The weekend of the 22nd – 24th saw the passing of the Sweden 2007 training weekend. Internally dubbed the MTW (Mentor Training Weekend), this name is no longer directly applicable with Mentors, teachers, support staff and administrators all in attendance.
Housed in the Holiday Inn Express Hotel in Northampton, the mentors, teacher, admin, mukhi, media relations and office manager spent two days focussing the mind, training the body and sharing the ethos of the camp.
The Sweden Camp relies on a number of people to ensure that the 48 campers are able to progress in the spirit of the camp motto "Towards Excellence". A nice blend of both experienced and new mentors was put through a structured communication intended to share the thinking behind and prepare the young boys for the role of mentoring.
Alhamdulillah it was a pleasure to see that the team of 10 youths included 3 past mentors, and 5 past campers. The two youth administrators working under Dr. Mahmood Datoo have both also been mentors in previous years. This progression of camper to mentor to admin is an obvious example of the benefits the camp has on both the campers and youth mentors alike.
The benefits of the weekend will be seen both on the Training Weekend Mentors Diary and also, insha'allah, in the camp itself. If these mentors can have the same effect that their mentors had on them as campers, then our aim of the weekend will have been achieved.
It is symptomatic of the nature of community work that every penny spent must be accounted for and justified; and the administration of Sweden 2007 would have it no other way. When spending community donations in the way of Allah ( s.w.t.) frivolous expenditure cannot be tolerated. The choice of an external venue for housing the party of 18 was a controversial one, but one that the team feels strongly about. To allow the mentors, trainers, admin etc. a good night's sleep; comfortable surroundings within which to socialise and informally "mentor the mentors"; constant tea/coffee/water throughout the day ensures that the message that we value our mentors is not lost. These youths (17-25 years old) are expected to look after, nurture and befriend 8-12 younger campers and assist them on the road "towards excellence". The obvious and repeatedly experienced reward to the community from developing these youths, in the mind of the administration team, fully justifies the (relatively) small financial investment in their training.
This year, for the first time, past mentors took it upon themselves to obtain professional training in wider mentoring skills, which they could then share. The administration were then able to fuse these talents with their own vast pool of abilities and experiences, as well as qualifications, to insha'allah give the mentors of 2007 the best possible training. This will continue at the camp site in Sweden before the campers arrive to ensure that nothing is left out.
Our thanks goes to the Secretariat for assisting in the logistics of this event, and to our external trainers: Ashiq Damani, Ali Panju and Sadiq Datoo along with the teachers Fazleabbas Kanji and Ali Akber Hussein for guiding the mentors and shaping their development. May Allah reward you for your efforts.
