By NewsGram Staff Writer
With an aim to educate kids in Indian values and morals, a week long youth camp was organized by the Badri branch of Chinmaya Mission, Chicago. The camp just concluded here last Sunday (19th July).
The camp was organized to acquaint the children with India, Indian heritage, culture and spirituality. Imparting values of vedanta and spiritual growth are core areas of focus at the Chinmaya Mission and likewise, they were the core practices at the camp too.
The camp saw children of diverse age groups, ranging from kindergartners to 12th graders in attendance.
Children from various states of the US came to attend the camp in Chicago. The camp was conducted by Swami Sharanananda, the resident swami of Chinmaya Mission here along with acharyas (teachers) from Chicago. Also, other acharyas from different parts of US and Canada were also present.
Speaking to NewsGram about the activities of the Youth Camp, Jyoti Shah, the coordinator of the camp said that during the program, the day started at eight in the morning with bhajanas.
After the morning bhajanas, various activities like sports, arts, and crafts kept the children occupied. Yoga was also an important activity during the camp.
The children were served satvik food in the camp. The cuisines served included both Indian and non-Indian delicacies.
Words of wisdom were imparted to the kids by Swami Sharanananda and the acharyas through extempore speeches. The emphasis was on enlightening the kids in Indian values and morals.
The penultimate day of the camp, i.e 18th July, witnessed fun activities. Food stalls were set up in the camp premises with popcorn, cotton candy, and ice cream. A barbecue was also set up. Various games like dunk tank, etc. kept the children engaged and made it a memorable event for them.
The concluding session of the camp took place on Sunday, 19th of July and the children were joined by their families. The kids took part in a quiz which was followed by a cultural program for everybody.
Various volunteers from different places came and worked with the camp and the children and helped in making it a success.
Similar camps are also conducted at satellite branches of Chinmaya Mission over the summers and also at the Yamunotri branch, situated in Greyslake, a suburb of Chicago.