Singhrow Study On Sikhi Camps

[singhrow]

Singhrow - Guidelines on Sikhi camps

Introduction

With Guru Ji’s kirpa I have been working with S.C.Y.S for two years and have attended many types of Sikhi camps. This year I was lucky enough to attend ten camps all over the country; my experience has allowed me to notice a lot of things. I have also just completed a year long course which taught me all about running group events. I will briefly give some guidelines to the sangat; I hope you find them useful.

Why we do camps!

1. The main reason is to get the youth or adults into Sikhi.

2. To enhance the Sikhi of practising Sikhs (give them a booster and increase their knowledge)

It is very important to keep these motives in your mind when you are doing the preparation for a camp. In every camp you will get a mix. Therefore the camp needs to cater for all; skilled talkers can cater for both audiences in the same talk.

Note: The camps that have put a lot of preparation work in tend to get the best results, just like a student that puts time into the revision will be more equipped for the exam.

What makes a Camp Successful?

The camp has to have a positive impact, in every camp you will get youth that have never been in a Sikhi type atmosphere. So what they see at a camp may reflect their view of Sikhi, therefore there is great responsibility on the organisers on the way Sikhi and the attitudes of Sikhs is portrayed. If the camp is not done with the right motives and manners we can put people off sikhi rather then encourage them into Sikhi.

How do we create a positive impact?

A positive Impact comes from the delivery of the entire camp and passion in the camp. If the motives are right and the preparation is done you will get the impact. But you have to get the right people in the right roles.

Roles which have the most impact on campers!

· Talkers (lecturers) – This is the most important role, if a talker lacks passion and character the camp turns into boredom city. People think that people get bored in the Darbar, that is not the case, most campers will complain about boring talkers.

· Group leaders – These are the people that the campers will have to make a relationship with in the camp. It is vital to get this responsibility out to the right people. Some camps have immature group leaders that have no sense of responsibility and the camp turns into a complete doss for that group (which is very upsetting for people who came to learn).

A lot of areas in the UK have told me that there is a shortage of Sevadars willing to help in the camps. This may be the case but if you start preparing really early you will find the people, at last minute emergences it is always hard as people have filled up timetables. I suggest regular meetings about preparation between the units that are organising a particular camp.

Target audience

To get an impact the age range can’t be too wide. It is better to do more camps a year with narrower age ranges then one big camp with a wide age range. It is really hard to cater for a wide age range. For really young kids it is best to have a Sikhi fun day at the Gurdwara, because when under 5’s are in a camp it gives more of a nursery atmosphere in which parents just following their kid around and cause disturbances and other petty issues. The older kids see all this and say this is a kid’s thing and will not attend the next day.

I suggest separate camps for 6 to 12 years olds and 13 to 21 year olds. This is good target audiences and you will get better results and much more impact (because the age range allows you to create the right atmosphere).

Sikhi is all about quality not quantity it is better to have two camps with smaller numbers instead of one massive camp with huge numbers (it gets a bit chaotic).

Organisation

Just like different organs in the body help to operate the human body we need to operate our camps in the same manner. If the brain had no communication with other organs the body it would not function properly. In the same way if one person takes the pressure of the whole camp on themselves you will never get the desired impact (people wear out). The good camps have separate departments and the person who is the head of that department takes all responsibility.

Note: Organisation is critical to determine whether or not the camp will have an impact. There is no room for big egos it has to be done as a team.

Discipline

The campers should know that there is a time for fun and a time to be serious. There is a thin barrier line when dealing with this issue (has to be approached in a sensible manner) otherwise a prison atmosphere is created which ruins it for all. The camp has to be down to earth but the respect of the camp cannot be violated at any cost. When you tell campers the rules always explain why those rules are in place this helps them understand the situation.

Note: when moving campers from one class to another etc. They should be told to recite Satnaam waheguru until they get to their destination. This helps them move in a respectful manner and teaches them discipline. (Again it is down to the group leaders) Remember we are the Army of Waheguru; an Army without discipline is disaster.

Activities:

A lot of organisers of the residential camps are under the impression that activities make the camp successful. So they dish out big money on holiday style activities. However this is not the case, the campers are there to learn about their faith, when speaking to campers they said they would rather have normal activities.

· Football

· Netball

· Rounder’s

· Races, tug of war etc

These activities are free and build team work skills and have been proved and tested for years. You can do them on site, so they save time and money. If people want serious activities why would they come Sikhi camp, they would plan something else with there mates.

On the first day of a camp it is vital to do an “Ice breaker”, this will allow people to get familiar with there group and start working as a team straight away. (Have a competition to see who can build the tallest Nishan sahib or something similar)

Make sure all the activities require team work were everyone has to get involved. At one camp I went to there was an activity where one member of the group had to draw something while the rest just watched and got bored.

Conclusion

· Ultimately it is the Guru’s kirpa that will make the camp have an impact. However we have to plan and use strategies, the rest is up to maharaj.

· The camp is there to ignite a spark in the soul of the camper, therefore it is vital to have regular follow ups which campers can attend and get darshan of the sangat and Guru Ji.

· If the camp has had an impact you will get campers coming to regular events organised by you.

· Always look at the negative feedback and act on it! A lot of time, energy and money go into camps. It is vital we get them right and get results, most people are just too laid back and see them as a time pass, it is the sangats money we are using, so our full efforts have to be put in.

WJKK WJKF

[Jag_Singh]

:D, thanks for typing all that. makes sense.