The Second SAF-SOS Environment Camp - 5th December 2004, Bagerhat, Bangladesh

After the South Asia Foundation Governing Council it was decided to conduct Environmental Work Camps for Youths from SAARC Countries. Accordingly, the Second Environmental Work Camp was held at the SOS Youth Village Farm Project at Bagerhat, Bangladesh in December 2004.

The participants from SAARC countries arrived at the Bagerhat Project on 5^th December and were welcomed by S.M. Lutfur Rahman, who is in charge of the Work Camp, and the Project Director at SOS Children’s Village, Khulna.

An orientation session was held and the participants were informed in detail about all the work camp procedures.

The formal opening of the work camp was declared by Mr. Theophil Gomes, the National Director of the SOS Children’s Village in Bangladesh.

The participants were divided into 4 teams and one leader of each group was responsible for coordinating the daily work of each team.

The participants woke up at 6:00 am and began work after an early breakfast at 7:30 am.
They stopped for lunch at 12:30 pm.
Then they went back to work at 2:00 pm and stopped at 4:50 pm.
Tea breaks were at 10:00 am and 3:30 pm.
Games were played after work until 5:30 pm.
The participants then bathed and prepared for dinner at 7:00 pm.
After dinner there was a choice of television programmes, DVD films or playing musical instruments.
Bedtime was at 10:00 pm. 

By rotation each scout was assigned one of the following tasks: cleaning of toilets, cleaning of sleeping areas, cleaning of kitchen and cooking items or cleaning of animals.

Everyday after breakfast the participants assembled around their respective team leader to get information about their duties and where they would be working that particular day.

Work was done on a rotation basis so that all the work responsibilities were equally distributed among the participants.

Each team leader was responsible for the good or bad work of the members.

After doing hard work, participants had a break and were taken out for excursion, visited SOS Children’s Village Khulna. They enjoyed the day very happily playing, singing, dancing and making fun together with the children.

The participants performed extensive work together, for example: cutting earth and digging ponds; fishing with traditional nets was one of the events that provided immense enjoyment.

They got experience milking cows, collecting eggs, processing farm products, taking care of farm animals, fish cultivation, preparation of compost fertilizer, operation of a bio-gas unit and were responsible for cleaning the entire premises.

Mr. Siddartha Kaul - Deputy Secretary General, SOS Kinderdorf International visited Bagerhat project, observed the activities, shared the experiences of work camp with the participants.

 
Kashif Noor and Seemab, SOS Lahore, Pakistan, bidding farewell to their peers.

Each day two members of a team were designated to cook food for all the participants and were responsible for keeping the cooking area and utensils properly cleaned. Dining was a self-service system.

Apart from the daily routine, the participants were engaged in outdoor and indoor games, enjoyed DVD films, and played musical instruments.

Each team member also wrote music and prepared for the closing concert at the end of the work camp.

There were lectures and multimedia projections on conservation, and environment related subjects such as forestry and bio-diversity.

The session on the life style of the coastal belt people was the highlight for the participants. It was presented by Dr. Abdullah Harun Choudhury, Assistant Professor in Environmental Science at Khulna University.

The participants had the opportunity to visit some historical places in Bagerhat and enjoyed the partial view of Sundarbans, a natural mangrove forest which is now listed by UNESCO as “a World Heritage” site.

Dr. Kamal Hossain, President of the South Asia Foundation, Bangladesh was the Chief Guest at the closing function of the work camp along with Mr. Helmut Kutin, the Honourable President of SOS Kinderdorf International; Mr. Siddartha Kaul, the Deputy Secretary General of SOS Kinderdorf International; Prof. Jamilur Reza Choudhury, a member of the Advisory Board of the South Asia Foundation, Bangladesh and other distinguished dignitaries.

They were present at the auditorium of SOS Children’s Village, Dhaka on 16^th December 2004.

Some participants described their experiences of the work camp. The final concert organized by the participants was an excellent presentation displaying the creative talents of the youths.

Prizes to the best performers and the Certificate and Crest of the work camp were presented to participants by Dr. Kamal Hossain and Mr. Helmut Kutin.

The work camp provided an exciting experience of living in harmony in a rural environment and it created a good impact bringing together youths from SAARC Countries.