Camp Program- Day 4

This past Friday we shared camp day 3 with the children. Our location for the day was the Prince of Wales museum, an arts and history museum. The day started off like all of the other days with our group meeting the children in front of the museum for breakfast. We then divided into groups and began exploring the museum. After viewing different exhibits we came together for the activity portion of the day.  The theme of the day was teamwork so all of the activities were based on performing tasks together.  The group prepared four stations each requiring participants to work together to achieve a common goal. As each small group made their way through the stations the excitement and energy could be heard from all around the lobby. Orli Schwartz ran the first station which consisted of a rubber band with strings attached to it and plastic cups. The goal was to build a pyramid with the cups by only using the elastic and strings to stretch over the cups and lift them.  The next station was run by me , Leeat Perlman, here the children were given a puzzle which they had to complete as quickly as possible. By working together to complete the puzzle the teams were able to complete them quite fast. The third station was run by Carly Arch. Here the kids played human knot, a game where they all hold the hands of those across the circle from them and need to untangle themselves without letting go. Finally, Koby Spiegel prepared a game where a rope was tied up and all of the participants needed to get over the rope to the other side without touching it. All in all it was a good day. The children learnt that by working together they can not only achieve things faster and more fun fashion.  They also learned that by working together they can achieve more by sharing ideas.

-Leeat Perlman

Camp Program- Day 3

Day two of enrichment camp began with a breakfast of Indian donughts and chutny outside of the aquarium with the children. After breakfast we split into groups and had an hour to explore the aquarium. The little girls that I had the privilege of walking around with were so excited to see all of the fish , turtles, sharks, and octupi and were happy to teach us the Maharati words for all of those sea creatures. As there were only two rooms to walk around in, a fresh water and a salt water room, it did not take the full hour to walk around and we had an impromptu game of stella ella ola. This smaller game with a few of the kids turned into a very large game with all of the children and some of the staff paticipating. As is common with our group, we then turned into a spectacle.

After a short bathroom break we all got back on our busses and drove to a garden for our afternoon programing. We began with a game of rock paper scissors tournament where the winner went on to play another person who won. Those who didn't win had to walk behind the winners cheering their name. At the end of the game there are two groups of people cheering on the last pair of players. The children got really into the game and we ended playing the game again. We pulled in our aquarium theme of the day by playing a few games of octopus. When we saw that the children were getting exhausted we calmed down by teaching them a song. This was the crocodile song, which continued our animal theme and had many motions which the children loved. We were very impressed as the children picked up the song and the words very quickly. We then spread out poster paper, finger paints and stickers for the children to create their own aquariums based on what they saw in the morning.  This activity was very successful and all the children real enjoyed getting creative with their artwork. After some hand washing to get off all of the paint we sat down to eat lunch. After our goodbyes we all got back on the bus exhausted but happy with the day and rewarded by all of the smiles and laughter that we had a hand in creating.

-Judy Gerlock

Camp Program- Day 2

Yesterday team trip squad organized a day of programming for the group of beautiful, energetic youth that we are volunteering with. The day began with an ice breaker game in which we stood, holding hands, in a massive circle, impact India participants and children standing side by side. Each of us introduced ourselves and called out our favourite fruit, which the children loved. We made our way into the science centre and ate a light Indian breakfast in the cafeteria. After we ate, the kids made an impromptu performance consisting of songs and dances, it was incredible to see how proud of each of other they were. We then watched an IMAX movie on aviation in Hindi. After the short film the group moved into a large hall to begin the activities. We started with an egg drop style event, with plastic eggs as we had no interest in being wasteful. We split the kids up into teams, had them name themselves and then gave them plates, cups, bowls, popsicle sticks, string and silly puddy to protect their 'eggs'. After three rounds of dropping from a significant height each teams contraption was successful and we had five teams of winners. Working with the kids so far has been a profound inspiration. Their ability to trust and even love twenty strangers of a different skin colour in almost no time at all is astonishing. I am obviously in a different space entirely, the other side of the world to be exact, but their conduct has made me feel as though my reality has shifted. I can't even say how much I am looking forward to the next 3 days of camp with these beautiful kids and the perspective altering experience that is intrinsic to their nature.

- Jacob (Yaakov) Walker

Touring- Day 2

Today was a busy first day for the Impact India crew. After a day of getting to know our surroundings in a more relaxed setting, we started branching beyond the immediate 25 of us. This morning we met the energetic children from Project Gabriel and had a wonderful time with them at the science museum. We saw an imax, had a contest to make an egg drop safely, learned cheers and dances, enjoyed meals, and had an amazing time meeting new friends. Following the science museum, our group went on an eye opening tour of the Dharavi Slum in Mumbai. 

The Dharavi slum is the largest slum in the city of Mumbai, home to one million people. We met up with our tour guides from Reality tours and they explained to us the purpose of why they give the slum tour. Many would think that the tour is just a way to make money and exploit the neighbourhoods, but the purpose of this tour is to bring a light to the way people view the slums and help others understand the way of life. Honestly, I was very nervous for this tour. I was prepared to see poverty, but what I actually saw was people. We began on the industrial side of the slum. Dahravi is home to one of the biggest recycling plants in India. They recycle things like plastics, aluminum, cardboard, and more. The industry side of the slum employs people from different cities and countries that come to work and send money home to their families. We were told that a handful of the individuals working there now are from Nepal and sending money home to their families. The workers sleep upstairs in their factories which emit a large amount of pollution from melting the materials etc. I was astonished at the risk thathese people put themselves in for their families. The average life expectancy in the slums is 45-50 years. The husbands move away from home and work in these conditions because they are devoted and don't think about themselves. All the factories involve strenuous work in small dark rooms ingesting hazardous waste products on a daily basis. To counter a lot of the stereotypes, a question was brought up about the age that children begin to work. The government made education mandatory up to the age of 14 and then they can start working. We then went to the residential area and saw the way that the residents of the slums live. There are between 5-10 people living in each house which has four walls and covered with an aluminum roof. The houses are attached and are on narrow alleyways that contain the smells of the slums and little fresh air. When we walked through the alleys, children waved to usand said hi. Some were playing cricket and others were running in the streets. 

They seemed happy with their way of life. As we walked through the slums each participant had their own judgements based through the eyes of the university majors. The nurses were concerned about the occupational hazards and pollution, the child and youth care students were concerned about the number of children walking around barefoot and playing in dangerous areas, the environmental majors were concerned about the river of waste products running through the city and emptying into bigger seas. 

Finally, from a psychological and therapeutic sense some mentioned the concern of differing abilities within the individuals, how those with physical and or mental disabilities navigate and live in such a physically straining environment.  The experience overall was very eye opening and enlightening about the realities of the slums. We are all going to go into the rest of the enrichment camp with insights on where the children come from and grasp their appreciation for the experiences that they will have.

JCC Camp Programs- Day 1