The Rural Exposure Camp
Wow! What an experience it was at the rural exposure camp! The camp was held from November 16 to November 18, 2017 in Haroble village. We, the students of II B.A., under the guidance of the coordinator, Mr. Ebenzer, had a rich experience. We were accompanied by Mr. Prashanth, Ms. Roseline, and Mr. Anil, a member of Jesuit alumni .The village is about two and half hours from Bangalore. We reached the village at around 12:30 p.m. We were welcomed by the parish priest Fr. Chinappa. We inaugurated the camp with a small prayer. We were then divided into five groups and assigned responsibilities. On the first day of the camp, we taught the children at the local school, conducted games, and had an interactive session with them. In the evening, we had the opportunity to visit the families. Our personal interaction with the people was not only interesting but also inspiring. We got to know about the farming of various plants such as ragi and groundnut. The main source of income is sericulture; most people were involved in it.
We also got a chance to clean a part of the mountain. We experienced the peacefulness of nature through meditation and exercise. The next day evening, we had a street play which was based on education and women empowerment. The cleaning of the graveyard was wonderful as all the students from different religious backgrounds were involved in this activity. It was a great sign of unity.
The people of Haroble were simple, loving and welcoming. They were happy to be with us and were grateful for the work carried out by us. We noticed that they give a great deal of importance to education; the current generation of caretakers believes that it is essential to educate their children despite being uneducated themselves.
In a nutshell, this was an insightful and thought-provoking experience for all of us. We would like to thank Fr Maxim Dias, our Principal, and Mr. Prashanth and the team who had arranged everything so well. We are grateful to Fr. Chinappa and all the people of Haroble village.
By Yajur and Jyoti
2nd B.A. (EJP)
