Fun, frolic and more at RYLA
Teenagers Akshita from Bhavan Vidyalaya, Bhavraj from St Johns High School, and Ragini Yadav from Rotary Vidya Sadan, a school at Bapu Dham slum colony in Chandigarh, are reliving their happy moments at the three-day residential RYLA by narrating their “joyful experience” to their families and classmates.
Hosted by RC Chandigarh, RID 3080, at The Plenum School, an elite residential institute at Bagthan village, located in the scenic backdrop of Himalayas at the Nahan district of Himachal Pradesh, the leadership workshop gave 82 students from nine schools across the Tricity (Chandigarh, Panchkula and Mohali) a glimpse of life’s challenges and the ways and means to cope with adversity. “Above all, we trained them to hone their leadership qualities and actively network with their peers at the interactive sessions that would help them to build a successful career,” said Anil Chadda, club president.
For Akshita, it was “my first Rotary experience at RYLA, and I learnt many new things that will shape my life and career,” while Ragini, studying in a Rotary school says, “the RYLA stay helped me connect with new friends and discuss a whole lot of social issues to plan ahead.” Bhavraj was elated that Rotary has opened a wide avenue for career growth. The club sponsored 12 students from Vidya Sadan, a Rotary school for the underprivileged, to take part in RYLA, and “all the students from Class 8–12, including those from our vocational centre, were put through talk sessions, outdoor activities and team-building events during their stay at the boarding school,” he said.
On the first day, Captain (retd) Anil Kumar Singru, a navigator turned amateur astronomer, engaged the students on the wonders of the cosmos, and mysteries of the universe the “mankind is still trying to unravel.” It was followed by a team-building session in which eight teams were formed and they were asked to solve problems that require ingenuity and quick thinking to foster bonding among them.
The next day, they were on nature’s trail early in the morning, and through the adventurous trip “they helped each other to achieve their final goals.” Addressing the students, district RYLA chair and DGND Rita Kalra urged them to “make full use of this opportunity, ask questions, reflect on the experience you gain here, and think about how to apply what you have learnt here in your communities.” RYLA is not just a youth seminar, “but a launch pad for your leadership roles in whatever fields you have chosen.”
DGN Ravi Prakash called upon the students to develop a strong bond with their communities, and noted the participation of students from diverse backgrounds would kindle camaraderie. PDG Madhukar Malhotra gave a motivational talk on positivity and self-worth. Fun-filled games and events followed, and the teams competed with energy, striking friendship in the process.
In the evening, an ‘Antakshari’ programme of music and dance, was followed by a music session. The screening of the movie Rabb Di Awaaz directed by national award-winning filmmaker Ojaswwee Sharma, followed by an interactive session with him, was the major highlight of RYLA. He gave insight into intricacies of the film industry like editing, direction, screenplay and music that form part of the 24 crafts associated with the filmmaking.
RYLA convener Sartaj Lamba, also club director, Vocational Services, thanked her team members — Arun Aggarwal, Harish Valecha, Rosy Katyal and president-elect Jatinder Kapoor — for a successful event. “We achieved our goal of creating a robust and inclusive programme for young students which was relatable, interactive, and focused on team-building skills,” she smiled. Ever since, the club was chartered in 1958, “we have done hundreds of RYLAs till now, benefitting over 1,000s of Interactors, Rotaractors, school and college students. We are serving the communities over the last 65 years,” added Chadda.
