The Council Of European Jamaats

So the night has arrived when I must perform the isolated and exhaustive task of being the night guard. However daunting this may seem, with the periodical strolls throughout the campsite revealing hidden scares such as a badger out for a midnight feast and the shrieking sounds from the owls also on night duties, this is one of the rare occasions when one can sit reflect upon the thoughts that may have arisen during the camp. This time for reflection is not deemed as feasible or even possible due to the nature of the role depicted of a mentor being ‘on call’ at all hours of the day, everyday for the duration of the camp; be it due to the timetabled activities designed to invigorate, excite and educate the campers, or the late night wake ups due to the petrified camper scared of the jinn under his bed – which later turns out to be his fellow camper on the bottom bunk. This has caused all those emotional and mentally exhilarating ideas to be cast aside due to the lack of ‘alone time’, by this I mean time for one to be able to comprehend and express ones own thought  process, so what is it that I have been subconsciously been thinking about or feeling without addressing? Are they thoughts of homesickness? Ones of longing to meet the nearest and dearest due to the lengthy duration of the camp, as each Namaaz fees like the start of a new day. No, the sense of family and closeness to each other that has been instilled into each person on the camp removes this factor. Could it be due to the limited recuperation time available to the mentors once, creating a constantly increasing sense of tiredness and reduced ability to produce cohesive and coherent sentences? This cannot possibly be true as the campers have already put into action many of the lessons learnt during the classes that the mentors have taught which will aide the campers in their present and future lives. How abut the self realisation of the influential role that one relays when accepting the position of mentor on such a camp? This seems to be closer to the truth of the matter. It seems that this is the only place where you experience the eye opening factors of developing a person’s characteristics and personality over such a short period of time, here at the CoEJ Sweden camp. These influential changes are not only seen during the camp, but will last for a lifetime. The sense of personal accomplishment that can be felt when one is able to watch how the campers transform into the range of appealing and compassionate characters that one can now see amongst the campers is immeasurable. The whole camp experience through a mentors eyes can only be summed up by the phrase ‘a once in a lifetime opportunity’ but one that will benefit both the mentor and the camper for the remainder of their lives.

Hasnain Ramji

Jupiter Mentor