Trip to Manali, by Ramzan

As we departed on Monday evening by bus, the excitement was palpable. Despite being a 23 hour trip, I enjoyed the ride due to the amazing scenery and constant impression that the bus might fall from the road at any minute. After 23 hours, little sleep and multiple minor dramas, we finally reached the camp.

 

 

We all needed a good rest after the trip but for some of us, me included, the urge to explore the surrounding area was greater than the desire to sleep. However, after dinner we did eventually go to sleep, but, to our surprise, not in bedrooms but tents! Spending the night in a tent amongst the mountains was truly a great experience.

The next day's activities involved climbing the hills surrounding Manali. We all enjoyed the exploration and learning about the local hydro-electricity project. Rather than going straight to sleep after dinner, this time we made a huge fire around which both the children and the staff sat, sang and danced until late into the night.

On our fourth day we travelled to a river crossing and went swimming in the water. While enjoyable, the water temperature was so low that many of us found it rather difficult! Next, we took a ropeway to the top of a mountain. From the top of the mountain the view was fantastic, and we stayed there for far too long, without realising it was about to get dark! Having reached the campsite, we repeated the previous night's fire, complete with singing and dancing, of course!

Sadly this was our last day, and we were all rather regretful to head back to the daily life of Delhi. We had all loved the trip, and had such great experiences that I know we will never forget it.

I also want to say that I'm very thankful to the staff and Aman Biradari for giving us the chance to have such a wonderful time. I can hardly wait until the next year's trip!

Ramzan

Name: Varun Goel
Nationality: Indian
Email: varungoel388@gmail.com
Job Title: Volunteer and Mentor at Ummeed Aman Ghar under "Project Leap"
Job Description: Managing and Organizing TEDxYouth@Ummeed. My work included mentoring my kid, Ramzan over a period of four months.
Introduction: For me, it started when a friend of mine asked me to join "Project Leap" (a collaboration between Teach for India and Becoming I Foundation) with her. As she was a year senior to me in Becoming I, she was allotted a revolving structure class, while I chose Shahsank's TEDx class. I had a hunch that this project would turn out to be really amazing, as I was really inspired by Shashank's passion and his great vision. A couple of days later, my friend came up to me and said that she wished she had been a part of the TEDx class instead! Since the first session with the Ummeed kids about four months ago, till today actually being able to put up an event of such scale, it has been a roller coaster ride! It has truly been one of the best experiences ever for me and I can definitely say, I have become a better human being

For me, the past four months have gone by in a flash. I remember introducing myself to the kids during
our first session with them. And there I saw a kid, just about my age. Smart, responsible, mature.
Ramzan. I kind of felt an instant connection with him. I was a little nervous as "the kids" were going to
choose a mentor each that day. Incredibly, Ramzan chose me and quite frankly I could not have asked
for anyone better.

The relation that we managed to develop over the next four months is inexplicable. We grew a sense of
mutual understanding and closeness that soon made me his "BRO".i remember he won two awards at his
annual day event at Ummeed. The first person he decided to call straight after that was me!! I can never
forget that moment. He has been an amazing ward, and an even greater friend. Getting to know him and
his stories has been one of the most enriching experiences for me at Ummeed. I truly have learnt a lot
from them. I would be lying if I said that we haven’t had our share of ups and downs, but I am glad that
we did. It has only made our bond stronger.

Ramzan is a fun-loving person who feels strongly about street children, vendors and rag-pickers. He
considers himself very lucky to have been rescued and gotten a chance to gain education. But what I
love about him is that he doesn’t stop there. He works as a caretaker in a nightshelter and goes out to
rescue others just like him. I greatly respect this thinking of his and sincerely hope that one day change
will come. With a small step, for a far greater cause - I believe in TEDxYouth@Ummeed. "I believe i can!"