Chennai retreat conducted its maiden children’s camp from 26th to 28th May 2017. Twelve children (6 boys, 6 girls) with aged between 9-13 participated in the program. Upon arrival in the evening, parents and children were presented with an introductory session and outline of the camp.

Children began each morning with a field activity, a tour around the retreat campus. They were shown how cow manure helped fertilize the retreat gardens. This was followed by a selection of the Energization Exercises (with emphasis on the 4-part body-recharging exercise), a Cosmic Chant (Door of my heart was a favorite) followed by 5-minutes of meditation and prayer for others. 

The forenoon session began with talks (such as Importance of prayer and the concept of God/Guru, A letter to God, Stories from Mejda, If Master came to my home) that were designed for children to have a relationship with God and Guru and develop a daily habit of praying to God. This was followed by activities such as Word games, Story telling, Listening comprehension, Yogasana  and Painting skills designed to improved verbal, written and physical culture.

The evenings would find the children being taken on nature walks to lake nearby, which was a joy to most of the city-dwelling children. A period of exercises and meditation followed. After dinner there were nightly Bhajans which found the children and adults singing in joyous unison.