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As I sit here on the plane, I realise that I blinked. The camp is now over and here we are on the way back to our families. I cannot believe how quickly the time has passed over these past 12 days. I sit here contemplating all the events that occurred; from sightseeing to tube skiing and from jinn stories to table tennis tournaments, the range of activities has been immense. It has only just dawned that the ideology of what a mentor should be, a role model, is being fulfilled by us, as the campers mimic our actions and learn from us everyday. When asked by campers whether I would be coming the following year as they thought I had been a great mentor, I felt as though I had achieved the requirements laid down to me before the camp. Hearing them say that they would return next year with such compassion and the thanks they gave to us during their closing presentation made me contempt that my efforts had been of use. Seeing the development of these 8 shy, confused and homesick campers into the caring, friendly and energetic members of the family, you understand why this camp is so successful in developing our future leaders and community members throughout the world.
Looking at the sunset over Sweden from my aeroplane window I finally understand why the previous mentors appreciated this camp with so much conviction, with not one ever saying that they regretted the experience. They all say that it was an enjoyable, exciting, boundary moving, learning experience and I wish to echo the same feelings. Even with the 101 questions asked by the campers, the sleep deprivation, the cleaning up of vomit and the nagging by the admin team, the experiences we have had from this camp have developed our characters and eventually these memories will soon fade leaving only the happy memories of campers improving their namaz in front of your eyes, campers practicing their adhan with you before they recite aloud and the smiles on their faces as they win the sports tournaments. Which incidentally being on the topic I will mention that Neptune won the sports tournament and the overall camp competition, GO NEPTUNE!
Having developed long lasting friendships and memories that will live forever, saying ‘khudahafiz’ will no doubt be difficult but having shared email addresses, we will surely keep in touch and our inboxes will remain overflowing indefinitely. The highlights of the camp of teaching classes and doing namaz assessments will hopefully give the campers something to take back home with them, having learnt something new. The camp is not over but really has just begun, as the campers return home armed with the knowledge that they gained and the experiences they picked up to help them throughout their daily lives.
Hasnain Ramji Neptune |
