Cities are crowded but the cars are so comfortable! Villages are beautiful but I cannot stand the mosquitoes!

It is time that we challenge what we know, to come out of comfort zones…perhaps it is time for a FUN camp! FUN Camp is a 6-day experience for young people between the age of 13 and 17. Why go? ‘Social development’, ‘Two Indias’, ‘Sustainable development’ – the jargon goes on. Still there is so much which does not make sense. One way out is to walk with the youth and show them the real pictures through their own experiences – the FUN camp way! In the process you can understand yourself and how you are connected with the ‘dos and donts’, the cool and the ‘not- so –cool’ of any society. After all, whatever you do has an effect somewhere and whatever happens out there impacts you! Why not live out these links for a few days?

I.What happens?

1. Before the camp, a half day orientation is conducted for the students and a full day orientation for the teachers accompanying the students. 
2. The camp includes trekking, games, bonfire, group interactions, cooking and other activities to enable hands-on learning.
3. There is a participant-facilitator ratio of 6:1 to ensure that the participants are never left unattended. The facilitators, both male and female, are specially trained for working with young people.
4. Medical facilities are available on the campus.
5. There are separate dormitories for boys and girls.
6. For the purpose of better learning and understanding students are not allowed to carry any attention diverting instruments e.g. books, walkman, ipod, mobile phone.

A certain dress code is followed and all the disciplinary rules that are there in the school would also be applicable to them during entire camp.

II. FUN Camp to rural areas:

The camp encourages young people from the urban areas to get to know the rural areas, which present a very different set of values and lifestyles. This knowledge and the sensitivity that comes with it, helps them in becoming effective decision-makers in whichever field they choose for their future.

III.Return FUN camps:

A Return FUN Camp is an urban exposure trip for rural adolescents. The objective is to provide an exposure to various facets of city life, urban India, that is and help develop confidence, and interpersonal skills among the participants. The participants would get fllavour of city life in its totality rather than just a place as one full of opportunities which would also help them appreciate better the importance of their own surroundings.

The camp is hosted by Sanskriti School and the ex FUN campers volunteer for the program. We, at Pravah, facilitate the camp. So far, 4 camps have been hosted with more than 91 participants from various places like Rajasthan and Uttrakhand.

IV.Teachers’ FUN camp

V.Theme based camps

Theme of the Camp: Livelihood

Venue: UMBVS, Phalodi (Base Camp), Pokran Primary School, Raniser Village.

UMBVS or URMUL Marusthali Bunkar Vikas Samiti is a cooperative society of about 170 weavers. The society is engaged in managing the business of the weavers. It acts as an interface between the market and the weavers. Over the years, it has spread into other development works like panchayati raj, education, health etc.

The theme of the camp “Livelihood: Weaver’s community” would try to look at the larger picture of Livelihood through the lens of the weavers.

First the emphasis would be to understand the weaving as an age-old traditional craft. The focus would be to understand the dynamics of the society of the weaver’s community.

In the second stage, weaving as an employment and weaving as a livelihood would be examined. The Phalodi block of Jodhpur district in Rajasthan has been a traditional centre for around 500 weavers families of the Jaswal community. Since a few years, due to economic compulsions, many of them have moved to other means of livelihood. Livelihoods have diversified and weaving is still battling on with the advent of modern and faster machines.

Theme of the Camp: Land and Forest, Agriculture

Venue: SIDH, Kempty (Base Camp) Ghati School, Gaid Village, Kandikhal village and, Garkhet village

SIDH is an organisation which has been working on  the issue of education for the last 2 decades. It has integrated local traditional knowledge with its modern outlook for a more sustainable educational system. SIDH has enlarged its outreach program to include youth, teachers and most importantly the local people in its work.

The theme of the SIDH FUN camp was Land and Forest with an in-depth focus on agriculture. It was designed to give the students an exposure to the rural society of the Jaunpur block of the Tehri district. The students worked at the agricultural field or with the cattle related activities.

The Jaunpur block of the Tehri district has some of the very diverse and unique Land and Forest reserves and agricultural patterns. The farming is mainly organic but there are signs of chemical use. There has also been mass exodus of youth from these areas. Now, the community has to depend on the outside world for its sustenance.