Around 135 children, accompanied by 90 trained volunteers from Leicester and other centres from the Midlands, enjoyed a day of team-building activities at Beaumanor Hall in Woodhouse, Leicestershire, on Saturday 27 August 2022.
Beaumanor Hall is a Victorian country house set in 34 acres of idyllic countryside. The venue offers training, conference and residential facilities for young people, including outdoor learning experiences for children of all ages.
The trip, titled ‘Samp Camp’, was organised to foster new friendships in a safe, engaging environment. Swamis from BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, Leicester also accompanied the group to share their wisdom and knowledge.
The morning began with motivational messages from swamis that encouraged the children to enjoy and benefit from the day’s learning opportunities and related them to real-life scenarios, drawing inspiration from the life and teachings of Mahant Swami Maharaj as well as Hindu scriptures.
The series of activities – including an obstacle course, rounders, cricket, and many more – provided excitement and an opportunity for the children to bond with one another, cultivating understanding and tolerance in a practical and relaxed atmosphere. The Marble Run activity was particularly challenging, whilst designing objects from paper offered children an opportunity to understand the science of papercraft. Mayur, one of the participants, shared, “I make planes that can stay in the air for longer,” while Vinay said, “I focus more on covering distance.”
Water activities also offered a welcome respite from the hot summer weather and proved to be a perfect conclusion to the trip.
Throughout the day, attendees developed creativity, resilience, reflectiveness, independence and courage to navigate and embrace challenges in life, boosting their self-confidence and inspiring collaborative problem-solving approaches.
Meenaben, a first-time volunteer, said, “The thought process, organisation, execution and just putting children at the heart of everything that you do – I found that truly remarkable and exemplary.”
Conveying his appreciation of the day, Ashishbhai from Coventry added, “All the children really had the most amazing time. These will be truly wonderful memories for everyone.”