Breeding goodness in young minds

By Francis P. Barclay

Got any doubt about credit or debit cards? Contact 16-year-old Prathyusha. She will explain to you all about the credit and debit cards. Ask Abhay (15) about jurisprudence. He will explain it including the difference between the civil and criminal cases. Thirteen-year-old Hariram can narrate how prayers are administered in a church. Vivekanand (13) will tell you one has to remove the slippers, wash hands and dip the legs in water before entering a Gurudwara. He will also talk about `Adi Granth,' the holy Scripture of the Sikhism.
These students are well aware of the things happening around them and up-to-date in general knowledge, thanks to the 10-day camp `Empowering adolescents and leadership training' organised by the Divyodaya, an
inter-religious centre.
The camp was aimed at creating a positive attitude and religious harmony in the minds of the children apart from identifying their talents and honing them.
Twelve children in the age group 13 to 16, who were strangers to each other, entered Divyodaya on May 1. For 10 days, from 9 am to 4.30 pm they spent their time singing, meditating and learning Yoga, besides discussing
self-awareness, positive thinking, problem solving, goal setting etc.
The Divyodaya staff who took care of them were Brother Linson, Joseph and psychology graduates Usha Rani and Vanitha.
The children were taken on an inter-religious pilgrimage during which they visited places of worship of all religions. Basic knowledge about religions were imbibed in them by the clerics there. They received the sacred
sandalwood paste from the temple with the same fervour they showed while taking holy water from the church.
Vanitha, who led them to the places of worship, said, ``This is the age when children are most receptive and apt to imbibe divine thoughts in them. I could realise a phenomenal change in their attitude during the camp.''
They visited a bank where the staff explained to them about the functioning of banks. Then they visited the court and learnt about the proceedings there. Judge Mohandas, who interacted with them, underscored the need to
teach them about the functioning of court.
The best part of the camp was that it was successful enough to bring about an attitudinal change in the children. They came as strangers and developed a bond, forgetting all about their cast, creed and religion.
The name Divyodaya stands for divine awakening. Through a plethora of activities, Divyodaya seeks to realise the vision enshrined in its motto `The bonds that unite us are stronger than the barriers that separate us'.
Prabakar, a kid who was among the 12, said, ``There are no barriers between us here.''