DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL WORK

Report on

Rural camp 2011- 2012

DATE: 14th to 20th February 2012

VENUE: CSA Project, Yeldur, Kolar

INTRODUCTION

The Social work Department of Christ University makes serious efforts to

make the curriculum more skill based and practical. As part of curriculum

the students of MSW 2nd semester are required to experience a rural

experience. To serve this purpose the rural camp has been designed from 14 t h

February to 20 t h February 2012.

The students and Faculty members mad e g re a t e ffo rts and p u t the i r

he art and s o u l i nto making this experience fruitful for all of the team. The

students were able to make the best of this opportunity. This report is an

attempt, to pen down all the activities and observations that w ere made

during the camp.

The rural camp is designed to increase students’ knowledge and skill in

social work practice with groups and communities. It helps the students to

learn a lot about rural life, community living, sharing, planning, organising

programmes and about how to adjust with others and live happily. It

promotes the holistic development of the students.

The camp provides ample opportunities for students to fine tune their

interpersonal relationship skills through the process of group dynamics.

Through this assignment the students try to explore the models of group

work and community organisation, the type s, principles, values, skills and

techniques used during the rural camp. The students spread awareness,

information, interact, and organize programmes for the community during

the rural camp. This is a great opportunity for students to learn about rural

living, adapting to the new environment and to work as a united group to

meet a few needs of the community.

The rural camp is helpful in inculcating various skills in the students like

organizing, mobilizing, problem-solving, leadership, decision-making, etc.

Thus, the camp is a good platform to work as a team and learning new skills.

Objectives of the Rural Camp

- To get exposure to rural areas.

- To understand rural lifestyle and rural realities.

- To experience group living and share experiences and learn to adjust with fellow students.

- To helps the students to inculcate talents and skill such as organising, mobilizing,

rapport building, motivating and performing.

- To become more responsible and committed towards social realities.

- To conduct awareness programmes in the villages and schools.

- To inculcate team spirit among the students

- To work on social mapping.

(Students with the Faculty Members and CSA Staff)

COMMITTEES

Below is the list of different committees and groups that were made for the effective

execution of plan in the camp:-

Core Committees formed for the Camp:-

Planning and

programming

Food

Committee

Transportation Cultural Accommodation

1. Anna 2. Lethin 3. Leonnel 4. Jubin 5.Benita

1.Shreyas 2. Aiby 3. Prathishta 4. Anupama

1. Ilene 2. Raj

1. Jenny 2. Nirmal 3. Karthik 4. Nona 5. Dibangana

1. Shalu 2. John

Discipline Evaluation Documentation Finance First Aid

1.Shyna 2. Leena 3. Feba Peter 4. Suvidha

1. Siny 2. Anjum 3. Gangamma 4. Priyanka 5. Ashish

1. Cedric 2. Ramya 3. Reny 4. Sneha 5. Nikita 6. Saloni

1. Shessy 2. Feba Paul

1. Tulika 2. Jillian

Groups Made for the Camp

School Committee Logistics Exhibition Street Play

1.Nikita 2. Siny 3. Leonnel 4. Cedric 5. Feba Peter 6. Feba Paul 7. Jillian 8. Anjum 9. Anupama

1. Sneha 2. Ashish 3. Tulika 4. Nirmal 5. John 6. Aiby

1. Shyna 2. Suvidha 3. Leena 4. Nona 5. Anna 6. Dibangana 7. Reny 8. Jenny

1.Gangamma 2. Priyanka 3.Shreyas 4. Lethin 5. Jubin 6. Prathishta 7. Shalu 8. Saloni 9. Shessy 10. Ilene 11. Benita 12. Karthik 13. Raj 14. Ramya

ABOUT THE CAMP

The Students of MSW from the Department of Social Work, Christ University,

Bangalore went for the rural camp for a week. It was held from 14th to 20th February

2012. 37 students from 2nd semester MSW and 4 students from Norway and 1 student

from Sweden participated in the camp. They were accompanied by 5 Faculty members:

- Mrs. Sushma G. Murthy, Mr. Mathew C.P, Dr. Sheeja Karalam, Mr. Deepu Abraham,

Mr. Cyril John. The Camp was organized at the CSA Project at Yeldur, Kolar. Thus, the

CSA staff at the Project, Mr. Shiv Kumar, Mr. Amresh, Ms. Lalitha also helped and

supported the students throughout the camp.

The following are the activities undertaken by the students in the seven day rural

camp.

1. Social mapping: - The students sketched on A4 sheets and Brown sheets the

already existing stencils of village maps.

2. Shramadan: - The students mobilized the community through home visits and

motivated them to keep their villages clean and plastic free. It was conducted as

a campaign where the students could mobilize the community to do Shramadan

along with them for the same cause. The community appreciated the initiative

and supported the campaign

3. Rally: - The students mobilized children of the community, organized rally with

them in the community spreading awareness on importance of education with

the help of slogans and songs.

4. Exhibition: - The students made posters and models depicting the importance of

education and measures of health and hygiene and exhibited them to the people

in the (mainly focusing on women and children) and also conducted a quiz to

measure the information being conveyed.

5. Games: - The students organized activities like Rangoli competition, spoon and

lemon race, coin and water game and ring game to entertain and mobilize the

community.

6. Street play: - The street play focusing on Importance of education was used as a

tool to create awareness in the community about the advantageous of being

educated and disadvantageous of not being educated.

7. School programme: - The students conducted school activities based on

teamwork, problem solving, creative thinking, leadership, other skills and craft

activities to help the children learn various skills and craft.

8. Group song and group dance: - The students presented a group song and group

dance for the entertainment of the community.

9. Mime: - Mime was performed with the theme of hygiene and bad elements of

the community like stealing.

The students through the above activities learnt many skills like communication,

mobilizing, planning, problem solving, leadership, teamwork, Decision making, etc as

they gave many recommendations, suggestions, and self reflections during the

evaluation session. The students also learnt about the rural environment and interacted

with the community.33

The students left the camp on 20th February 2012 at 2.30 pm and reached Christ

University at 5 PM.

DAILY REPORTS

Day 1: 14.02.2012

PLACE: YELDUR (KOLAR)

Objectives:

To get an orientation of the program from CSA staff.

To build rapport with the CSA staff.

To have an overview and discuss about the activities in the rural camp.

Process: The students reached the campsite at 1.30pm and after lunch and refreshments

the students were given an orientation about CSA. The students had an introductory

session with the CSA staff.

ORIENTATION: Mrs. Lalitha, Field co-ordinator, CSA gave an orientation about CSA’s

project in Kolar. CSA has selected 29 villages which are economically and socially

backward, on the basis of the baseline data. Through its project intervention which

extends to a period of seven years; CSA would achieve its Child Focused Community

Development Program (CFCD) by applying its five components:

Early Child Care (ECC)

Strengthening education

Health

Community based organizations (CBO) and

Livelihood opportunities.

Mr. Amreesh field co-ordinator CSA then explained about the Dos and Don’ts of the

camp from their perspective. Mr. Shivakumar then inspired all the students to work

within the community keeping in mind their culture and also to inspire the villagers.

VILLAGE MAPPING : At 5 pm the students were to undertake a mapping of around

21 villages namely Rameshnagara, Shankarapura, Kannampalli, Gandhinagar,

kadirenahalli, Murukanakunte, Gangaatha, Meliagokunte, Nachahalli, Birganahalli,

Balpalli, Kodihalli, Athikunte, Vadigepalli, Kaggalanattha, Karange, Bainahalli,

Honnikire, Haralakunte, Nachagundlahalli, Yemmanur. The students were divided into

14 groups, each consisting of 3 members. Each group was to chart out the map of a

particular village, also mentioning the houses with toilets. Each house was demarcated

on the basis of roofing- tiled, stone, cement sheeted etc. All of the groups managed to

finish social mapping within 8pm.

EVALUATION & DOCUMENTATION: The evaluation and documentation session

was conducted at 9 pm headed by the evaluation committee in the presence of faculty

and the CSA staff. After the evaluation committee gave their suggestions, the faculty

also shared their suggestions and reflections. The students were reminded to maintain

discipline for the next seven days, manage their time, proper planning and execution of

programs etc. some of the general suggestions were:

Maintenance of discipline and sticking to time limits.

Adherence to language rules (only English or the local language)

Listing out every inventory item that is used, to maintain accountability.

Following dress code.

The session ended by discussing the next day’s schedule and the faculty suggested that

dinner could be finished early so that evaluation and cultural events could be

conducted earlier.

The detailed report of each committee is given below:

TRANSPORTATION COMMITTEE: The committee could prepare and make

arrangements for departure at 8:45 am. On the way, they had to face with an

inconvenience of flat tyre which took around an hour to be repaired, with the initiative

of the transport committee. The students could reach the destination at 1:30 pm.

ACCOMODATION COMMITTEE: The committee arranged and looked after the

dormitory for boys and girls separately. Mattresses and pillows were distributed to all

students and the committee saw to it that the instructions of the discipline committee

with regard to accommodation and dormitory arrangements were followed well.

DISCIPLINE COMMITTEE: The committee noted that the students were very

punctual with regard to reaching the starting point at 7.30 am. Though some of them

did not follow the dress code and the usage of regional languages was present the

discipline committee would take care of it. The committee also wrote down the Dos and

Don’ts for the camp once again for the convenience of all the members.

PROGRAMME AND PLANNING COMMITTEE: As the arrival at the camp site was

delayed, a few changes in the plans (previously prepared) were made. The Village

Mapping could be conducted according to the plan, and the class was able to meet with

the objective of the activity. The committee could organize and co-ordinate with other

committee members in the day’s activity, even carefully managing and coordinating

with others about the last minute changes.

FOOD COMMITTEE: The committee was able to arrange and serve lunch at 2.30. Tea

was served at 4.30pm which was followed by dinner at 8.15pm arranged and served by

all the committee members.

FIRST AID COMMITTEE: The committee labeled each medicine along with it

descriptive functions. This was done so that anyone could easily use the medical kit

even in the absence of the members in charge. Medicine was provided to a classmate

who was suffering with stomach ache as well as to a faculty who was not well.

FINANCE COMMTEE: The finance committee had planned to use the budget for

buying saplings but reverted from the plan as the price exceeded the estimation.

EVALUATION COMMITTEE: The committee could conduct an evaluation on the

committees and gave suggestions whenever required. Emphasis was laid on the

maintenance of discipline, following of dress code and also optimal use of electricity

and water. Program and planning committee was stressed to keep up activities on time,

as per the schedule.

CULTURAL COMMITTEE: The cultural committee had planned for the Lucky Draw

preparation (by distributing chits to be dropped in the box) and cultural performance of

a group (within class). Students, teachers and CSA staff participated in the lucky draw.

The teachers and CSA staff were criteria and evaluation papers to evaluate the

performance of the team for the day. The cultural team also gathered the dance team for

a practice of all songs to be performed in the villages. The cultural team also informed

the next class team about the next day’s performance.

OBSERVATION: The CSA Staff were very helpful in explaining about the programme

and gave proper information and instructions.

The Village mapping work was divided in such a way that each student

could participate and it helped the students understand the tools and

importance of PLA.

The Evaluation Committee as well as the faculty shared observations good

suggestions which could be brought under considerations for improvement.

DAY 2: 15.02.2012

OBJECTIVES:

To understand and learn the activities of school committee.

To prepare for the village visit.

To mobilize the community and organize the activities planned for the

village.

PROCESS: The day started with meditation which was lead by Cedric and the theme

for meditation was teamwork. Then the school committee taught the class all the

activities and crafts that they had planned for the school students. The whole class

worked as a team and also came up with few suggestions. All of them were taken up by

the committee.

PREPARATORY SESSIONS: On completion of this session, the street play group,

exhibition team and logistics team started off with their preparations for the day’s

programs. The program committee gave the schedule for the day and explained the

whole schedule along with timings. Few strategies like using music to attract the

villagers were discussed. And it was decided that the students would also invite the

villagers for shramadaan. After the discussion, Mr. Mathew C.P. explained to the

students about the sort of attitude that they must be carrying throughout the village

activities. This session was followed by lunch.

VILLAGE VISIT: On the completion of the lunch, the students left for the village

Chintamakkanahalli. The students conducted following activities in the village:

Shramadaan aiming at plastic free zone & Rally: It was led by Sneha and

Ashish. In order to mobilize the people, the team went on to a school and

gathered the children who were taught slogans and explained on the importance

of a plastic free village.

The students were taken for a rally and at the same time one group of students

were to be with the shramadaan team, which aimed to mobilize people in order

to clean their village. The community participation could not be achieved but the

children actively participated with the students in rally and shramadaan.

Exhibition: It was led by Suvidha and Shyna. Though the team had gone prepared

with the charts and models not all could be exhibited for lack of space and the

explanation or community involvement in the charts could not be achieved because

of space constraints and lack of crowd.

Cultural Programs & Games: The cultural team could put up various games for the

community but found a tough time managing the crowd as only one game was

conducted at a single time and all the people rushed regardless of spectators,

participants, volunteers etc. The team could also put up a good cultural program for

the community comprising of the street play, mine, group song and dance.

EVALUATION: The evaluation session was conducted after the dinner. The evaluation

committee appreciated the students for the work in the villages and at the same time

pointed out a few things to be noted, which were:

Shramadaan was completed in an hour whereas the prescribed time for it was 2

hours.

Limited usage of the material that the exhibition committee had prepared.

The class discussed on these points and came up with effective suggestions like;

Finding a common dump yard for the whole community and many of the

students opined that the sticks that they were provided with to conduct the

shramadaan were not helpful and they suggested having gloves so that they

wouldn’t have to work with bare hands.

To have a proper idea about the geography of the village before going.

A suggestion regarding the strategies to attract villagers for the shramadaan was

finding a main person in the community who can actually inspire and influence

all the other villagers.

The ideas were given to the exhibition committee about how they can showcase

their charts and models midst of the cultural activities by bringing in the content

of the charts through speech amidst the programmes and also pointing out the

charts while speaking.

Cultural committee proposed that they would need more number of people

form the next village visits to control the crowd.

FACULTY EVALUATION/SUGGESTIONS: Mr. Mathew C.P. congratulated the

students on their success in mobilizing and organizing activities in the community. He

also expressed that the suggestions that the students came up with, were very much

appropriate. The street play members were to make sure that they do not block the road

while performing. Mrs. Sushma G. Murthy also congratulated the students and was

encouraged to keep on working hard and not to expect great results at the very first

visit to the villages. The students from Norway and Sweden said that they had a great

learning experience from the day’s activities. Mr. Deepu Abraham also appreciated the

class and expressed that the strategy of burning plastics was appropriate for our

program as it was a short term plan. He opined that the exhibition committee did not

make effective use of the resources and time. The CSA staff members shared that the

crowd that actually turned up exceeded the expectations. The faculty and CSA staff

appreciated the street play.

A general report of all the committees is given below:

PLANING COMMITTEE: The committee made sure that the schedule for the day was

followed on time, starting from meditation to evaluation. They gave prior information

about the next day’s schedule. Proper slots were allotted for each activity in the village

such that every student got an opportunity to be a part of various activities. The team

could coordinate well with the other committees and also got a few suggestions which

they look forward to practice.

SHRAMDAAN COMMITTEE: It was temporarily formed to head the Shramdaan

(aimed at plastic free zone) and a rally with children, headed by Ashish Kumar and

Sneha. The committee with other students mobilized the school children and also

headed the rally stressing the importance of hygiene, performing Shramdaan on the

way.

TRANSPORTATION COMMITTEE: The committee was helped by Mr. Shivakumar

who arranged for local transport (2 tempos) which left to reach Chintamakkanahalli at

2.30pm from camp site and reached the village at 3, followed by departure from the

village at 7.45.

EXHIBITION COMMITTEE: The committee was helped with a preparation team

consisting of 7 members to help put up the exhibition charts and models. However, the

committee was faced with a lack of volunteers due to some initial confusion which was

resolved with the help and cooperation of the members from logistics committee. The

team could not display all the charts and models owing to the limitations in space and

the explanation of charts could not achieve the desired results for lack of crowd.

However these are sought to be improved with the suggestions out of evaluation.

EVALUATION COMMITTEE: The committee brought to notice issues related to

Shramdaan (on how to mobilize the community, usage of resources etc); exhibition

(usage of models and charts, strategies on increasing visibility). A discussion was

carried out on all of these issues which were supported by suggestions from all.

CULTURAL COMMITTEE: The committee could engage groups for a rehearsal in

various events like group song, dance, mime, street play etc. The team in concern with

logistics team prepared a checklist of various properties which must be carried to the

village. Though at a very short notice the team was informed about the rangoli

competition, it was able to manage to work on the same successfully. The team

members simultaneously engaged themselves in various activities like games, sports,

cultural programs etc and were helped by the entire group to put up a great program.

SCHOOL COMMITTEE: The committee could put up a training session for the entire

class on how to make crafts (flower, butterfly, hanger posters etc) and on games and

activities to be conducted. The committee also got suggestions and feedback from some

of the students which is sought to be added on.

OBSERVATIONS:

The school committee conducted a good training session o the craft and activities

to be engaged in the school visit (for the children). They made sure that every

member could understand the craft/activity well by carefully repeating and

demonstrating each activity.

All the committees concerned, worked hard for a fruitful preparatory session

before going or the village visit.

The mobilization for shramadaan could have been better as the villagers did not

participate in good number and the students need to work on the

suggestions/strategies evolved in the evaluation session.

The activities conducted in the village were properly planned and well executed,

to the effect that every student worked beyond their responsibilities and

cooperated in making the event a success.

All the students put up a meaningful evaluation session by bringing in

discussions on various issues, suggestions/ strategies to tackle them.

DAY 3: 16.02.2012

PLACE: NATIONAL SCHOOL, YELDUR.

GOVERNMENT HIGH SCHOOL, YELDUR.

OBJECTIVES:

To conduct activities in schools for children.

To build rapport with the student community.

To continue village mapping.

PROCESS: The day started with a meditation conducted by Tulika Mukherjee, with self

reflection and unity as the theme. The students were then divided into 9 groups by the

planning committee to conduct activities and games in school.

SCHOOL ACTIVITY: National School, Yeldur: Once the students reached national

school, yeldur, each group was instructed on what they had to do (crafts/activities)

with the children by the school committee. Where as one member stayed with the core

school committee to distribute essential aids and materials for activities/craft.

The respective teams went to the classes allotted by the planning committee and

engaged the children in games and activities for an hour and craft for another. The

games were based on developing team work, leadership, problem solving capacities,

creativity, communication etc among students. The craft activity was directed towards

helping them make wall hangings for homes/class with cardboard cuttings, paint,

strings etc. the students concluded with a small program with the 10 th grade students

by singing a few songs for them.

SCHOOL COMITTE MEETING: A meeting was conducted under the leadership of

school committee to evaluate the work done in the morning session and also to take the

feedback and suggestions on how to perform better.

SCHOOL ACTIVITY: Govt. High School: After lunch, the students went to government

high school yeldur and performed similar activities as in the previous school. The

students could organize activities effectively as all the students worked as a team

avoiding the short comings of the morning session and the school committee helped in

the flow of the programme.

VILLAGE MAPPING: The students in the evening came back after a personal time, to

continue working on the village mapping activity. However, based o the suggestions

evolved in the previous meetings, two of the students went to the village to be visited

for the next day to conduct a pilot study about the village. A meeting was conducted in

which those students explained the possibilities of conducting exhibition games and

street play along with the description of the place.

EVALUATION: The committee brought to notice that though the material was less the

school committee managed it well by working on it in the afternoon session, so that the

mistakes were not repeated and the targets could be met. There was a discussion on

food timings with the result that the timings be observed for one hour for lunch and

breakfast and the other students were encouraged to serve voluntarily, while the food

committee was had their turn.

The students were encouraged to solve conflicts at the peer level to reflect the unity and

also to work on the time management more effectively. Evaluation committee also

suggested the planning committee to have a leader for the rally. All the committees

were asked to make a checklist of the objects that would be taken to the villages which

would be helpful for the logistics committee to function effectively.

General overviews of the functions of the committee concerned are:

PLANING COMMITTEE: As per the plan, the school committee and the planning

committee collaborated together and planned the school sessions in two schools.

Several sessions of planning were conducted with all the required committees (school,

finance, logistics, cultural etc), with concerned authorities, staff etc for effective sessions

which resulted in an expected level of success.

SCHOOL COMMITTEE: The committee could get the students divided into 8 groups,

to be sent to the 8th and 9th standards. The groups were divided such that every group

had at least one Kannada speaking member. While six members, helped the committee

in reaching the essential aids to the respective classes. The committee could work much

better in the afternoon session with the feedback and suggestions from the other

members involved. The committee noticed that each student could act according to the

situation, were flexible to make changes, and co-operated well, in order that the

program be a success.

CULTURAL COMMITTEE: The committee could perform things as per the plan. The

group song team performed in one of the schools though it was not according to the

schedule and the group dance could not be conducted for technical reasons. The

committee met for a session for planning and preparing for the next day’s cultural

program in the village and could also conduct a cultural program for the members after

the evaluation session.

EVALUATION COMMITTEE: The committee could discuss on the activities of the

school committee and many problems were solved by the suggestions given in the

afternoon meeting. Issues relating to short break for dinner and discipline could also be

brought up discussed and given suggestions, during the session.

OBSERVATIONS:

The students could easily interact with the children and build rapport with them.

All students shared equal responsibility and participated well and in the

activities.

Programs were conducted as per schedule and the time was well managed.

The meeting conducted in the afternoon before going to the next school ensured

better performance due to suggestions and evaluations given.

The children enjoyed the activities and participated in all of them.

The programs were organized and executed with better teamwork.

The suggestions given by the evaluation committee was well incorporated in

terms of the pilot study which sparked a good discussion about the strategies

and helped committees to prepare well.

DAY 4: 17.02.2012

PLACE: HARALKUNTE

OBJECTIVES:

To discuss the plan for the day with the planning committee.

To engage in a preparatory session for the same.

To organize and conduct activities for the villagers in Haralkunte.

PROCESS: The day started with a meditation lead by Aiby Joseph. A small meeting

was then held by planning committee carefully mentioning the details of the day’s

time table. The students then took time to prepare for the activities in village. Two

students left to conduct a pilot study on the next village to be visited. The

documentation committee also managed to conduct a small meeting which resulted

in better delegation of work to all of its members, review of work done so far and

the committee also decided to speak to the other members in order to inspire the

committees to submit the reports on time.

The students in the afternoon were joined by CSA staff, Murugan sir and Godfred

sir who asked the students about their preparations and encouraged them to work

hard. After lunch the teams left for Haralkunte at 2.15 and reached there at 2.40.

SHRAMDAAN & RALLY: The Shramadaan and rally committee headed by Lethin

and Gangamma, started by visiting a school and mobilizing children for both the

activities. The children were divided for both rally and Shramadaan. The

suggestions of the evaluation committees with regards to using plastic covers as

gloves and sacks to collect the garbage was applied with the help of logistics

committee. The activities however finished within an hour as opposed to one and

half hour allotted for the same. The community participation was largely from the

children.

EXHIBITION: The exhibition team arranged the charts while the rally and

shramadaan was taking place. The exhibition team also made use of the models

which they had prepared. Special care was taken to the explanation of charts by

pointing it out during the cultural program.

GAMES & CULTURAL PROGRAM: The shramadaan and rally was followed by

games for people of all ages. As opposed to the previous visit larger community

participation was observed in games such as Rangoli competition, lemon and spoon

race, Coin game etc.

The cultural program was organized with the help of the cultural committee,

consisting of a group song, mime, group dance and prize distribution for winners of

games. This time, as a part of community involvement, the emcee’s made it a point

to ask questions relevant to the charts exhibited, and the participants were rewarded

with a gift. This encouraged the participation of the community.

EVALUATION: The committee brought about several important observations like:

A scarcity of water was faced, especially when the members had to wash off the

paint (of street play, mime) to be a part of other programs.

The activities conducted saw a repetition of members within the same activity.

Some of the suggestions made were:

Every student being given a chance to be in different (activity)

committees.

Headcount to be taken by discipline committee.

Time between Shramdaan and cultural program to be made flexible so

that they can prepare well for the latter.

FACULTY /STAFF EVALUATION AND SUGGESTIONS: Mr. Murugan. G,

Programme Officer CSA, congratulated the efforts of the students and suggested that

the best way to mobilize people was to go and talk to them as they appreciate. He also

brought to notice that participation of the community people was less because of the

religious barriers.

Dr. Godfred Victor, Additional Director CSA, suggested that, the students were to be

more mindful of the rural culture in all their activities, which would help them to

understand the community better. He also brought into consideration that the Cultural

program should be more sensitive to the likes of the people as it attracts the largest

number of crowd and that the mime could be followed by an explanation after every

scene, as the village crowd was not prepared for it. The faculty pointed that the

exhibition had to be more effective, in terms of, the community coming to see the

exhibition. They also suggested the students to take good care of their health so as to

avoid problems and to ensure good levels of energy.

An overview of different committees is given below:

PLANNING COMMITTEE: The planning committee informed the class about the

plans and divided the groups for exhibition, cultural preparation and for other

activities. The committee had realized that there has to be more planning done in case

of shramadaan, as it was not coming out to be a great success. The committee even

managed to co-ordinate all other committees and their work.

TRANSPORTATION COMMITTEE: The committee could arrange for two tempos for

transportation, which left from Yeldur at 2:15and reached the village at 2:40 and left

from the village by 7:30. In order to avoid confusion, all the materials to be carried were

put in one vehicle.

EXHIBITION COMMITTEE: There was a little confusion about the location of the

exhibition. Finally the location of the exhibition had to be changed and after that the

exhibition went on smooth. But the exhibition preparation time used up the time

allotted for the explanation of charts.

CULTURAL COMMITTEE: The committee actively involved in the preparation hour,

practicing for the cultural program and making list of required things to the logistics

team. In the village, though a problem was met with, in terms of venue, the cultural

program was conducted smoothly with the help and co-operation of all members. After

the evaluation the cultural team could host the performance of a team of Norwegian

students, ABBA, who performed on the theme “entertainment”.

EVALUATION COMMITTEE: Evaluation committee congratulated the food

committee, exhibition committee, cultural committee and logistics committee for their

organized and group work. Few drawbacks also came to light such as lack of water and

shramadaan timings. Problems faced by different trainees were discussed. Suggestions

were taken in order to improve the quality of the program.

OBSERVATIONS:

The suggestions given in the planning committee meeting before leaving to the

village were well discussed by the team.

The time was well managed as all the activities in the program were well

discussed.

Community participation was seen less in the Shramadaan and rally, other than

the schoolchildren who were mobilized.

The evaluation committee prepared for a good evaluation session as they looked

at various committees.

The interaction with the CSA staff enabled the discussion of various problems

faced in community mobilization and the solutions and strategies for the same

DAY 5: 18.2.2012

Place: Muruganahalli, Kondanahalli, Kaidanahalli, Honnikere, Nachkuntanahalli &

Shettihalli

OBJECTIVES:

To organize and prepare for activities at 5 villages.

To organize activities at Shettihalli for the community.

To build rapport with the community.

PROCESS: The students went to 5 villages in the morning and organized activities at

the villages. The activities were based on craft, teamwork, and entertainment. The

students could easily build rapport with the children and put up a meaningful session.

Then the students came back and sat for a meeting, headed by the planning committee,

to discuss on the program at the village (the schedule, activities, committees,

suggestions etc).The students then went to the village and organized the following:

SHRAMADAAN & RALLY: It was led by Reny and Shessy and this time a new

strategy for community mobilization which was discussed in the planning committee

meeting was applied, the students would conduct house visits while the rally people

would wait outside, through house visits, the shramadaan team would mobilize the

people to join them in cleaning their village. However, the students noticed that the

village was comparatively cleaner and had less of plastic; the team could successfully

mobilize a few people for shramadaan, while the rally was conducted well.

EXHIBITION: As opposed to previous villages, the exhibition now followed a

particular timeslot in which the children and the women gathered around the place

were taken to see the exhibition and for the explanation of charts. This ensured the

participation of the people in cultural program and even women Answered to the

questions put up by the emcees.

GAMES AND CULTURAL PROGRAM: The cultural committee also witnessed a great

amount of participation from the community, in all their programs. The cultural

programs included street play, mine, group song, dance etc, which was well enjoyed by

the villagers.

EVALUATION: The evaluation committee came up with a good session in which every

committee involved in the day’s activity was congratulated. The schoo l committee had

organized the activities, distributed the aids and materials for craft adequately. Though

some initial problems were faced by a group, it was resolved immediately. Exhibition

team was also congratulated on having come up with a proper utilization of spaces,

time slot etc for their exhibition. The Logistics team also did a great work by carefully

segregating the materials needed for each group/committee for the program.

The faculties were also happy on the performance and hard work put up by the

students and encouraged all to work even harder and better.

A general report of the committees concerned is given below:

PLANNING COMMITTEE: The committee could explain the plan prepared and utilize

time for suggestions from the fellow students. Newer strategies on mobilizing the

community people were discussed and worked upon.

SCHOOL COMMITTEE: The committee could make 5 groups and ensure that the

materials they required are reached to them. Every group had a leader, and the groups

were once again guided on the crafts to be taught and the materials that they had with

them.

EXHIBITION COMMITTEE: The team was able to go ahead with the preparations and

the setting up of the location as planned. The team was successful in communicating the

purpose of the exhibition to the children as planned. Activity of combing the hair of the

children was carried out. This was not included in previous visits. The entire group

including members from shramadaan committee assisted the exhibition team and thus

it was a success.

CULTURAL COMMITTEE: The committee had a discussion about the preparations for

the cultural activities in the community. The team was able to make suggestions and

improve the working of the committee. During the village visit in Shettihalli, the

cultural team could plan and organize different games and activities as well as

performances effectively.

EVALUATION COMMITTEE: During the evaluation session, the school, planning,

cultural, logistics, exhibition and the other committees were appreciated for their

performance. All the groups performed well in the school session and everything went

on smoothly. The emcee and programs for the day was good. All the groups were

motivated.

OBSERVATIONS:

The activities at the school were better planned and organized. The confusions

in front of children could be avoided for each group.

The school authorities were very helpful and supported the students in their

activity.

The programs conducted at the village was better than the previous day’s

school visit as everything went as per planned.

The exhibition worked out very well, as everybody listened to the

explanations and the team had adopted a new strategy of combing hair.

All the students were very happy at the success of the program and active

teamwork could be seen.

DAY 6: 19.2.2012

PLACE: BOVIHALLI

OBJECTIVES:

To have a meeting with the planning committee to discuss the plan for the day.

To work on social mapping, and have a preparatory session on cultural

activities.

To organize activities at Bovihalli village.

PROCESS: The day started with a meditation led by Prathishta K V. After the

meditation, the planning committee explained the schedule for the day. A suggestion

was made as to continue home visits before shramadaan. After the meeting, students

took time to work on social mapping, preparation for cultural programs and also

making gifts for the children in the community, to be given in the question answer

session or as prizes.

In the afternoon, another meeting was called, in order to explain the venue and where

the different teams planned to conduct their activities. This was followed by departure

to the village and the students conducted the following programs there:

SHRAMADAAN & RALLY: This activity was led by Priyanka.S and Saloni Naik. The

same strategy was followed as in the previous day for shramadaan and this time the

students could mobilize some people, but language also acted as a big barrier to the

students as most of them were Telegu speaking people. The rally was conducted by

mobilizing children from every house of the village.

EXHIBITION: The team put up a very good exhibition even with the limitations of

space. The team also made arrangements for the explanation of charts to children and

women and all the people around in both the languages. This was followed by games

for people of all ages.

CULTURAL PROGRAMS: The team put up a very effective cultural program, which

attracted big crowd towards the evening when the people in the community had come

back from their work.

EVALUATION: Since the next day was supposed to have a detailed evaluation session,

the committee did not prolong the session but stuck to the day’s evaluation. The

committee congratulated all the teams at work and especially cultural which drew a big

crowd. The committee also shared the observation that there was a team work in all the

efforts of the students which was well oriented towards understanding of the people.

The students did their best to be always on scene to communicate in both the languages.

A general report of all the committees involved is:

PLANNING COMMITTEE: The committee had a meeting with the exhibition and the

cultural committee leaders and discussed the village activity. The planning committee

later briefed the village activities to the entire group. The program was well coordinated

and team work was observed. Program went according to the time and was a success.

EXHIBITION COMMITTEE: The committee met with an initial confusions and

limitations about the utilization of the space but it could be overcome with the help of

the preparation team and other volunteers who helped in setting up the venue. The

explanation of charts could be achieved with the help of students speaking in both

Kannada and Telegu, addressing both children and the older crowd which had

gathered around.

CULTURAL COMMITTEE: The cultural activities within the community could be

carried out successfully. The mime was performed with a narrative on the theme and

significance after every scene which helped the cultural team convey the message to the

community. Being the last day of the rural camp, four teams within the class performed

cultural activities which were followed by games and lucky draw; prizes were

distributed to all winners.

EVALUATION COMMITTEE: The evaluation team had a session after dinner. The

team appreciated the performance of all the committee. The evaluation team had a

session after dinner. The team appreciated the performance of all the committees for the

work they had done during the day. The session started on time and went on as

planned. In this meeting there were no negative points or no suggestions. The day was

a success. The faculty members also appreciated all the committees for the initiation and

good work.

OBSERVATION:

The cultural team could well incorporate the suggestion of including a narrative

after mime, which could therefore substantially convey the message to the

community.

The meeting conducted before departure to the village helped the teams

concerned adapt to the limitations of the space chosen and therefore plan

accordingly.

The shramadaan and rally could mobilize people for the evening program,

though the community participation in the activity remained to be superficial.

DAY 7: 20.02.2012

PLACE: YELDUR

OBJECTIVES:

To spend time on self reflection.

To evaluate the work of different committees.

To share the experiences from the camp and personal & professional growth.

To have a feedback from the faculty and the staff.

PROCESS: The day started with a meditation led by Suvidha Bhatnagar and the

planning committee discussed the agenda of the meeting. The members were to sit

according to the core committees and a leader form each of them was to speak on the

work done, the individual contribution, division of work, problems faced etc. A general

report of the committees is given below:

Food Committee: The committee shared that the responsibilities were equally shared

by all the members. They took suggestions from the students regarding each day’s

menu and gave them to the person in charge of preparation. All the members were

helped by the rest of the group in terms of taking turns to volunteer to serve while they

had food.

First Aid Committee: The committee was able to be of help as people faced several

health problems and were thankful to staff and other students for their guidance and

suggestions, so that they could serve better.

Evaluation Committee: The committee observed that there was a good team work

among its members and every session was backed by insights and observations from its

members. The work was divided among the members.

Accommodation Committee: The committee could make arrangements relating to

accommodation and remarked that though a few problems were faced initially due to

the restrictions, they could be duly solved.

Transportation Committee: The committee shared that all the arrangements for

transportation could be made for with the help of Mr. Shivkumar and expressed thanks

to the discipline committee for helping with the head counts.

Cultural Committee: The committee observed that the work was equally shared by all

the members and could not have been possible without the help and support of the

whole group. They also noted that every experience taught them to do better for the

next.

Finance Committee: The committee could coordinate with all the other committees for

matters of expenses and at the same time could be a part of other activities. They also

thanked all the committees for limiting the expenses and sticking to the budget as well

as the faculty for their guidance.

Planning Committee: The committee could plan and organize various activities in the

villages, schools in co-ordination with other committees. The members could work as a

team. They thanked all the committees for their suggestions and recommendations as

well as CSA staff for informing the villages, coordinating with village volunteers etc.

Street Play Committee: The committee observed that all the members participated well

and others took the initiative to replace the members when they could not be a part of

street play for health reasons.

School Committee: The committee could bring out the plans into action and could

function well with the support of other committees. The committee also thanked all the

members for supporting the committee in their success.

Logistics Committee: The committee could function properly with the help of all the

other committees who carefully abided by their requirements of submitting a checklist

from every committee and carefully maintaining their own respective materials. The

committee thanked all the committees for the same.

Exhibition Committee: The members of the committee contributed in the preparation

phase by preparing the charts and also in the activity/implementation phase in the

beginning when they stood for preparing the exhibition venues.

Documentation Committee: The committee could divide the work equally for all the

members in the group. However, they faced a problem as some of the members were

involved in more than one committees thus they couldn’t contribute as much as they

could for the documentation committee.

This was followed by the students sharing their individual feedback and self reflection

as a result of the camp. They also mentioned about the personal and professional

learning that could be acquired being a part of the camp.

The CSA staff shared that planning for the camp had been a difficult task for them and

they had listed down a few activities like Shramadaan, rally, exhibition, street play etc.

They observed that these had been very well executed by the students and because of

this CSA could now have a good rapport with the communities. They noted that the

planning, evaluation sessions of the students were very crucial in the success of the

program and so also was the volunteerism of the students. The staff appreciated the

adaptability of the students to the rural culture and the situations.

The faculty observed that on the whole, failures could be outweighed by success and

that though there were ups and downs; it was all well evaluated and worked upon.

They observed that though the code of conduct had been very strict, it was only aimed

at developing an observation and learning from the community’s perspective by being a

part of it. The unity of the entire group was appreciated and it was noted that the

students could manage and resolve conflicts amongst themselves. The resource

mobilization and efforts to mobilize the community was appreciated well.

OBSERVATIONS:

The evaluation session was helpful in analyzing the work and feedback of each

committee.

The time spent on personal reflections helped the students to be more aware of

each other and to appreciate each other.

The feedback of faculty and staff on the program as a whole helped the

students in better analysis of their contribution and also encouraged them to

work harder.

ACHIEVEMENTS:

Thus, things achieved during the camp:-

Teamwork

Observation skills and developing insights

Time management

Finance management

Planning and implementations of suggestions

Members supported each other

Maintaining logistics

Critical evaluation

Mobilizing communities and rapport building

Conducted awareness programmes

The students learnt the following skills during the rural camp:- Teamwork, Almighty

Presence, Problem solving, Overcome Language Barrier, Conflict Resolution,

Leadership skills, Self Reflection, Face short-comings, Be flexible as per the situation,

overcame stage fear, skill development, learnt about village community, individual

potential was identified, unity was observed, misunderstanding could be resolved,

observation skills, initiatives were taken, personal friendship was enhanced, report

writing, rapport building with community, decision making, etc.

The above was attained successfully through the camp, the students learnt the above

with the active support of the faculties and CSA staff as they guided, gave suggestions

for the enhancement and improvement in the activities. The faculties constantly strived

for excellence as they motivated the students to keep on working hard and as a team.

The faculties made a point to meet the leaders of the core committee for reflections on

the day’s activity and gave suggestions for improvement. Thus, it helped the students

reflect and work as a team for the success of the camp.

CONCLUSION

Most of the objectives laid down for the camp were achieved in the allotted time. The

students learnt various skills and most importantly learnt to work as a team. They could

interact well with the community and could adjust well to the rural environment: - the

food, weather, surroundings without complaining. They could mobilize the community

well and that was observed as the community came in large number to watch the

programme. The students could spread awareness on issues like plastic cleaning,

hygiene and education. The efforts of the students were observed as the community

stepped out of their home to clean their neighborhood and attended the programme.

The students also concentrated on children community in the villages and taught them

skills like problem solving, creative thinking, leadership, teamwork, etc. They also

taught the children crafts which were enjoyed by the children and well appreciated by

the school and CSA staff. Thus, the experience of coming to a rural setting helped the

students in understanding the differences between urban and rural settings; they could

co-relate the theoretical knowledge to the field practice. Thus, the entire camp, was

successful in helping the students to apply social work skills and principles to the rural

community.

Documentation Team

1. Cedric 2. Nikita 3. Ramya 4. Reny

5. Saloni

6. Sneha

Faculty Coordinators: Mrs. Sushma G. Murthy, Dr. Sheeja B. Ramani Karalam, Mr.

Mathew C.P, Mr. Deepu Abraham, Mr. Cyril John

Annexure: 1

EXPENDITURE DETAILS OF THE CAMP

S.No Particulars Budgeted Amount in

Rs.

Actual Expenditure

in Rs.

Remarks

1 Food 42000.00 53781.00 2 Stationary Items 2500.00 11800.00

3 Local Transportation 9000.00 6000.00 4 Hiring charges for the audio

systems for village activities 2500.00 00.00 The audio

system is carried from CSA

5 Travel Expenditure (to take the students to Kolar and

reach back to Christ University)

10600.00 00.00 The University Bus is utilized

for travel

6 First Aid 1500.00 1080.00 7 Drinking water (10 Canex25

Rsx7 days=1750 1750.00 00.00 The amount is

included in the food bill

8 Kerosene for Generator/Amplifier repair

1000.00 265.00

9 Miscellaneous 2500.00 00.00

10 Cooking Gas 00.00 3300.00 11 Labour Charge 00.00 1200.00

12 Generator Rent 00.00 1100.00 The CSA Generator was out of order for

one day

13 Kitchen Utensils Rent 00.00 1160.00

Total 73350.00 79686.00