by Dhruv Peri and Shreehari Srinivasan

From July 24th to 28th, 2023, at Chinmaya Somnath in Chantilly, VA, 90 high schoolers from across the United States gathered for the Youth Camp and were engaged in several activities ranging from discourse to dodgeball from 9 am to 5 pm.

The camp’s theme was “Embracing Discomfort” focusing on how to find joy while being outside your comfort zone, conceptualized and conducted by Vivekji (Shri Vivek of Chinmaya Mission Niagara Falls, Canada).

Vivekji, Shankarji, and Sumanji facilitated daily satsangs with the campers reflecting on the Mananam Series book Youth: Keeping the Balance.

In addition to satsangs, Vivekji led a workshop called Vitamin R3 for the campers that consisted of 20 minutes each of reading, writing, and reflecting to help campers begin to build the habit of daily self-reflection. Our Vedanta teachers also gave challenges to the campers while eating lunch served by our Sevaks in order for them to get out of their comfort zone, such as eating in silence, eating with their hands, and swapping sandwiches.

CHYKs led athletics every day to help campers explore outside of their comfort zone and work together as a team. On July 26th, the campers went to JK Community Farm, a farm which donates all of their harvest to local homeless shelters and food banks, and volunteered their time to help remove weeds, harvest watermelon, and fill beds with compost for new crops to grow. Afterwards, they went to a large field and played a variety of games such as soccer, handball, and ultimate frisbee for three hours.

CHYSKs and CHYKs also led dynamic workshops about relevant societal issues such as climate change and gun control, bringing light to these issues to the younger generation.

Overall, the feedback from the campers was very positive and the camp was very successful.