THE winter holidays seemed to be looming up, with schools closed and boredom ahead whilst staying at home. That’s when our weekend Islamic Group decided to conduct a youth camp. “It’s just for a day”, our teacher reminded us – but hey, even a day completely with friends and halal entertainment is a dream come true. After much waiting and anticipation, at last came the day of the camp, I did not know what to expect, after all we do not have many such girls’ camps around here. Boy, oh boy! Did we enjoy it – it was smashing!

The camp started with a freezing and quiet breakfast. Everyone was sitting together on a ground spread with a thick carpet and a hearty meal of chicken, boiled eggs and labnah sandwiches. Most of us were strangers, except for a few whom we knew only by name, we smiled amicably, more out of courtesy than out of knowing each other. Then our moderators (who were maybe in their early 20’s) joined in, that’s when the fun began, we exchanged introductions, played games guessing each other’s names, all the while gobbling up sandwiches and rubbing our hands to keep them warm. Soon we cleared the breakfast area, formed groups and headed to the carpeted area to pray our Salat ud-Duha (between sunrise and Dhuhr) in the open fresh air; it was really a beautiful scene praying together, standing side by side.

After the prayer, all of us had some group time wherein we decided our groups’ names and an individual cheer. From Determined Dynamites, to M-Power, the Light of Hope and of course the Color Blind, all groups had dazzling names with catchy cheers. 

Each group then introduced themselves and over the day we took every excuse possible to scream out our cheer, each outdoing the other!

The camp officially started with a welcome by our Camp coordinator and then an exciting lecture on ‘Sisterhood in Islam’ by our guest speaker Sister Rasheeda Drayton. The lecture was really awesome and we enjoyed listening to her. Not even a second passed that anyone of us was feeling bored or exhausted. After the lecture was over, Sister Rasheeda asked all of us to hug each other regardless of anyone’s complexion or background. That was the best part. I, for the first time that day, was proud of myself not because of who I am but because I am a MUSLIM.

Next, it was time for journal-making. Yes, we made journals out of recycled cloth. We were all given a record book and were asked to cover it with that recycled cloth. None of us knew that it was recycled! We all took at least an hour to complete it. I remember my journal! I wasn’t able to think of any idea as to how I could make it attractive and unique. Everyone was almost done. Thanks to my moderator and my group friends, who helped me to make it better.

It was competition time now and each team was given a topic which we had to present creativel. After the Dhuhr prayer in Jama’ah, we sat down, each group in a rendezvous of their own, each one of us sharing our strategies within our groups. My moderator just had one slogan for us – ‘Do your best and to Allah leave the rest’, and with her encouraging words and a joint game plan, we hashed out a skit and a nasheed – composed and sung by us – this was the most exciting part. None of us felt ready and our Camp coordinator graciously gave us an additional five minutes twice. At last the presentations were underway. We never missed out a Salah – for we all prayed in Jama’ah, and never in my life did I find it so easy to respond to the call of prayer so easy and on time.

Guess what – we now played Dodge ball, two groups against two, and our camp organizers against the moderators, we played, yelled, dodged and were exhausted. We soon broke up for tea and snacks, freshened up with some food in our bellies, we prepared for the Maghrib Salah and the last lap of the camp. Soon after Maghrib, we all sat down to recite and ponder on the magnificent words of the Quran; we used our newly prepared journals to record our reflections on the verses of the Quran as explained by our very well-versed teacher. We recited in one voice, an echo that played over the great hall and into the gardens.

It was time for Isha, and of course the wrapping up. Our organizers had an ace up their sleeve as they bowled us over with an excellent video – that galvanized in us the urge to seek knowledge. The message was beautiful! Then came the much-awaited announcement of winners; the results were declared. Two teams, including my team, had won the presentation but by this time so deep were the bonds of love and friendship that none of us were jealous of each other nor had we borne any grudges against anyone.

As the pilgrims in Hajj performed their rights shoulder-to-shoulder, irrespective of race, color or ethnicity, we too on this day realized deep down in our hearts that it was only our faith in Allah that broke the barriers of culture and ethnicity; it was Islam that made us colorblind and opened our hearts to experience the beauty of Unity.

Thanks to Allah SWT for having given me this splendid opportunity, and how my eyes tear with love for our sweet moderators, our loving and inspiring teachers, and of course, how can I ever forget the strong and beautiful bond of sisterhood that made the event so special for all of us that day.