PREFACE

The main motivation of undertaking this project was to provide the detailed and
comprehensive study about the FUN Camp as a program. This study provides the opportunity
to Pravah to know the perspective of the students about the FUN Camp as a program. It is
also of immense use to launch the program with other schools. The report has been organized
into four parts. Part I deals with the detailed overview about the NGOs which are in
operational in India. Part II provides is brief introduction about the organization- Pravah. The
third part is conclusive of discussions and feedback from the students and based on that
findings and suggestions are been inculcated in last part.

I owe my sincere thanks to everyone who helped me in doing this project. It was a fun
and also a learning experience for me. I hope the knowledge and experience gained while
undertaking this project will help me in my future endeavors in one way or the other.

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 Research Design

Project Theme: Impact Assessment on FUN camp as a Program

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Statement of the Problem
The main problem involved in this case was to know the outreach of the FUN Camp. In
order to make thorough enquiry about the impact of the FUN Camp as a program the study
was undertaken. And also to know the impact of the program on the mindset of the students
and peers.
Objectives of the Study
o Make an analysis of Feedback.
o Make an analysis of Fun camp as a
program. o Find out areas of improvement.
o To know the step by step process for the launch of FUN Camp in other schools. o
Recommendations.

Need for the Study

The main significance of this study was to spread knowledge about the FUN Camp as
a program.
Scope of the Study
The scope of the present study is confronted to understanding the outreach of FUN Camp as
a program.
Limitations of the Study

Despite all the earnest efforts made by the investigator the required information
was not forthcoming due to the reason that some of the respondents hesitate to give
required information.

FUN Camp was never attended by the investigator personally.

An Overview (NGOs in India)

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NGO (Non Governmental Organization)

A non-governmental organization (NGO) is an organization that is not part of a government

and was not founded by states. NGOs are therefore typically independent of governments.
Although the definition can technically include for-profit corporations, the term is generally
restricted to social, cultural, legal, and environmental advocacy groups having goals that
are primarily noncommercial. NGOs are usually non-profit organizations that gain at least a
portion of their funding from private sources. Current usage of the term is generally
associated with the United Nations and authentic NGOs are those that are so designated by
the UN.

Because the label "NGO" is considered too broad by some, as it might cover anything that is
non-governmental, many NGOs now prefer the term private voluntary organization (PVO).

A 1995 UN report on global governance estimated that there are nearly 29,000 international
NGOs. National numbers are even higher: The United States has an estimated 2 million
NGOs, most of them formed in the past 30 years. Russia has 65,000 NGOs. Dozens are
created daily. In Kenya alone, some 240 NGOs come into existence every year.

The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is the world's largest group of
humanitarian NGO's.

Though voluntary associations of citizens have existed throughout history, NGOs along the
lines seen today, especially on the international level, have developed in the past two
centuries. One of the first such organizations, the International Committee of the Red Cross,
was founded in 1863.

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Types of NGOs

There are numerous possibilities to classify NGOs. The following is the typology the World
Bank uses.

Operational NGOs

Their primary purpose is the design and implementation of development-related projects.

One categorization that is frequently used is the division into relief-oriented or development-
oriented organizations; they can also be classified according to whether they stress service
delivery or participation; or whether they are religious and secular; and whether they are
more public or private-oriented. Operational NGOs can be community-based, national or
international.

Advocacy NGOs

Their primary purpose is to defend or promote a specific cause. As opposed to

operational project management, these organizations typically try to raise awareness,
acceptance and knowledge by lobbying, press work and activist events.

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Important Features of NGOs

Purposes
NGOs exist for a variety of purposes, usually to further the political or social goals of
their members. Examples include improving the state of the natural environment,
encouraging the observance of human rights, improving the welfare of the
disadvantaged, or representing a corporate agenda. However, there are a huge
number of such organizations and their goals cover a broad range of political and
philosophical positions. This can also easily be applied to private schools and athletic
organizations.

Methods
NGOs vary in their methods. Some act primarily as lobbyists, while others conduct
programs and activities primarily. For instance, such an NGO as Oxfam, concerned
with poverty alleviation, might provide needy people with the equipment and skills
they need to find food and clean drinking water.

Networking
The International Freedom of Expression exchange (IFEX), founded in 1992, is a
global network of more than 60 non-governmental organizations that promote and
defend the right to freedom of expression.

Consulting
Many international NGOs have a consultative status with United Nations agencies
relevant to their area of work. As an example, the Third World Network has a
consultative status with the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)
and the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). In 1946, only 41 NGOs had
consultative status with the ECOSOC, but this number had risen to 2,350 in 2003.

Management of non-governmental organizations
Two management trends are particularly relevant to NGOs: diversity management and
participatory management. Diversity management deals with different cultures in an
organization. Intercultural problems are prevalent in Northern NGOs that are engaged
in developmental activities in the South. Personnel coming from a rich country are
faced with a completely different approach of doing things in the target country. A
participatory management style is said to be typical of NGOs. It is intricately tied to
the concept of a learning organization: all people within the organization are
perceived as sources for knowledge and skills. To develop the organization,

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 individuals have to be able to contribute in the decision making process and they need
to learn.

Relations
The relationship among businesses, governments, and NGOs can be quite complex
and sometimes antagonistic. Some advocacy NGOs view opposition to the interests
of Western governments and large corporations as central to their purpose. But NGOs,
governments, and companies sometimes form cooperative, conciliatory partnerships
as well.

Staffing

Not all people working for non-governmental organizations are volunteers. Paid staff
members typically receive lower pay than in the commercial private sector.
Employees are highly committed to the aims and principles of the organization. The
reasons why people volunteer are usually not purely altruistic, but self-serving: They
expect to gain skills, experience and contacts.

Funding
Large NGOs may have annual budgets in the millions of dollars. For instance, the
budget of the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) was over $540
million dollars in 1999. Human Rights Watch spent and received US$21, 7 million in
2003. Funding such large budgets demands significant fundraising efforts on the part
of most NGOs. Major sources of NGO funding include membership dues, the sale of
goods and services, grants from international institutions or national governments,
and private donations. Several EU-grants provide funds accessible to NGOs. Even
though the term 'non-governmental organization' implies independence of
governments, some NGOs depend heavily on governments for their funding.

Legal status
The legal form of NGOs is diverse and depends upon homegrown variations in
each country's laws and practices. However, four main family groups of NGOs can
be found worldwide:
Unincorporated and voluntary association.

Trusts, charities and foundations.

Companies not just for profit.

Entities formed or registered under special NGO or nonprofit laws.

NGOs are not subjects of international law, as states are. An exception is the
International Committee of the Red Cross, which is subject to certain specific
matters, mainly relating to the Geneva Convention.

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TOP 10 NGOs of INDIA

Help Age India

Sargam Sanstha

Smile Foundation

Give India

Lepra Society

Udaan

Deepalaya

Uday Foundation

Karmayog

Pratham

A Learning Opportunity for Young People

GX offers an opportunity to learn by experience about the diversity of peoples lives within
the global community, develop knowledge, skills and values. GX provides you an
opportunity to engage with critical, social and developmental issues first hand and
contribute in whichever way possible to the communities both in India and UK.
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Counterpart Pairs: Each volunteer has one counterpart from the exchange country
with which they live. They may also have another counterpart from the exchange
country with whom they work.

Host Homes: Each pair of volunteers will be staying with a family in the host
community. Just as we look for diversity in our volunteers and communities, we also
encourage variety in our host homes.

Host communities: In both countries, the volunteers live and work in a community
that is new to all of them. In India, the community will be a rural area in Jharkhand
or Rajasthan.

Volunteer placements: Volunteer placements are structured so that the volunteers are
able to have maximum takeaways about the community and its issues and at the same
time make a positive and practical contribution to community initiatives.

Educational activity days (EADs): Usually held once a week, EADs provides the
volunteers with an opportunity to come together and engage in active learning
about community development issues in each country. Each week, different
counterpart pairs run the sessions.

Community Activity Days (CADs): An opportunity for the GX team to engage a

larger part of the community by organizing action days which will benefit the
community learning and welfare. The action days are based on the theme of the
exchange, interactions with the community, as well as the funds raised by the team.

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 o Change Looms

Change Looms is a leadership and organizational development programme that supports,

encourages and recognizes young people and their teams who have started and are running
their own independent projects or organizations working for social change. The programme
is intended to support new organizations grow and move forward. Personal and
organizational development support to the young change leaders and their teams form the
core of Change Looms.

Till date we have engaged with more than 35 social change organizations / projects across 16
States through this programme. Some of the issues these young people have been working on
include: prevention of Child Sexual abuse, Rights of homeless people, theatre for social
change, awareness of nomadic tribes of Maharashtra, Institutional Care of mentally-
challenged destitute children, Gender & Womens empowerment, Life-Skills through Sports,
Life-Skills and leadership for social change in school children.

The programme duration is for 18 months during which participants will be offered:

Training and capacity building; mainly through a one-week residential workshop- the
Development Centre (planned in September 2010).

Mentoring opportunities and opportunities to network with social sector leaders from
across the country.

Financial assistance for availing learning and organizational development
opportunities.

Participants are encouraged to go on exposures and participate in collective learning
events and workshops.

All this will happen during the 18 months learning phase that will begin with the

Development Centre and culminate with the Recognition Event; a public event where
teams will be felicitated for their work.

Adolescent Intervention

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Pravah's school programs, collectively called Adolescent Intervention works with the age
group of 13-17 years to inspire them towards active citizenship. This is done either through
direction interventions or through training of teachers in schools.

4 Initiatives operate under the umbrella of Adolescent Intervention:

o From Me To We
o FUN Camp
o CLAP

o Teacher Training

From Me to We (FMTW)
From Me to We (FMTW) is focused on inspiring adolescents to take up active leadership in
areas of social change. To assist the youth do this, we at Pravah help create learning and life
skills programs which we conduct in cooperation with the schools and teachers under the
'Pravah 'From Me to We' Conflict-Positive Curriculum'. Personal interaction and facilitation
are key components of our processes. Learning ought to be fun and it happens best when
the learner takes responsibility for it. Therefore, theatre, games, simulation exercises,
stories, case studies are a core component in our 42 hour school curriculum. We currently
reach out to 3500 adolescents in over 30 schools, mainly in and around Delhi, Rajasthan,
Gujarat and Karnataka.

The Self to Society Module

Guides and encourages a young persons understanding of self in relation to the world
around them through an inward look and an understanding of their relation to the world
around them. An individual is encouraged to grow in to the roles of a responsible brother,
sister, friend, lover and neighbor that will extend naturally into responsible citizenship. Social
issues are put into the correct perspective -no right way is emphasized but skills and
processes of arriving at your own stances are elaborated. Natural principles of going beyond
stereotypes, appreciating diversity and practicing tolerance are internalized through games,
role plays and exercises.

The Conflict Positive Process Module

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Pravah believe conflict is a positive process. Our interventions enable young people to
recognize different dimensions of conflict in personal as well as social spheres and to
deal with them positively.

Citizenship and Voluntary action

The final phase of all Pravah interventions focuses on developing in young minds an
understanding of citizenship issues & constitutional rights. This is done by engaging
young people in social action through projects and campaigns and thus working on issues
of diversity, homelessness, peace, disarmament, poverty & sustainable development,
gender, stereotyping and equality.

How will the program work in your school?

Three facilitators, who are trained in creative programs on life skills and social
responsibility, work with adolescents of IX or X standard.

A staff member needs to be appointed to coordinate with and support the facilitator.

You would be required to provide infra-structural resources and conveyance expenses for
the program.
Citizenship Learning and Action Program (CLAP)

If you are between 13 and 17 and there is something which really gets you thinking makes
you angry or just forces you to talk aloud, this is where you should tell us about it.

Citizenship Learning and Action Program (CLAP) is about applauding young people, like
you, who are already out to change things. In CLAP you need not be 18 years to be a citizen
or to take a decision. This is why we let you decide what citizenship means to you! Whatever
affects you, whatever you feel strongly about is your citizenship action. And Pravah is here to
help you take that forward. Just like you get praised for an awesome painting or some rocking
dance moves, Pravah at CLAP recognize your leadership skills in making social change.

learning Workshop

The first three days you will get a chance to meet other people like you. They will also
be doing work like you but in very different areas and ways. What better way to know
much more about them?

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And then you can also join us in learning more about the way you are working and how you
can do it better. The fun starts on the fourth day when we tell everyone what you have been up
to - by hosting a grand public event where you get recognition for you work your way!

We give you the space to set up a stall and tell your story to everyone around in your own
unique way. What more! Here you can also put your skills to use sing, dance, paint, act
whatever it takes to take your ideas across. We will help you do all that and more! You will
also get a certificate and a cash prize for the use of your work! Working for something you
believe in was never as much fun

PARTNERS

Sanskriti School, New Delhi

Sanskriti School is located in New Delhi and was established by the Civil Service Society
in August 1998.
The school aims to impart education based on the following 4 tenets: imbibing values,
respect for all, excellence as a life guiding principle and inspiration to contribute to the
betterment of the world. It empowers students to discover that learning is an on going
experience and enable them to become life long learners. The instructional programme is
such that it fosters holistic development of each individual and helps them to maximize their
potential. The school believes that each student is a unique individual and they must learn to
take pride in their achievements.
At Sanskriti we believe that working in a team in a disciplined environment is not only a
life skill but also conducive to achieving goals. And finally the learning process is a
partnership between the school, parents and teachers.

Ford Foundation

Ford Foundation established an office in India in 1952. It was the Foundation's first program
outside the United States, and remains the largest of its overseas field operations. The
Foundation has made major commitments in the areas agriculture and rural development,
forest and natural resource management, reproductive health, livelihoods, human rights,

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governance, education and culture, religion cooperation and security and the promotion of
in-country philanthropy.

Teacher's Training

In Teacher's Training Pravah believe that educators can play a very important role in
creating socially responsible citizens. Our learnings of the last three years has reinforced
our belief that that there is a need to enable and support teachers to make connections
between education and the social reality of learners as well as the teachers themselves.

Further the professional development of a teacher has to be linked intrinsically to the

teacher as a person in the socio economic context he/she lives in. This will enable teachers
to move beyond the frameworks imposed by the education system and transform themselves
into educators beyond boundaries. We support these through the teachers training initiatives
and the Educators Collective.

The World Is My Classroom: An Intervention with Teachers

Pravah train teachers, for a period of one year, to design and conduct a life skills program
with students from classes VIII to XII. The training is conducted through modules on self
and adolescents, managing conflicts positively and on instruction design and facilitation. The
50-hour introductory workshop will take place over 6 full days. Approximately 30 hours is
required with students, either in the form of weekly or fortnightly sessions or 5 full day
workshops. Initially a facilitator from Pravah will accompany the teachers during the
sessions. The goal is to build a nucleus of teachers who would run the program
independently. The school based resource center would involve not only students and
teachers but also school authoritys school authorities and parents as partners in the process
of tapping the immense potential of youth. For this we can facilitate setting up a Teachers
Learning Center (TLC) on life skills and citizenship education in your school. The activities
of the resource center will be: Learning sessions for teachers in areas like reflective practices,
assessment of students, classroom management, communication skills and democratic
classrooms. Projects on active citizenship in areas like social sciences and language teaching.
Exposure trips, which help learning and sharing innovations as well as to widen perspective
on education.

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The criterion for selecting the school would be as follows:

The school has had a relationship with Pravah through the teacher training initiative.

The school has access and is willing to engage and share intensively with 2-3 other
schools in the locality, catering to students of diverse socio-economic backgrounds.

The school is willing to commit physical space and other necessary infrastructure.
We are currently hosting a Teachers Resource Centre at Bluebells school, New Delhi.

Educators' Collective
The Collective is a network of school teachers, educators, and teacher trainers, who are working
for social transformation through the agency of the youth. Most educators who have been
through our teachers' program are included in this Collective. It creates support and facilitates
professional development through shared and experience based learning.
A Teachers Platform for self-transformation, leadership, and community building for
meaningful change in the classroom, school and the community is also a part of the
Collective.

Friendship Udankhatola (FUN) Camp

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 zonesperhaps 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 Indians, 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?

What happens?

Before the camp, a half day orientation is conducted for the students and a full day
orientation for the teachers accompanying the students.

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The camp includes trekking, games, bonfire, group interactions, cooking and other
activities to enable hands-on learning.

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.

Medical facilities are available on the campus.

There are separate dormitories for boys and girls.

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.

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.

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 flavor
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.

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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.

Teachers FUN camp

Theme based FUN 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: Weavers 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 weavers 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
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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
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.

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 Discussions

Brief Introduction

About The Sessions of FUN Camp

Who Am I?

Purpose: This session explains the importance of self-awareness and self-disclosure in

a group. The focus is on the process of self-reflection and sharing about the participants
interests, thoughts and/or concerns regarding themselves and the world. It is displayed
to participants that such sharing helps in developing self-confidence.

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The session emphasizes trust as a value and demon states that personal disclosure helps in
generating trust and inspires others to do the same, and thereby leads to better interpersonal
relationships.

Trust, one of the core values of the conflict positive approach, will be visited time and
again in the session that follows.

Session Objective

At the end of the session, the participants will be able to:

Explain the concepts of self-exploration and self-awareness.

Identify and share their interests, aspirations, strengths, weaknesses and concerns.

Explain how, through sharing, they have gained an enhanced understanding of self
and others.

Explain the importance and effects of sharing about oneself, in interpersonal
relationship.

Stereotypes

Purpose: This session builds an understanding of stereotypes and makes the participants
reflect on their own stereotypes. Through group discussions, participant determines how
stereotypes are formed and their relationship with prejudice and discrimination. The focus
of the session is on challenging these stereotypes and their validity and learning to
distinguish between facts, myths, and opinions through critical thinking.

Session Objective

At the end of the session, the participants will be able to:

Define stereotypes and identify their personal stereotypes.

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Distinguish between stereotypes, facts, opinion stereotypes.

Explain the link of stereotypes with prejudice and discrimination.

Sustainable development

Purpose: This session seeks to build an understanding of the term development, the concept
of sustainable development and enables participants to analyze the links between
distribution of resources, equity of access and sustainable development.

Session Objective:

At the end of the session, the participants will be able to:

Explain the word development.

Explain the concept of sustainability and relate how it is connected to their lifestyle.

Articulate the link between distribution of resources and equity of access .

Values and Stances

Purpose: This session aims at building an understanding of values per se. the link of
values with attitude and behavior and how they impact decision-making and individual
stances in conflict are also explored in this session. The discussion in this session seek to
advocate a respect for others viewpoints and values, because respect forms one of the
basic building blocks of the conflict positive process.

Session Objective

At the end of the session, the participants will be able to:

Identify the values which are important to them.

Explain how values influence decision making and stances that one takes with respect to
conflicts.

Describe the need for respecting others decisions and stances in conflicts.

Some Students Feedback

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 o The kind of experiences we shared with all of us in the group and even individually
have changed my perspective about certain things in life. The main learning being
about prioritizing in life. I will definitely be giving more thought to very decision.
Prachi Singh, (Bhiyasar village).

o I learnt most from the villagers. The simple life they lead without creating any
fuss and most importantly the happiness they find in simple things. I will stop
cribbing about insignificant things in my life. Akriti Singh, (Ranisar Village).

o The who am I session made me open up to people in a way I never thought was
possible. It gave me an opportunity to know how common all our problems were
and helped strengthen our bonds Neha Joshi, (Bhojasar village).

o This camp helped me to know my classmates and my friends better. The most
precious discovery was of me in a totally new way. The village experience was also
awesome as for the first time I got to experience life in a village. - Anjuri Chandra
(bengti Village).

o It gave me a space to learn and know the person that I really am. - Suveera (bengti
village)

o This camp was full of fun and learning. My misconceptions about villages
and village life were broken, thanks to pravah. -Imkan Ali (Bhiyasar village).

o The most enriching experience was interacting with the people in the village
and knowing more about their lives. - Nayantara menra (Bhiyasar village).

o The whole experience was very enriching. People whom I didn't even know seemed so
familiar and close to me. Thank you Pravah. -Aditya Malhotra (Ranisar Village).

o Going to the weaver's house and learning to weave was the most profound
and enriching experience. The most beautiful discovery I made about myself
was accepting other peoples' point of view. - Meghna Jain (Ranisar Village).

o Thanks to Pravah for this meaningful and fun trip. - Kajal Dalal (Bhojasar village).

Analysis of Feedback

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The Fun Camp is neither a holiday nor a study tour. Instead the programme is designed for
experiential learning. Urban school students are taken to a village where a credited NGO has
been working towards empowering the community. Students stay with the community,
interacting with the village people and learning about their lives. The program seeks to
breakdown stereotypes by exposing them to the tradition, culture and environment of the
community. This helps in understanding different lifestyles and a deeper understanding of
existing issues.

Exposure to life in a village puts our own lives in perspective. It teaches us to appreciate
what we have and strive for all that we have lost such as hospitality, generosity, love for
nature, clear skies, simplicity and judicious use of resources and a sense of belonging.

Before leaving for the camp, it is important that the facilitators meet the students and the
teachers to share with them the objective of the trip. During this meeting the apprehensions
of the students are heard and dealt with. They are advised on what to expect and what not to
expect. Ground rules are decided upon and the mood for the camp is set.

The feedback of the students returning from the camp is very exciting and overwhelming.
The camp helps the students to discover totally new dimensions of them, helps to know
their friends and classmates in a better way, carry enriching experiences with themselves
and that too with full dose of fun.

Some of the important areas which are largely focused upon in the camp to help the
students are:

Group Dynamics

Initially it was easy for one to sense the incoherency present in the group. It was observed
that there were a lot of smaller groups within the big group. Also, this disconnect was clearly
visible when the big group was divided into three main groups. But slowly and steadily
during the camp it was observed how the group cohesiveness was increasing.

Understanding the Camp Model

23 | P a g e
Here we are concentrating on the sessions and the ice breakers. The ice breakers like trust
walk, trust fall, 1 to 20, confusion and human knot proved fruitful for the facilitators as all
these ice breakers were aimed at breaking the initial wall of ice that forms, mostly between
the students and the facilitators and also among the group members . The session that played
an important role in building up group cohesiveness the most was who am I. Initially it
was noticed that the students, in all the three groups, were not comfortable opening up but
finally some students took the initiative. Although there were some students who didn't open
up at all, but even they found the session interesting and easing? Also sessions on stereotypes
and livelihood helped the students to subside their preconceived notions about village life.

Interaction and communication

The interaction between the students and the villagers helped the students to get another
perspective of life. Staying with the villagers, doing the work they do, eating with them,
knowing about their culture and beliefs, all these helped the students to learn about the
village life.

Another important thing they learned is the lesson on contentment'. The life of the villagers
was hard; it was a day to day struggle for them. But their smiling faces told us that they were
still content and happy. For example the interaction between the URMUL staff and the
students also proved fruitful for the camp. Knowing the history of the organization and how
it creates mass awareness and provides employment though the art of craft to the villagers, all
these information proved vital for the camp.

Shift in consciousness

During the reflection sessions, especially during the second day, the transformation, in the
thought patterns, of the students was clearly visible. Their encounter with the harshness of
life had opened their eyes to the realities of the world. The realization that there is no actual
divide between the rural and urban community and each impacts the other, made them
understood the need for rural and urban unity. Also there was urgency from the students to do
something productive for the villagers on education, and health issues mostly.

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Analysis of Fun camp as a program

Introduction

The camp is an interactive experiential learning module that enables urban students to learn
about rural India through hands -on exposure. It provides an opportunity to urban students to
make friends with rural adolescents, learn traditional crafts, gain insight into rural socio -
economic structures through a village study, builds leadership and team spirit through
adventure and enhances personal confidence and inter-personal skills. The program is
designed as an intensive participatory learning experience of 5 to 7 days using creative
methodologies like theatre, music, simulation exercises and games. The entire camp is
designed as a journey where students reflect upon themselves and their roles in society as
well as break stereotypes through interactions with local people in rural areas. The focus is
on breaking stereotypes through exposure and developing respect for each others culture,
traditions, environment and knowledge systems. Sports, art, music, theatre and adventure are
an intrinsic part of the camp. The camp is also designed with the purpose of exposing
students to voluntary work, NGOs and development work in general. The students are
prepared before the camp, through an orientation workshop for what they are likely to
experience. The emphasis is on learning by doing and reflecting on the rural experience, with
a view to identify areas of change by:

Inculcating positive values and attitudes

Building ownership for self and society

Developing interpersonal skills

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Developing opportunities to exercise social responsibility

After the camp feedback is collected from the students in a follow up program, to evaluate
the impact and learning from the exposure. Students fill in logbooks to record their
experiences, attitudes and thoughts before and during the camp. Facilitation and personal
interaction by the resource persons helps students assimilate the learnings. A great deal
of planning is done to ensure that the whole experience is educational as well as fun. The
logistics and the arrangements for the camp are organized by Pravah in partnership with an
NGO that is working in a rural area.

CONCLUSION

Pravah being an organization that works with young people to impact issues of social justice
through youth citizenship action is there to stay. The impact assessment and organisational
development process for organisational and programmatic evaluation have thrown up several
recommendations for Pravah. It is critical need for Pravah to strengthen its relationship
orientation towards schools and other institutional partners including NGOs. This would enable
Pravah to focus its energies to sustain and strengthen its relationships. While some of them are
being operational through the change projects, a more conscious effort to integrate these into
Pravahs annual planning and review process would be undertaken. This would help Pravah as
an organization to increase their dimensions and expand their horizons.

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Annexure & Bibliography

Pravah

www.pravah.org

www.google.com

www.bestindiansites.com

www.wikipedia.org

www.ngosindia.com

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