Volunteer for INME this Summer- Gain invaluable experiences while being outdoors! Gold Holder Ankit Dugra did it in 2010, now is your chance

INME summer programs are weeklong adventure and wilderness based camps for 9-17 year olds. The programs are designed to help participants build self-confidence and self-worth and explore their potential... and of course have fun in a spectacular outdoor setting.

The programmes are held at our campsites at Tons (near Purola in Uttarakhand), Uroli (near Ranikhet in Uttarakhand), Yercaud (near Salem in Tamil Nadu) and Honey Valley in Coorg (Karnataka). In addition, Team INME also has off-campus programmes that include an expedition to Kedarkantha, a kayaking, rafting & trekking trip down the Alaknanda and exploring Coorg and the Kumaon hills on bicycles.

All INME programmes are conducted by outdoor activity experts, and every programme has a group 15 participants; looked after by three such experts and a volunteer.

Gold Holder Ankit Durga (red tshirt in the centre)
at the iNME Camp in Uroli 2010

Gold Holder-Ankit Durga worked for INME in the Summer of 2010 and he summarises his experiences as 'BRILLIANT!'. Ankit- who is a keen hiker, mountain lover and  adventure enthusiast added that being a part of the team that enables young people to discover the unknown, be excited about adventure and learn essential skills through the INME Camps, taught him to be a better manager, learn the best ways to approach young people and to also relive his Award journeys from school. Today, as a full-time employee of Zomato, Ankit looks back at this brief summer experience as a 'defining' one. 

INME are currently seeking volunteers who think they can contribute positively to the programmes and bring some skill (hobby or interest like music, photography, astronomy, dance...) to share with the group.

VOLUNTEER QUALIFICATIONS: 

• Must be at least 20 years old
• Interested in working with young children
• Have a skill/interest/hobby they can share
• Willing to spend at least a week on a wilderness camp
• Award Holders/Gold Participants preferred. For Gold Level participants, this will qualify as Gold Residential Project

Visit www.inme.in for more information on the programmes.

Applications (with a resume) should reach Ankur at Ankur@inme.in by March 20, 2012.

Rekha, Saanya, Surabhi and Vivek share their experiences from Training for Trainers (T4T) in Manila, Philippines

INDIA TEAM AT T4T MANILA:

• Saanya Gupta- Gold Holder and Award Volunteer since 2009
• Surabhi Vaidya- Gold participant and Award Volunteer since August 2011
• Rekha Dey- Head of YES Project since November 2011
• Vivek Gaur- Award Leader (since August 2011) at NAZ Foundation 

Saanya's Topic for Presentation: "Selling the Award to either corporates or NGOs or the Government."

"My partner was Tessie, a participant from Philippines. It was a challenging topic for both of us. Athough we introduced The Award fairly well, we forgot to cover quite a few loopholes. Hence this exercise was huge learning."

Vivek's Topic for Presentation: "Introducing the Award program to a group of Parents & Teachers."

"My partner Cynthia and I actually enjoyed our presentation a lot. We played couple of role plays, such as of a "Time machine Ginnie" and of a "Happy Mother"  to take the parents back in the memory lane and illicit from them the best thing they enjoyed when they were younger, and how enjoyable life would have been had they continued their passion as their profession; and then mapped their expectation from their kids with the Award sections. We worked around the emotional angle of the parents." 

Rekha's Topic for presentation: ‘The Adventurous journey’

"My co-presenter Rich was amazingly creative while I added with my set of skills to put together a presentation on the topic. It was a mixture of power point, flip charts and using the white board. We started with a picture gallery on the screen with ‘Mission Impossible’ music playing behind. We also organized an activity inside the room. An exploration – we placed different coloured ice-cream sticks (a bundle) at various places inside the room – on top of lights, behind the tea/coffee stand, underneath the chair etc. and participants were asked to find it and record the number and colour of the sticks collected in a tally chart.

We did face some personal challenges of time keeping and using the right words/jargons. To overcome this we first prepared a schedule with the exact flow and time (in minutes) for each part of the 25 min. presentation. To ensure that we use the right words, I once again read carefully the section on adventurous journey in the handbook."

Surabhi's Topic for Presentation: "How to train activity coaches to take forward the Award Programme in respective institutions"

"I faced a few challenges while preparing for the presentation. Being a student, I had to think  from a teacher's point of view so that I could present better. Also, as we were the last pair to present we had the disadvantage of being reviewed more strictly but we also had the advantage of more time than other pairs to prepare for it. 

We tried to include all training methods which was a bit difficult considering that ours was a bit of a technical topic which included things like filling and signing of record books etc. So, for the presentation we gave an introduction about the award, an activity coach's experience, explained how to fill the record book which was also an activity for the rest of the participants." 

Bea Fancisco-1st Gold Awardee from the Philippines
with Gold Participant Surabhi and Gold Holder Saanya 

Recounting, Vivek says that the T4T definitely helped him become mentally aware about the Award program to relate to daily things. Similary, Saanya and Surabhi felt that as young people and Award Leaders in their respective colleges the T4T helped them know the Award better and get more confident about presenting to other peers. Rekha added that "the idea of different groups presenting different topics is really good in T4T as it gives an opportunity to presenters as well as listeners to learn from each other and the kind of questions and innovative techniques used can be truly useful."

Rekha shared enthusiastically that the 'best thing' she liked about the Workshop was an activity in the presentation by one of the groups on Service section in the Award. The two presenters asked us to stand in a circle. A ball of string was to be passed/ thrown to each person who would state an example of service and pass it to another person randomly. At the end a cob was formed and considering all the examples stated by each it was reiterating to the basic principle of why service was an essential part of the award programme. 

SOME IMPACT STUDIES ABOUT THE AWARD:

Visit page 4, narration of a mother Eunsuk Kim whose daughter did the silver

http://www.iayp.in/whatsnew/Award%20World%20issue%2064.pdf

2)     Visit page 4, story of Julius Irungu Krush, grown from Mathare slums  

http://www.theaward.bm/sitedocs/International%20Award%20World%20Magazine%20Issues/Award%20World%20issue%2062%20-%20Apr%2010.pdf   

3)     Visit page 4, story of Khadraa Glenn, an Iraqi Muslim girl living in Australia and her experience in Camp Bucca

http://awardbg.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/Award-World-63.pdf

Rekha Dey, Saanya Gupta, Vivek Gaur and Surabhi Vaidya (Left to Right)

"The T4T Workshop was a great experience. I really liked the activities that we were given to do."

- Saanya Gupta

"The best thing about the T4T Manila was the comfort level that the presenters built with the participants. The training was very intercative and an experience which I'll cherish forever."

- Surabhi Vaidya 

"The Workshop was really good and encouraging. If possible, T4T should organize homogenous groups in terms of their background. At Manila most of the participants were school teachers or students; one or two were adventure partners."

- Rekha Dey

" It was wonderful to be part of this Asia pacific region T4T training, The one important take away was the Gardner's Multiple Intelligence learning approach to keep in mind while organizing a Training workshop."

- Vivek Gaur

WHEN THE MOUNTAINS BECKON: TREK TO HARSIL-SATTAL

Nestled amidst the beautiful Kumaoun Himalayas, this little hamlet of Uttrakhand, Harsil situated at an altitude of 7860 feet above sea - level and 23 km from Gangotri, is no less than a trekker’s dream destination. On 12^th December, 2011, amidst the biting cold of winter, 47 IAYP (International Award for Young People) Awardees from La Martiniere For Girls, Kolkata, along with our Award leader Dr. Tapti Dasgupta began our journey to Uttarkashi district, Uttrakhand. We journeyed by train and completed the last leg of the journey by bus with the hope of accomplishing this “himalayan” task.

Our trek commenced from Bhelura village (close to Uttrakashi) and as we ascended we got a beautiful breathtaking view of the Shrikanth and Banderpoonch mountain ranges. We spent first night in our tent at Ayuli Bugiyal and began the night trek at 7 pm towards Nachiketa Taal with the stars providing heavenly cover. The following day, we journeyed towards Harsil where we set up our campsite for the next three nights. We erected our own tents along the banks of the holy Ganga. The next morning we trekked to Sattal, a mysterious cluster of seven lakes set amidst picturesque surroundings. It was a long, steep and arduous climb. The path, lightly blanketed with snow, resembled a carpet laid out to welcome us. The frozen lakes and a snow cave were a visual treat. Amidst all the snow fights, there was a sense of achievement and pride because we had trekked to a height of 12,500 feet above sea level (approx.).

Crossing the icy cold waist-deep waters of the Ganga barefoot, self cooking “dhokas”, tri-lino traversing, pitching tents and discussing the days events around a campfire - these Awardees have done it all! We returned back safely on 23^rd December, 2011 and are greatful to our Principal, Mrs. L. Mirza and Vice- Principal, Mrs. R. Sarkar for their constant support and co-operation.

Through this enriching and memorable experience we learnt that in unity lies our strength and together we can face any challenge in life. Steep climbs and freezing temperatures ranging from 2 to -10’ C made survival more difficult. However we Martinians embodied Labore-et-constantia - with hard work and consistency one can reach great heights. Nature welcomed us at every turn of the road while the Mountains beckoned us to return, promising a fresh challenge on our next visit.

- by Ayushi Bainwala

La Martiniere For Girls

IAYP, Gold Qualifying Awardee