Dashain Camp Fun!
Thursday, November 02, 2017
We ran our third annual Dashain Camp at Kopila Valley School this October. Dashain Camp is a 10-day program for our students as well as community children in order to keep them safe, happy and healthy over the month-long school break. Our Camp Director Miriam and Assistant Director Issy started planning six months prior to camp and their hard work paid off. It was the best Dashain Camp yet!
Each morning started with sign-ups for the day’s classes outside of school gates. It was the perfect setup because children playing on the community playground could see what we were doing and asked if they could join in on the fun. It was amazing to see so many children excited about camp, many of whom have never attended camp before.
The older students attended workshops and classes at Camp, including event planning, debate, soccer, peer counseling and conflict mediation. The younger grades did gymnastics, comic book character design, meditation, hiking, drama, soccer, art and jewelry making. Nursery and KG learned Biodanza and arts and crafts by some of our volunteers alongside their Nepali teachers. Seeing the pure joy on the children's faces as they danced or made rain sticks and slime made our hearts burst.
Our volunteers every year have been fantastic, but this year's team really redefined the word. They were beyond fantastic, and we could see it in the excitement of the children as they arrived at camp every day. Each volunteer was paired with an 11th-grade student volunteer to help facilitate the activities. One of our KVS graduates, Deepa, even became an Assistant Camp Director this year! The student leadership that we saw blew us away.
One of our Kopila friends said it best: “The energy level at camp could have powered a lot of lights.” We could not agree more! Thank you to everyone who volunteered, attended, donated and supported us during this year's Dashain Camp. Your dedication and achievement provided a fun and safe camp experience for hundreds of Kopilas!
Are you interested in volunteering at Dashain Camp next year? Sign up for our volunteer interest form here.