold Award at the Annual Gold Award Ceremony. The question that immediately comes to mind, right after the much awaited moment of receiving the Award has passed, is “what now?”

Some Awardees join the Gold Level directly and work hard for months to achieve the goal. Some wait for years steadily climbing through the Bronze and the Silver levels for the golden moment. Finally, when that moment arrives, one does not want it to slip away, desperately urging the moment to linger on – by looking at the certificate a little longer than it takes to read, by rubbing the badge against one’s suit or shirt to make it shine a bit more, by standing still in the group with the same smile for as long as it takes to get the same moment captured by all the cameras there are in the vicinity. The moment is stretched because the experience needs continuity. The Award experience grows on the

Awardee so intimately, that the Gold Award cannot mark its closure – the Award journey once started goes on, with Awards and other recognition as mere milestones, never the finish line.

The Residential Project, like the four Sections, has its requirements stipulated on the Record Book and the Handbook; all Training sessions reiterate the same. But what concerns me the most, is that the RP is nothing but a preparatory bridge which leads to answers to the question: “what now?” Well, “now” is the time to contribute to society; having been challenging oneself throughout the Award journey and equipping oneself, it is “now” that one needs to give back to the Award, to society – in the process (as always) give back more to oneself with more enriching experiences. The RP is a crucial little part of one’s entire Award journey because this is what makes one think and realize which path seems most suitable to continue one’s journey.

This issue underscores not only the diverse range of sustainable projects that Awardees initiate, but also the various directions a Gold Awardee can proceed in after the Gold Award Ceremony. Some become mentors for fellow Awardees, some Award Leaders, and some Trainers. Others, although not remaining in touch with the Award directly, nonetheless remain Awardees forever, doing great in various sectors, but always dedicated to society, to the youth, furthering the spirit of the Award in their own ways. And of course there are some who, through their sincere dedicated hard work to push the Award ahead, get to be representatives at National and International Forums, not only to reach another milestone, another recognition, but also to represent the collective voice of all the Awardees – with one simple motivation: to do as little as possible, in any way possible, for the betterment of the world. There are also other Gold Awardees, like me, (like you), who do not see lines dividing the youth, but write (and read) about them acknowledging their efforts, supporting them in whichever way we can, and most importantly spreading the word to inspire more like us.

You have read about the three IGE representatives – Adrija, Ankit, Anwesha – in the last issue; in this one, have a look at some of the many other Awardees who are working in their own respective ways to identify challenges in the society and resolving them.

So, “what now?” What are you waiting for? Start turning the pages and see for yourself!

Award Programme Foundation Trust

Mr. Himmat Sher Singh Kalsia - ChairmanMr. Rakesh Bharti Mittal

Mr. Analjit SinghMr. Arunachalam Vellayan

Mr. Ishaat HussainDr. Sanat Kaul - Managing Trustee

National Award Authority (NAA), India

Mr. Kapil Bhalla - National DirectorMr. Bivujit Mukhoty - Programme Manager

Mr. Srijan Sumeet Choudhary - Communications ManagerMr. Priyank Kumar Gupta - Head IT & ORB

Mr. Chittaranjan Das - Office ManagerMs. Tanushree Paul – Programme Assistant

Mr. Arun Pakal - OAC Project Assistant

Hon. Advisors

Mr. Yogender Chaudhry - Indian Revenue ServiceMr. Rajarshi Banerjee - Youth Representative

Ms. Devanjali Dutt - Youth Representative

National Director – Kapil BhallaHonorary Editor – Rajarshi Banerjee

Award India is published by Kapil Bhalla for The International Award for Young People, India.

This publication is the newsletter for operators, leaders, volunteers and participants and meant for internal circulation only.

Cover Photo: Govt. Sr. Sec. School, Badal, PunjabPhoto on page 3: Govt. Hr. Sec. School, Kaniyambadi, Tamil Nadu

All rights reserved. No part of the newsletter is reproducible without prior permission.

For further information, please write to:The Communications Manager / Programme ManagerThe International Award for Young People, IndiaFirst Floor, 86/1 Shahpur Jat, August Kranti Marg, Near Asian Games Village New Delhi - 110001

Although every care has been taken to avoid errors, this newsletter is published on the condition and understanding that all information in this publication is for reference only. It must not be taken as an authority or bind the authors, editors or publishers, who do not owe responsibility for any damage or loss to any person as a result of this work.

Award Programme Foundation, IndiaRegistered Charitable Trust No. TR/27951Member: The Duke of Edinburgh's International Award Association

This Newsletter is sponsored by The Shell Group of Companies, India. Printed by: Indigo Graphics, New Delhi

ContentsCorbett Adventure 4

Return the Shine to the Shines 4

Netball Beyond Borders 5

NAA Team Visits Lucknow 5

The Gold Award Ceremony, 2014 6

I Sing to Myself 7

Residential Project 8

A Trek to Remember 8

Call of the Wild 9

Transformation 10

Project Intervention 10

ORB: The Journey Begins 11

Bringing a Ray of Hope 12

Award: the Best Platform 12

Making Learning Fun 13

YES Centre / Partner list 14

Corbett AdventureBrinda Gupta

Silver Award participant, Uttam School For Girls, Ghaziabad

Have you ever heard silence, the chirping of the birds, felt each drop of water, listened to the sound of air? At least not in the bustling city life, I’m sure!

Peace, nature, adventure and fun cannot be put into words; they have to be experienced. Camp Hornbill, at Jim Corbett National Park, situated in the lap of nature, gives a new definition to life, which is beyond all the mayhem of our daily lives. The four-day trip organised by our school (Uttam School For Girls) provided us with the best opportunities a student can get a member of the IAYP. This programme has taught us that service and fun can go hand in hand: an Adventurous Journey is the best example. It was an exuberant affair full of fun, adventure, and orderliness. The morning started with bird watching in the jungle.We identified at least 27 species of birds with the help of binoculars. Mountain biking was another fantastic experience, as was Rappelling and River crossing in a wild forest. Though this was a difficult task, our adept instructors showed us how to approach the challenge. The day out

brought with it a sense of independence, exemplified appropriately by the extremely satisfying task of preparing our own food in the forest. We interacted with the neighbouring people, learning about their culture and daily lives, and listened to the sweet folk songs sung by the children.

Body surfing in Ram Ganga canal was a unique experience, where we learnt to support each other and work as a team. We ensured that every activity was successfully completed by each and everyone. We also worked with an NGO, ”The Waste Warriors” in the village. They showed us how animal waste, dry leaves and waste food from the resorts could turn into organic manure. We are planning to start the same in our school premises.

In the evening there were many team-building and leadership games which kept us in high spirit. Campfires at night were enthralling sessions of laughter, discussions and jungle stories. We felt completely at home, thanks to the care and support given by the teachers and instructors. I thank IAYP from the bottom of my heart for this trip.

Return the Shineto the Shrines

Through the last 14 years, the Indian army has spent around 450 crores rupees under their ‘Sadbhavna’ project, which includes expenditure on restoration of shrines affected by global warming.

To contribute to this cause GEMS NPS International School’s Bronze Award participants decided to pick up the task of renovating, cleaning and painting a 600-year-old shrine Shri Shri Damodar Dev Satra located in the village Patbausi in Assam.

The shrine was destroyed in the 1964 earthquake and was repaired under the instructions of the Government of Assam and since then the shrine was left without any care. As part of the service activity of the IAYP programme, the students have volunteered to render their service to bring the shrine back to its glory.

4 Award India

NetballBeyond Borders

While on June 22, 2014 in Australia, the Melbourne Vixens beat the Queensland Firebirds in the ANZ championship title at Hisense Arena, Nayana Pardeshi from Naz India Goal was teaching the same sport to 70 girls in Bangladesh. Most of us are unfamiliar with the Melbourne Vixens and Queensland Firebirds; they are the netball teams from the Australian Netball league; as for Naz India Goal, it represents a programme under NGO Naz India that uses netball and life skills education to transform the lives of young underprivileged girls in India, both on and off the court.

Nayana Pardeshi along with being a Gold Award participant also holds the post of Programme Assistant and Coach for Naz India Goal. In partnership with BRAC (Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee) she travelled to Bangladesh to teach girls from a village near Sylhet and thereby providing them with a platform to transform their own lives like Nayana herself has done in the past 4-5 years. Let us read her Residential Project:

The first day of the project was spent introducing the sport to the participants and teaching them the technique of ‘chest pass’. This was done through a training drill known as ‘5 point play skill of Netball.’

Before we started the second day, a quick revision of the previous day was done by asking questions related to the basics of Netball and chest passing. Later the girls were taught the techniques of ‘two foot landing’ and ‘pivot’ and were given enough practice time to enhance their skills. Next the girls along with cones and chalk powder made their own netball court and were then positioned at their respective positions.

NAA TeamVisits Lucknow

On July 11, 2014, the International Award for Young People India organized an orientation programme for 500 students and 15 teachers for our new YES Centre, City Montessori School, Gomti Nagar. Programme Manager Bivujit Mukhoty and Communication Manager Srijan Choudhary were welcomed by Mrs. Abha Anant, Principal and Mrs. Chanda Kundra, Counselor and International Education in-charge. The programme, involved an intense interactive session with students as well as teachers.

On the same day the IAYP India team also visited St. Francis' College, Hazratganj where they met Father Denis Naresh Lobo, Principal, and discussed the inclusion of the programme in the organization.

After this they practiced the skills they had learnt till then in a real-time situation and they were also introduced to the ‘shoulder pass’.

Day three involved shooting practice; this practice was done using newly fitted bamboo poles. After an hour of shooting practice the participants were introduced to two new forms of passes, the ‘high pass’ and ‘lob pass’. These two passes are considered extremely important skills when it comes to winning netball matches. The day ended with a demonstration match played by the trainers from BRAC and I also captained one of the sides.

On day four we revised everything we had learnt in the past three days by playing ‘Kaun Banega Crorepati’ based on Netball rules.

For me, it was an experience that I will never forget.

The Only Source of Knowledge is Experience

Albert Einstein

Award India 5

RecognitionThe Gold Award Ceremony, 2014

Recognition, as believed, is the achievement - the harvest at the end of sincere and dedicated work.......

On July 7, 2014 the Award Programme in India recognized the hard work, will and strength of 80 Gold Awardees from across India. The Gold Award Ceremony 2014 was an event to experience and witness the excitement and happiness of youngsters from various schools, colleges and foundations who had successfully achieved their Gold Award level.

Former Chief Election Commissioner of India Dr. SY Quraishi had consented to be our chief guest for the event. The event started with our National Director Kapil Bhalla giving a brief report on what IAYP did in the past year and also explained what IAYP India stands for. Mr. Bhalla also took a moment to explain to our Gold Award winners, how this achievement is just the stepping stone for a brighter future and how the Award will help them in their journey.

The report by our National Director was followed by speeches from our International Gold Event Seoul participants Anwesha Ghosh and Ankit Durga, who utilized their time on the stage by sharing their experience of the Award and how it has transformed their lives for a better future. This was followed by a tabla performance by two students from GD Goenka World School, Gurgaon, and an enjoyable experience for the audience at the India International Centre.

Finally came the time which each of our 80 participants had been eagerly waiting for, the Annual Gold Award Felicitation Ceremony. Our chief guest Dr. Quraishi presented each participant with the Gold Award certificate, badge and tie/scarf. Along with the Gold Award winners, 15 Award Leaders were also recognized for their long term contribution towards IAYP.

Dr. SY Quraishi then addressed the audience, where our honourable chief guest talked about his journey through the Ministry of Youth Affairs and various other topics including, Indian Youths and their role towards growth of our country. Then a vote of thanks was delivered by the Chairman of Award Programme Foundation Trust Mr. Himmat Kalsia.

The event came to a close with a group photograph, where each participant displayed their token of achievement and shared their excitement and happiness with each other.

Well, in the end, the Award truly is a platform to recognise oneself.......

6 Award India

I Sing to MyselfIt’s a Wonderful World

We have always heard that ‘music has no language’ and Jigyasa Labroo managed to experience this magic of music. Jigyasa is a Gold Award participant from Ansal Institute of Technology, Gurgaon, and her Residential Project took her to a special school in the beautiful hills of Himachal Pradesh. Here is her story:

Harmony through Education’s mission is to maximize the resources avai lable for residents of underprivileged communities in developing countries, particularly focusing on special needs children and their families. It aims to provide educational opportunities for children with special needs in rural India. Harmony Through Education implements this mission by funding the creation of projects to establish and operate schools in rural communities run by citizens who are native to the particular country. At present, Harmony Through Education, India Trust runs a school for children who are differently-abled mentally and physically in Dharamsala, Himachal Pradesh.

The school provides a year round education for children ranging from ages 6-20 years, charging a nominal fee of $0 to $20, depending on their financial background. It runs in a seven room building with a kitchen, three class rooms, a store and a playground. The building of the school is on the main road in lower Dharamsala. The reason I chose to work for this organization was because I felt a pressing need to increase my sensitivity for differently-abled people, especially children, and also, because I am naturally good with children compared to adults.

At Harmony, as a part of my IAYP (International Award for Young People) Residential Project, I worked as a music instructor and a web developer for the trust for a week's time. The biggest challenge was to teach music to children who could not speak much, hear well

Award India 7

or even make eye contact. This however, made me realize that music was above such considerations and the main purpose of my project should not be to expect them to learn what I was teaching them, but to feel a connection to music. We did the Hindustani Sargam (Sa re ga ma pa) and some Alankars and the children performed better than I had ever imagined. Out of thirty three, five or six children completely memorized the Sargam and some Alankars and two were even able to sing in perfect harmony. The rest felt involved, enjoying themselves with the music sessions, and in a week's time, their teachers reported, that their temperaments had become calmer than ever before. I created a website and Facebook page for the trust to publicize its activities to garner more donations.

This week has probably been the most challenging yet the most gratifying one in my whole life. Not only did I gain new perspectives but also a higher level of sensitivity to people around me. The children gave back to me much more than I could possibly give them. Their ability to spread joy among people around them, even after being in the circumstances they're in, motivated me further. I learnt the virtue of patience and how effective it can be, especially while dealing with special children. They taught me to rise above challenges, every day they set a new example for me to follow. What greater challenge can there be than that of not being able to communicate? I left the school as a better person, with memories for life and lessons to live that life well.

Music helps me to forget the tiring daily routine and enter a third dimension where I can connect to my cultural

roots. I love to sing and Carnatic music acts as a stress buster for me, so much so that choosing it as my Skill for the

Award is not out of obligation, but because I get a platform to pursue what

I genuinely enjoy.

Anjali Karunakaran, Silver Award Holder

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Residential Projecta report by Shallu Sharma,

Award Leader, Jodhamal Public School

Jodhamal Public School organized a Residential Project for Gold Award participants of the Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award from 21st May 2014 to 25th May 2014 at village Ismailpur Kothey.

The residential project gave the participants a shared purposeful experience with people who are not their usual companions, working towards a common goal. It has indeed been an experience that broadened the participants’ outlook and horizons.

Seventeen Gold Award participants started the project under the guidance of Award Leaders Miss Shallu Sharma and Miss Deepmala Sharma and a local guide Mr. Tulsi. The participants stayed in the village with the local families and lived as members of the family, sharing their lives. Activities the participants were involved in are as follows: * Cleaning jobs * Played games with village kids * Worked at dispensary * Worked at brick kiln * Worked at dairy farms * Night classes for adults and narration of value based stories to the kids

During this project the participants learnt a lot about the village life, culture and tradition and came back with unforgettable memories. This project was an enriching experience for them which they will carry forward throughout their life. The Award has brought an immense change in the attitude of the students towards the marginalized people in society. The joy of caring for others is something which cannot be substituted by anything else - Awardees realised this through the Award Programme.

Landour, a small cantonment town contiguous with Mussoorie, is about 35 km from the city of Dehradun in the northern state of Uttarakhand in India. The twin towns of Mussoorie and Landour, together, are a well-known British Raj-era hill station in northern India. Mussoorie-Landour was widely known as the "Queen of the Hills". It is where a group of forty Silver level participants from Purukul Youth Development Society, Dehradun, along with five escorts, went for their Adventurous Journey and for them it was an experience they would never forget.

It’s not the mountain we conquer,but ourselves.

Sir Edmund Hillary

Their journey included a 16 km trek from Rajpur to Landour, where they set up their base camp. This was followed by a 12 km trek to Khattapani and Ladour the next day. That is where they cooked lunch on a wood fire. After returning to Landour, next night they organized a cultural evening along with local children from an orphanage nearby. The final day involved a trek back to their home city of Purkal via Jhadipani and Rajpur.

A Trek to Remembera Bronze Level Adventurous Journey for the Purukul Youth Development Society

8 Award India

Call of the WildAdventures at Namik Valley

What is said of the mountains, goes for any adventure - the call of the wild is magnificent “not in spite of the inherent perils, but precisely because of them.”

The minimum requirement for a Gold Award participant to go on an Adventurous Journey is three nights and four days; as for the Silver Award participant it is two nights & three days but forty-five Gold and eight Silver Award level participants from The Cathedral & John Connon School decided to take their Adventurous journey to an all new level. Fifty-three participants went for their Adventurous Journey for eight days seven nights, and the journey comprised five campsites and trekking journeys.

Their journey included a 2.5 km trek to and from Shyama to Gyandhuri Village, a 6 km trek to Namik Village from Gogina Village and a 9 km trek from Namik Village to Banjamani. On day 7 the students reached Sasundri Pass at 9800 ft, which was the highest point of their journey.

The participants were also involved in activities like swimming and kayaking in the Ramganga East river and mountain cycling on the banks of the river, which was their Camp Nachni, a beautiful camp on sand. There they also faced a thunderstorm, which blew away some of their tents, but all the participants boldly faced the wrath of nature.

Award India 9

All the locations selected for camping were very beautiful, mostly on mountain tops from where the participants could command a beautiful view of the snow clad Himalayan ranges. The streams had crystal clear ice cold water for drinking, cooking and bathing if one dared. The cold bracing climate, the thick pine tree studded mountains and the fresh mountain air enriched their mind, body and soul. An amazing experience for the participants was to stay in the forest without man-made lights or toilets.

Challenges are meant to be overcome - that’s the spirit the youth inculcate through the Award; but when the challenges are met together, only one thing can come out of it - FUN!

Transformation

an Impact of the Awardon Zeeshan’s Life

Md. Zeeshan Faiz was born in an economically marginalized family that went through many hard times but they never gave up on their children, no matter what the circumstances were. Zeeshan and his siblings were all enrolled to the Pavement Club Programme (a project of Emmanuel Ministries Calcutta). Zeeshan’s father was running a business in leather slippers but passed away at a very young age. His mother took on the responsibility to support the family by taking up odd jobs that were available. There was a point when his mother withdrew his name from the school and had him engaged in a garage, where children are exploited and given to physical assault if not they did not meet the demands of the garage owner.

It was only after the intervention of the staff of EMC that Zeeshan was rescued and brought back to the project. As months and years went by Zeeshan was found to be brilliant and full of energy and enthusiasm in doing anything that was set before of him. His performance in the formal schooling was beyond comparison. He outwitted every student at every level of competition. He became the first ever student to complete his Higher Secondary Education in the history of this Pavement Club.

For Zeeshan, 2007 was the year of stepping into the Award family. To him, the real boost was his first rock climbing expedition to Matha hills. The sense of being on the same platform with others and honouring one’s self worth was a gift in his life. The Award has been the chief cornerstone wherein the major part of his success and achievement was gained. At the Gold level, he attended the National Training Workshop at the La Martiniere school and soon was inducted as the Award Leader for fellow students of EMC. He has been exercising his leadership skills to his full potential. Presently he supervises the progress of Awardees at the Pavement Club project and also assists the work of the New Market Community development project with Rohit Mallick.

Zeeshan states that, for him, success was not what mattered most but rather being faithful to the task he is given. After gaining his Gold Award, he reiterates with strong conviction that it is not the end of the Award but the beginning of a new phase in life, promoting the Award to newcomers and it is the experience he has been through that will make him a better individual.

Students of St. Mary’s School Safdarjung went for a Residential Project at Azadpura village in Madhya Pradesh. For the students it was nothing even remotely like any other educational project they had attended before; they call it the ‘Intervention’ project. The Oxford Dictionary defines intervention as any interference in the affairs of others, especially by one state in the affairs of another. For the participants, intervention here meant taking the beneficiary’s perspective and expectations and applying them to build an educational hub for them.

Here is the experience shared by one of the participants from the Residential Project:

The first day of the project was dedicated to acclimatizing ourselves to this new environment, including profiling the community by knowing their culture and their daily routine, spread across age groups and gender. The motive behind profiling was to weigh the reactions of the locals towards an external entity like us. The results were quite positive as we were able to narrow down to the appropriate locality and timing for setting up our project. The perspective of the community towards us was warm and welcoming, and this gave us a morale boost even before we started the project.

From our initial profiling it was clear that targeting children between 3-5 years and their mothers were of highest priority. We chose this age group as we would be able to provide them with basic training such as verbal and motor skills. As for their mothers, they were also a point of focus as children learn from and listen most to their mothers.

Project Intervention

Residential Project initiated by the students of St. Mary’s School, Safdarjung

10 Award India

After consistent effort we were able to attract the children to the school; this involved jumping over the psychological walls created by the villagers and making them feel comfortable. At the start we made sure we involved the children in simple recreational activities with a prime focus on motor and language skills. There were two important lessons for us to take home: the first that reputation is an important factor when it comes to interventions. Second, we also learnt to be sensitive when it comes to interacting with people from different cultures as it took us time to break our barriers of limitation in order to be one of them. Hence from this day onward we decided to devote quality time in reflection, self-introspection and planning for the next day.

With high expectation we started our next day with the aim of bringing in the mothers of the target group of children to the school. This turned out to be a much tougher task as the women were not ready to leave their household and delay their daily chores. That is when we realized we let over-confidence cloud our thought process, and we decided to get into immediate discussions to solve this problem. In order to tackle this problem we decided to put in extra effort in order to convince the women to leave their houses but this too didn’t help. Once we returned back to the school we felt battered and drained, not because we were tired but because we didn’t manage to complete the day’s objective. To our surprise at the end of the day, 8-10 women did turn up at the school. Thoughts on schooling and its importance were discussed between us and the participating women.

In spite of all the hurdles that we faced in the day, the major achievement was the active response of women and the confidence they showed to bring more women the next day. We also managed to get volunteers from among them to help us for the next day. It was a day of realization and self-reflection. We understood the importance of planning and that we should not have adopted a laid-back attitude after a minor achievement. The rest of the day was spent in preparing for the next day which was the main day of INTERVENTION.

On D-Day we felt more confident and organized. First, we had our final recreational session which was specifically focused on children’s cognitive and social development. Meanwhile we were also preparing for the upcoming volleyball match. The volleyball match was played between the two teams formed among the villagers of Azadpura. This was not just a match for us but the result of three days of our reputation building and execution of initiatives. We finally formed an

ORBThe Journey Begins

The Doon School has become the first YES Centre in India to start the online programme of the Award. It is the first YES Centre to officially undertake Online Record Book on July 31, 2014. The first batch of 52 students (21 Bronze, 23 Silver & 8 Gold Level participants) registered for the Online Record Book. This will help in the smooth running of the Award amongst students, Award Leaders and mentors by entering and reviewing information online.

Mr. Vinay Pande, Senior Deputy Headmaster of The Doon School was the guest of honour for the event. Mr. Priyank Kumar Gupta, Head IT and ORB for IAYP India was also present on the occasion. Other staff members present were Mr. Skand Bali, IAYP Award Leader at the Doon School, who is also the Head of National Training Panel for IAYP India, Mr. Nitin Chauhan, Mr. Manish Pant, and Dr. Mona Khanna.

This launch has brought India in the club of a few countries doing the Online Record Book for IAYP in the world.

Award India 11

effective recreational team. This was followed by the reception of women in large numbers at the educational hub. One of the volunteers supported us a lot; it was she who made that extra effort to bring 40-45 women to the new school. She proved herself and was very confident and willing. We conducted circle time with them which addressed the need of being responsible once the children are admitted in school. We also helped them realize the importance of time by using the medium of role play. It was good to see that it was a two-way communication process as they suggested lot of trainings and courses that can be conducted for them in the school in the near future. The thought and significance of ‘empowerment’ was well conveyed. We ended the day by giving recognition to all our volunteers and the teams in the form of certificates, cash prizes and small gifts. We were very glad to see that all our beneficiaries went happy with a promise that they will always support when required. The trust in their eyes was our real achievement.

The Residential Project 2014 gave us exposure to explore ourselves and to contribute towards a change. It made us more responsible and enlightened us on our role towards the economically marginalized.

Bringing a Ray of Hope

Residential Project Report by Nitant PadiaSingapore International School, Mumbai

Enjoying the city life and all basic amenities which are readily available to us, we often forget to value what we get. Helping to light up a village by installing solar panels, widening the stream which is the only fresh water source and learning to do some kitchen work opened my eyes to the world beyond our boundaries. I consider myself immensely fortunate to have been a part of this enlightening project, at the Irshalvadi Village from the 26th to the 30th of January 2014.

We trekked up to the village, situated 1000 feet above sea level, pitching our tents in an open area near the village. The next day our tasks were allotted to us. Our group was allotted the kitchen and serving. We had to carry water up the hill from the well for the use of the whole camp. We helped the villagers cook for us. We then served the meal to the entire camp at lunch, dinner and tea breaks.

The next day we worked on stream widening, we made a kind of a reservoir for the villagers to give them access to fresh water. It was a hectic task which was eventually accomplished.

Fixing the solar panels was a challenge. However, this was the most significant task of the camp. We had to measure and cut lengths of wire, connect wires to the solar panel units and install the panels at appropriate places. Solar panels made their way to the roof-tops of all houses. I was overwhelmed by the fact that I could at least contribute my little bit to light one of the many villages in India which lacked electricity for ages.

Sleeping in tents under the open sky, taking a peek at the stars, so high above, through the view window atop

Award: the Best Platform

Kalam Waris Remembers his Award Journey

Coming from the Sir Syed Group of Schools, I joined the Award Programme in 2003, and this was one of the best steps taken in my life. Teaching kids, playing Cricket, painting and trekking for the respective Sections, not only did I have fun but was enagaged productively to equip myself for life.

After my Bronze and Silver Awards, I received my Gold Award at Delhi from the Vice President of India, Dr Hamid Ansari. I remained involved with the Award as an Award Leader, and spent weeks in the Himalayas as a part of an expedition. Meanwhile travelled to Saudi Arabia and worked there for 2 years. I am presently working in Kolkata.

To me, the Award is the platform bringing out the best in a young person. Without the Award, I would not have been this confident today to do half the things I have done in my life.

12 Award India

our tent, I learnt that life is also about venturing out, exploring and reaching an area where venturing seems impossible, and helping people in need. It is gratifying to think that the solar panels will continue to light the village. We provided a water source for the villagers which will help them fetch clear drinking water.

I personally enjoyed the trip. Last, but not the least, it was a memorable learning experience that will stay with me forever.

Making Learning FunAward Participants from the Uttam School for Girls, Ghaziabad, Engage in Service

Community service has been an integral part of the various activities done at Uttam School for Girls, Ghaziabad. Serving the community also has a positive effect on the personal development of the students. It provides opportunities for students to become active and positive contributors to society.

Under the Award Programme the students were actively involved in community service during their summer vacations, when they taught English, communication skills, computer skills and basic etiquette to the children from Sewa Samarpan.

The students of the school have displayed exemplary leadership qualities by planning, organising and executing all the programmes effectively. Their sincerity and dedication to provide knowledge to the children has been commendable. They used visual aids like videos and books to give grammar knowledge and help the children in spoken English. There were a number of counselling and interaction sessions that made the children comfortable and that facilitated them to speak confidently.

Learning was also made an enjoyable experience for the children by showing movies and biopics giving self motivating messages. They were also involved in learning music and dance. Children enjoyed the sports activities like relay race, athletics and other ball games. There was a quiz session on social issues and the children also spoke about the importance of educating girls. Assessments were designed to evaluate and adopt other strategies that could make the programme more effective for the next lot of IAYP participants.

The helpers from Uttam School for Girls also had an active participation in the programme. They diligently took part in all the activities and put in efforts to improve their own communication skills. Overall a friendly and open atmosphere was created for the children that made learning a memorable experience for them.

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