On 9th August, 2014, Khelshala celebrated its 5th anniversary in Chandigarh, India. Unfortunately I was unable to attend the event, but was celebrating in spirit with colleagues. Since I was not in Chandigarh to report on what took place, the India-based team are putting together a post-event synopsis.
Once again credit goes to Coach Bajwa and the Khelshala team for reaching this milestone. While there is still a long way to go, there continues to be significant achievements made by the Khelshala children as well as the program itself. For those interested in the details, these can be found in the Khelshala newsletter(s).
While I am thrilled to be part of Khelshala, this is a good time for self-reflection for one’s own journey. I have used this summer to review, assess and plan for further career development. After speaking with various career counselors about the field of social enterprise, I am reminded by a friend’s comment that “it would be good to do something that pays.”
All age groups were welcomed to the event to participate whole heartedly and take part in lifetime sports, such as dance, aerobics, yoga, athletics, squash, tennis, badminton and table-tennis, which were made available for the day. The Khelshala and Majra children joined hands to commence a day of great importance not only for the Khelshala community, but also for the sports society as a whole. The sound of the Dhols, kicked off the Khelshala march in which a group of very enthusiastic local community members arrived to participate in the walk towards the Khel-Mel venue.
Preceding the march, the dance activity conducted by Mr. Sameer Mahajan, Director of Rockstar Academy, lifted the spirits of the children and energized them for a day packed with fun activities. Along with explaining the importance of dance and aerobics in maintaining health and wellbeing of oneself, he began with a warm up before teaching the children chorography he had planned for the session. The dance session was followed by yoga and meditation conducted by Pinki Jha explaining how yoga and meditation can make their minds sharp, peaceful and also how it can enhance their day to day well being, if practiced regularly. In addition, various athletic activities including hurdles and cone drills for agility over a 50m track were conducted by coaches from Panjab University, Chandigarh. Also, many other individual games like squash, tennis, badminton, and table-tennis were a part of the overall day and were managed by friends and volunteers. Our very own Khelshala coach, Mr. Anil Rathee, also directed a tennis tournament. Khelshala children also performed a street play. This was greatly enjoyed by everybody, especially by the group of St. John’s School children in attendance. Khel-Mel activities ended with a grand finale of tug of war competition.
To conclude the proceedings a small prize giving ceremony was hosted by Mr. Bajwa, Founder and Trustee of Khelshala. He also shared with everyone on how sport can help them to stay fit and healthy. The event coverage was carried out by the esteemed Doordarshan channel, and Langar (community lunch) was served to all attending, courtesy of Village Majra Panchayat.
We were truly delighted to have celebrated this United Nations initiative and hope it served the vision and mission of spreading awareness among the community promoting development and peace. We look forward to a bigger and better event next year. We hope to see you in 2015.
Earlier travels to the Caribbean prompted me to learn more about Central America and hence I chose to visit Costa Rica, a country known for ensuring peace and sustainable development. I traveled for 5 days as a budget-tourist staying in youth hostels in San Jose, and La Fortuna as well as in a small inn in Monteverde.
Arenal Volcano in Costa Rica.
What struck me was the scenic childhood similarities of Southern Indian hill stations such as Kodaikanal and Peermade – both of which are also known for attracting travelers from around the world. Plantains, coffee, papaya and pineapples are among the common agricultural products to both Kerala and Costa Rica so I felt like I was traveling back in time.
The highlights of the trip were zip-lining near the Arenal Volcano in La Fortuna and visiting the Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve. If you get a chance, I would highly recommend a trip to Costa Rica as there is a lot to see and do for everyone. I hope to return for a longer stay on my next visit.
The Youtube video link below is a big thank you to all who donated and provided encouragement for my summer in India. I may have forgotten to thank someone so, please forgive me if I missed you.
My hope is that by sharing this Youtube video it will educate, inspire and motivate others who feel moved to get involved or make a contribution to this initiative.
I recently completed my 2+ months service trip in Chandigarh at Khelshala. While I have tried to keep you updated of the highlights along the way, I find myself a bit emotional after being so welcomed by the Khelshala family – Founders, Board members, staff, children, volunteers and well wishers.
Satinder Bajwa, Founder & Trustee of Khelshala presenting a “thank you” gift to Khelshala Secretary.
It was truly an honor and privilege to help advance the mission of Khelshala while interacting with various stakeholders in India and abroad. My heartfelt thanks to Satinder Bajwa for encouraging me to make the journey and many thanks to my family and friends for donating to help fund this trip. I thought about each of you along the way. This made me appreciate the experience even more.
We are not done though. We have set Khelshala on a higher path and so there is a lot more to do take the organization where it deserves to be. I will continue to stay connected to the Khelshala mission, but encourage others who read this to get involved as I hope you will find as much joy and satisfaction as I have experienced. Be strong!
To celebrate India’s 66th Independence Day, fifteen Khelshala children along with Satinder Bajwa, Founder & Trustee of Khelshala, Rajshekhar, Legal Advisor and myself were graciously invited by Ms. Kavita Das, Principal of St. John’s High School in Chandigarh to mark the occasion.
Khelshala students, Mr. Bajwa, Founder & Trustee of Khelshala, Rajshekhar, Legal Advisor, Ms. Kavita Das, Principal, Ms. Rashi Sethi, Teacher and myself.
The ceremony began with the school’s junior cadets marching us to the flagpole where upon Mr. Bajwa hoisted the Indian flag. Thereafter, St. John’s School students put on array of music, dances and treats. Pooja, one of our Khelshala students proudly spoke to an audience of 250 students, staff and parents about the significance of the day followed by Mr. Bajwa who reminded students that, “if you do good things, good things happen.” St. John’s School students’ skits and dances highlighted India’s multitude of cultures, languages and rich heritage of India while emphasizing the importance of gender equity, social tolerance and inclusion.
Personally, it was moving to connect with my “Indian-ness,” and be reminded that it is a part of me that I cannot forget. Having been fortunate to have studied, lived and worked in multiple countries, I believe we should move beyond patriotism and celebrate our common values and humanity in an increasingly interconnected world.
Another objective during my service trip was to set up the Khelshala Computer Learning Center. I am pleased to report today that 10 Khelshala students under the guidance of Ms. Rajvinder, the new Khelshala computer teacher have now joined the digital age. During their first class, the students learned elementary computing concepts.
This achievement was largely due to the synergistic teamwork between Khelshala and the State Bank of India. Thanks to a grant from the State Bank of India, Khelshala was able to purchase 5 desktops and 3 laptops. Moreover, Satinder Bajwa’s (Founder and Trustree of Khelshala) visionary leadership made the project happen.
First Class of students at the Khelshala Computer Learning Center donated by State Bank of India.
Prem Chander, the Khelshala squash coach who was originally trained as an electrician, did all the wiring of electrical sockets in the Center, while my role was to provide support with anything that needed to get done. Among other things, this ranged from painting the Center, supervising delivery of equipment, designing signage and interviewing computer teachers.
Personally, this was a very satisfying project to work on given my prior professional experiences in applying information and communications technologies to the challenges of sustainable development. To have played a small part in the country of my origin was equally gratifying. The lesson learned from this experience is that one should not discard one’s early professional experiences as they can help inform future ones. Cheers to learning and growth!
One of my objectives during my time at Khelshala is to provide direct teaching, coaching and mentoring to the children. As such during the academic component of the day, the Tutors and I facilitate a 15-minute reflection exercise 3 times a week. The rationale behind doing these exercises is to enable the children as well as the Tutors to feel greater ownership for Khelshala and themselves.
We just completed our third week of these exercises with a few initial positive results. At first, the students were reluctant to share their thoughts openly in a group setting on why Khelshala is important, how the program helps and what they can do to improve their experiences.
After feedback from the staff, we decided to capture their attention by incorporating physical and vocal inter-play. Much to our surprise, during the second week Anand, one of the younger and quieter boys spontaneously led the entire group in a Hindi song while the rest of the group were waving their hands in the air from side to side! It was a great moment in confidence building for Anand and the group.
Upon further feedback from the Director of Academics we decided to use my workbook “What Squash Can Teach You,” to focus on practicing English by reading in front of the group and facilitating a reflective question and answer session. Without sounding too biased I am impressed by the children’s ability to interpret and comprehend what squash means to them. Personally, it is very rewarding to hear and see the students absorb life skills through sport.
Over the past few days, I was fortunate to attend the 3rd International Forum on Sport for Peace and Development at the United Nations Headquarters in New York. United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon and the Dr. Jacques Rogge, President of the International Olympic Committee led the opening session of the Forum. Here is the official UN press release.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon and Dr. Jacques Rogge, President of the International Olympic Committee leading the opening session.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon and Dr. Jacques Rogge, President of the International Olympic Committee leading the opening session.
As a member of the International Sport for Development and Peace Association, I attended the forum to represent Khelshala (India) and Kidsquash (USA) to learn, connect and collaborate with others working in the field of sport for development and peace. An informal meeting of practitioners, researchers and educators provided an opportunity for networking as well as an avenue for sharing updates on university programs, research and sport-based youth development initiatives.
There were several references made by Mr. Wilfred Lemke, UN Special Advisor on Sport, on the role of volunteerism in sport as a means to activate young people. As a former United Nations Volunteer, I believe this would be a valuable experience for aspiring development professionals. Thanks to the organizers of the event it was an opportunity to learn from the nuances in high-level, policy discussions as well as be at the forefront to mainstream sport-for development programming in the United Nations systems and beyond.
Thanks to the Bowdoin Club of Boston, I volunteered on a Saturday afternoon at Gaining Ground, a Concord-based organic farm that draws upon community volunteers to donate food to local meal and food programs.
Bowdoin Alums at Gaining Ground, an organic farm for a “Day of Service.”
Beverly Halliday, a Bowdoin alum who is on the Board of Directors of Gaining Ground facilitated introductions and not long after we were in two groups – weeding, planting and sorting various types of vegetables and flowers.
Having facilitated service trips for Concord Academy students, it was good to get first hand experience about the importance of environmental sustainability right in one’s own neighborhood.
If you ever find yourself looking for meaningful things to do over a weekend, I highly recommend spending time at Gaining Ground. Go U Bears!
Explorations in Sport for Development and Peace 