A day with Angels on Earth - Experience of an IIM Raipur student

Gleaming eyes, captivating innocent smiles and warm hugs of the tiny tots imprisoned us, the moment we stepped into the realms of SOS Children camp. Being ideally located amidst the lush green environment of Raipur with sparkling clean premises makes the SOS Children camp a paradise on earth, a paradise in which the purest of the hearts resides. A very wise person once said that children are the greatest teachers, and one can learn a lot from them. We the members of "Kartavya" discovered the truth in those words, here in SOS Village on our visit during the occasion of Eid. Their courage and attitude towards life is something that all of us should emulate, the sacred grounds of SOS held a lot in store for us than what we anticipated.

The activities began by segregating the kids into three categories. The first group consisted of nursery and 1^st standard kids, and the activities planned for them were rhymes reciting, singing and drawing. Being flocked by little toddlers was a unique thrill, which made us oblige to any command of theirs readily, such as carrying them piggy backs and giving them pony rides etc., they clung on to us happily and wanted to be carried around everywhere. Listening to the little ones recite rhymes in their mesmerising voices made us wonder if we had discovered the sweetest of music in god’s creation. The decibels in the room rocketed sky high when the kids started singing movie songs and it got even higher when we danced to their tunes. The last activity was drawing, in which the little fingers wrapped around crayons and worked furiously on the charts for nearly 1.30 hours. The kids made us literally speechless by producing quality art in place of scribbles which we actually expected.

            The other two groups consisted of students from middle school and high school, and they were subjected to intense quizzing sessions of varying difficulty levels. The energy and enthusiasm of the children as they participated in the activities was truly inspiring. The children entertained us with special dance performances and Antakshari. Be it in the quiz competitions, the dancing and singing competitions, the puzzles or the drawing competitions - these kids excelled at everything. We felt very honoured and privileged to spend time with them and hear what they had to say. It was an incredible experience for all of us, and a rare chance to relive our childhood. The memories of this day will remain fresh and will be a one that we will cherish all through our lives.

IIM Raipur students visit SOS children camp

The IIM Raipur CSR club “Kartavya” yesterday organized a visit to SOS Mana Camp, Raipur. SOS, which has pioneered a family approach to the long-term care of orphaned and abandoned children, had invited the students of IIM Raipur to SOS camp to celebrate the festival of Makar Sankranti. The students reached the camp in the noon with a plan to organize various recreational activities for the children staying in the camp.

The fun time started with the “musical chair” event which the children enjoyed to their hearts. The two rounds of the event were contested to the core and brought out the intelligence of the children in a different manner. “Musical chair” was followed by the kite flying competition which was again enjoyed by all. Till this time the students and the children had mingled well with each other and started playing different games in different corners of the field.

Some students organized Rugby for one set of children in one corner while the other corner was occupied by the cricket lovers. The centre stage was occupied by the music lovers who organized the game of Antakshari contested between five teams. The lively environment was further sweetened by the sweets distribution after which the children exhibited their creativity through their paintings in the drawing competition.

The day ended with the beautiful prayers that we all are the children of the one God and should be thankful to him and each other for whatever we have got in our lives. The winning students were rewarded with the chocolates and other prizes. The students thanked children and staff for the wonderful experience. The children were adamant that students should keep visiting the campus on other festivals as well. Some children were so touched by the experience that they were not ready to let the students go. For many students it was an experience when one really feels good from inside and gets a sense of doing something that matters. All in all the experience was a rewarding one for both the children and the students.