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My Ten Days at Ta’lim and Tarbiyat Camp
By Sharukh Rauf - Vaughan West
It was September 2008 and I found myself in the second year of high school (Grade 10). The academic year started and we got into heavy studies in almost all of the subjects. The workload was mounting and excessive homework was keeping us awake for long hours at night. Many a days, I had to work past midnight just to finish all my homework. The academic year was progressing well but was getting more and more exhausting.
We got some break during winter vacations in December 2008, and then another week of spring break in March 2009. But all of us were eagerly waiting for summer to arrive as winter break and March break seemed too short and we could not do much outside because of the weather this year.
Finally the summer appeared on the horizon. It was the beginning of June 2009 and everyone in school was talking about final exams and plans for the summer. Although we were waiting for the summer vacations to arrive so that we can play and have fun outdoors, many were now signing up for the summer school. There was significant talk about reducing the workload for next year by taking some courses in the summer so that we could do well in grade 11 and then 12 as the scores in these years are the ones that will really count towards admissions in University. I also signed-up for one summer course in Physics, thinking that it would give me an edge in my next academic year. A few days later, I received a letter from Majlis-e- Khuddam ul Ahmadiyya inviting me to participate in the Ta‘limi and Tarbiyyati Summer Camp.
My parents suggested that I should attend the summer camp, but I had signed up for the summer course, I pleaded. A few days later, I was told by my school that I was too late in applying for the summer course and since the course was full, I had been placed on the waiting list and if some students changed their mind, I could be admitted to the course. Now I had no excuse, so I started to apply for summer jobs. It wasn’t that I had anything against attending the summer camp; I had a lot of apprehensions. I had never lived away from my parents for so many days in a row. Even when I was away, I was either with my aunts or uncles or very near relatives. I did not know who my roommates would be during the stay in the hostels. There were a lot of questions such as if I would like my roommates, would they like me, and would I be able to get along with other participants of the camp etc. etc.
When summer school started in high school, I even went as a stand-by so if any of the students had dropped out, I may be admitted. I attended 3 to 4 days of summer school as well but then I was able to convince myself that I should participate in the Ta‘limi and Tarbiyyati Summer Camp. This could be an opportunity to learn new things, make new friends and ten days of vacation away from home. And if I got home sick, my parents come to the mosque everyday for prayers, so I could see them after prayers. It was July 9, 2009 and our camp started today. I was getting ready to go to the camp. My mother was helping me pack all my bags and she was really worried about my eating habits during the camp, continually reminding me to eat whatever was offered in the camp. My brother helped me load my bags in the car and my father took me to the camp. We registered at the front desk and I was informed to stay in the mosque as they were going to form the groups and assign group leaders for the duration of the camps. My group’s name was “Dianat (i.e. Honesty)” and our group leader was Luqman Rana Sahib, a Jamia Student assigned to take care of our group throughout the camp. We are then assigned rooms in Jamia hostels for our residence. I shared a room with two other students in my group, Naeem Chaudhry Sahib from Peace Village South Jama`at and Salman Majid Sahib of Scarborough Jama`at. On the first day of our camp, after forming groups, we were served food and then after getting to know our groups and group leaders, we went to the hostels for sleeping in the residences.
From the next day, our daily routine commenced with tahajjud prayer, followed by fajr prayer and recitation of the Holy Qur’an. We had about an hour’s rest after that. Our classes started after breakfast at around 8:30 am. Our first class was on the teachings of the Holy Qur’an. Besides Holy Qur’an, our daily routine consisted of lessons on salat with translation, hadith and the history of Islam and Ahmadiyyat. Following the class schedules, we had the opportunity to play and compete with each other in various sports. During the sporting events, we played soccer, football, basketball, tug of war and ran a 100m race. All of us played to our fullest skill and potential to defend our groups.
My favorites were presentations by Amir Sahib and Naib Amir Sahib/Missionary In-charge. Using the reference from the Holy Qur’an, these presentations explained to us how the world was created (Big Bang theory) and how the hereafter would be pictured in our minds. A great achievement for all of us was that during the camp, we all memorized the salat with translation. Each group was also given a topic to perform research on and put together a PowerPoint presentation. We presented our research project to all the other groups and we were evaluated on how well we presented. In our field trip, we visited the Bruce nuclear power plant and the engineering department of the University of Toronto. At the Bruce Power plant, we were shown two educational videos on what the nuclear reaction is and how it is used in a power plant to generate electricity. At the University of Toronto, we learned about the lotus effect and how nano-materials and nanotechnology are being used in everyday life. We also visited the engineering laboratories and were given the opportunity to play with some of the research equipment in the Laboratory. At the end of field trips we went to Hadeeqae Ahmad for a picnic where we enjoyed barbeque food and had a nice walk in the woods. We also saw the recently planted fruit trees at the Jama`at property.
The Ta‘limi and Tarbiyati camp was a great experience for me overall. I made some new friends from other Jama`ats. I had a significant change in myself that was not just felt by me but my parents too. When I returned home, my mother repeatedly said to my father that have you noticed that Shahrukh has had a very positive change in him at the camp. My father smiled and said yes, that’s why I was insisting that he should attend the camp. It is the shear grace of Allah that He out of his infinite Mercy, provided me this opportunity to participate in this camp. It is also His Blessing that it brought about a positive change in me that pleased my parents. I feel every Khadim in my age group should attend this camp at least once. I can assure you that it will be a lifetime of an experience.