Summer holidays have begun. But Anitha Daniel, headmistress of a school, has not stopped spending time with children. She shows kids from her neighbourhood in Madhavaram how to shake a leg, hold a paint brush and use the ladle.
She decided to start a summer camp after she found out very few of them were being organised in her locality. She also noticed that the area lacks in infrastructure that could be a source of entertainment to children.
“I like to keep myself busy. When I moved to Madhavaram six months ago, I was struck by the shortage of parks and other facilities that could keep children engaged,” says Anitha, an English teacher who also serves as headmistress of the primary and middle sections of Kaligi Ranganathan Montford Matriculation Higher Secondary School in Perambur.
At her ‘Shalom summer camp’, Anitha teaches aerobics, painting, craft, cooking without fire and traditional games.
Fireless cooking is the highlight of the camp, followed by craft classes where children make mrindigam out of plastic coffee mugs and wall hangers from ice cream sticks. The 10-day camp will cumulate in a field trip. Joan Tully, her friend and neighbour, lends Anitha run the camp.
