VACATION ISLAMIC CAMP (VIC) - 2014 at Mahabaleshwar

A unique camp was held for students who have just appeared for their SSC & HSC exams by Students Islamic Organisation of India (SIO) - Mumbra. VIC-2014 was held from 26th  to 28th April in the beautiful hills of Mahableshwar. The number of students who participated in this camp was 40 since entry was limited. This camp is being held since last the 20 years and every time it’s a memorable experience.

 There are many factors that make this camp unique and extraordinary. The camp not only instils the spiritual teaching of Islam but also trains them in personality development in the light of Islam. It aims for overall development of the students. There were many interactive Islamic lectures such as ‘The life of the Prophet (PBUH)' , ‘Arkaan-eislam’, ‘Moral values in Islam’, ‘Fitna-e-dajjal’, etc . After every morning prayer there was Dars-e-Quran and dars-e-Hadeeth. There was also an interactive sessions on teenage related issues in which the students showed much interest and discuss their problems openly. The students also participated enthusiastically on sessions such as personality development and career guidance. In the career guidance session students were keen to clear their career related doubts and queries. There many questions asked by students and so the session took long to end. In between these sessions a nath (Islamic song) was recited by a participant or a volunteer. A Hadeeth was recited and explained to the students after every Namaz. There was Wuzu workshop in which the students were thought how to perform Wuzu. They were also thought of how to perform wuzu while travelling or when the water is not available. The students were taken to the ‘Kate’s point’ in the morning to enjoy the beauty of sunrise. There they heard lecture on, ‘Good characters in Islam’ and then they were given assignment on nature, in which they had to observe Allah beautiful creation (nature) and write an essay on it. This task made them observe nature curiously and made them to think about Allah signs.

The students visited many famous places in Mahableswar. On the first day they went to ‘Twelve points’ here apart from enjoying the scenic beauty of mahableshwar the students also discussed on the topic of ‘Tauheed’ , ‘Aakhirat’ and ‘Risalat’. On the second day they went to the kates’ point in the morning and lake point at evening. At lake point’s beautiful botanical garden the participants discussed on ‘friendship’. On the third day they went to Polo grounds for the sports competition and finally to the market for shopping.

Apart from this the students participated in many Cultural and sports related activities. It has now become habitual for the teenagers to use slang in their everyday communication, esp. when they are playing outside with their friends. It was made sure that they do not use slangs esp. during the sports. This and many other factors created an ideal atmosphere in the camp.

The kids as well as their parents have shown appreciation for this camp. Unique camp were children get to learn about Islam and life. Like every time, this time too it has become an immemorial experience for every kid who have participated, as well as those volunteers who were giving their best to make the camp successful.