BLOOMINGTON, ILLINOIS, August 5, 2006: More than 100 Midwest youth are spending time studying Hindu values and practices while canoeing, doing arts and crafts and generally having fun at the Hindu Heritage Camp at Lake Bloomington’s’ East Bay Camp. The Hindu Swayamsewak Sangh, founded in 1925 in India, is the camp’s sponsoring group. In the United States, about 100 local branches of the service organization exist, including a Central Illinois group, said Saumitra Gokhale of Chicago. The trained engineer opted for a career of volunteerism with the Hindu group, and organizes camps and other events around the United States. For many campers, the week-long annual event is a summer tradition. Some return, as college students, to help lead the various activities of the camp. Arpitha Gouda, Kavita Jayaswal and Suneeti Gupta are three Bloomington women now studying to be doctors. All three spent summers at Hindu Heritage Camp, and each has returned this summer to teach younger campers. “Our culture is what our parents and community provides us,” said Jayaswal, 20, noting she likes to share the heritage with the youth. This camp helps children adapt, and make their life’s values work for them, added Gouda, 18. “Sometimes in America we’re bombarded with so many cultures. It’s hard to figure out where we fit in as Hindu Americans,” she said. “We get to learn about our culture – we learn about famous Hindu people. But, we get to go canoeing too,” said Nithesh, a Colene Hoose fifth-grader. “But, I think the swimming is fun too.”
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