NOTE: Accommodation is provided only for South Birmingham Camp

1) What’s the aim of the camp?
The main aim of the camp is to give Sikh youth the opportunity to meet with other children their age and learn about their heritage.
There will be talks this year about the Gurus, about reincarnation, spirituality and naam simran as well as basics about the Gurdwara.
However, its not all talks and the majority of the time will be aimed at the children having as much fun as possible, making lots of friends and becoming comfortable with being in the Gurdwara with sangat.

2) Who organises the camps?
The Sikh Naujawan Academy UK organise the camp. We are based at Guru Nanak Gurdwara Stratford Road and also have associations with other youth groups around the Midlands.
We have been running camps at Stratford Road for about 22 years now and we love doing it and enjoy spending time with the children to show them the wonders of Sikhi. The majority of us are students at college or university and we have a lot of youth advising us how we should plan the camp.

3) What do the children do each day?
Each day the children will get up, wash-up and then do Japji Sahib in darbar sahib at 8am. The children will then go into workshops based on different aspects of Sikhi, like drama, drugs and health issues, Sikh history etc until 1pm when they have their langar (we have a very good menu with chips, beans, pizza’s, roti and also some healthy alternatives like pasta and cereals).
After lunch we take the children to the park so they can run about and play football, cricket and rounders. We also hire out inflatable equipment such as the gladiator, bouncing castles and a bungee run and also have some archery planned.
In the evening the children will get more breaks and will do Rehraas Sahib and have an evening kirtan session with Bhai Mohinder Singh Khalsa from Malaysia who attends the camp each year.

4) How many children will there be and who looks after them?
We usually have up to 200-300 children come to the camp, and they are looked after by sevadaar from the Sikh Nauajwan Academy and volunteers. All SNA volunteers are security checked and have been working on youth projects for many years. We have designated first aiders and full fire and emergency procedure is explained at the beginning of the camp.

5) Will the children be the same age?
The ages of the children range from the age of 8 to 18 and Khalsa Jatha 5 to 7yrs old. However each age group will be split for workshops so that they do not feel out of place.

6) What’s the accommodation like?
The Gurdwara is quite big and owns the adjacent properties on both sides. On one side they have sleeping quarters with shower and wash facilities for the boys and the same for the other side of the Gurdwara for the girls.
Each night the children staying will be accounted for, escorted to the night times living quarters and there will be sevadaars to make sure that they are safe and sound all night.

7) Can children contact parents/guardians during the week?
There are payphone facilities at the Gurdwara which the children can use if they need to get in contact with their parents. If there is an emergency we urge them to come to us first and we will phone parents/guardians as soon as possible.
If parents wish to get in contact with their children we will provide a full list of contact numbers on the first day of the camp.

8) What will the children need to bring along?
If the children are staying overnight at the Gurdwara we suggest the following are brought along:
– sleeping bag & pillow
– toothbrush, toothpaste, shower gel, soap and towels
– clothes suitable for sports and activities as well as darbar sahib
– any medication required (please notify the organisers of medical conditions or allergies
– waterproof jacket
– We do advise campers not to bring any valuables or mobile telephones to the camp.
9) How much does it cost?
The camp is absolutely free. We receive donations from the local sangat for langar and other costs and appreciate any donation towards the cause.

10) What’s the surprise trip? Will children be supervised?
An annual treat for all the campers is a surprise trip on the Friday of the camp. Some of the past venues we have taken campers to include Alton Towers, Safari Park and so on
All SNA organises and volunteers will be going on the trip and will supervise the children as far as possible.

11) Can campers bring family and friends along to the trip?
For children under the age of 10 up to 2 adults may accompany them on the trip.
If you have any questions feel free to contact us

For further information please email:
G Sukha Singh
sukhasingh@sna.org.uk
www.sna.org.uk
(H/P) 07956 938737