Feb. 14: Toton sat on a boulder listening to the whoops of his friends as they enjoyed a merry-go-round at a four-day camp organised by the Himalayan Nature and Adventure Foundation (HNAF) near Gorumara National Park.

On being asked why he was sitting alone, he explained:“I am not feeling lonely but just resting for a while. I have made many new friends here.”

His friends, who soon join him, echoed his views. “The camp, besides making us acquainted with nature, has given us the confidence to face the world,” says 15-year old Suchanda Dutta, who needs a crutch to walk.

HNAF, a Siliguri-based NGO, has organised the camp to make physically challenged children acquainted with the beauty of nature and to spread awareness about its conservation.

Thirty-three physically challenged participants — most of them visually impaired — from various parts of the state are participating in the camp.

Animesh Bose, a member of HNAF and a renowned naturalist of North Bengal said: “We organise two nature camps — one for physically challenged children and another for the other kids.”

Mentioning that parents are also eager to send their children to the camps, Bose said “We feel that physically challenged children must get an opportunity to be acquainted with the beauty of nature.”

At the Nature Interpretation Centre at Lataguri, the campers will be taught to identify calls of birds and animals. They will also learn about the various species of plants and trees found in the area.

“Today we saw deer and sambhar at the Gorumara Park. Dada told us that we will go for an elephant ride tomorrow,” said Suchanda.

The participants will get an opportunity to experience various aspects of camping life — be it cleaning utensils or learning to make various kinds of knots.

They will also try their hand at adventure sports like monkey crawling and trekking.

Cultural programmes will be held every evening. Bose said: “We will be joined by the teachers and the students of the Calcutta Blind Opera, which we hope will make the evening programmes great fun. It will also provide an opportunity to the children to express their talent.”

Camps such as these also help physically challenged children to sharpen their faculties and build their confidence.

“Camping activities make up for what classroom teaching fails to achieve. For children who come from cities like Calcutta, the experience of being close to nature will be a welcome change,” Bose added.

The divisional commissioner of Jalpaiguri, Debaditya Chakraborty today met the campers at Panchabati, a resort on the fringes of the Gorumara National Park.

He said that district authorities had decided to provide financial aid to NGOs working for physically challenged children.

“About 15 per cent of children are physically challenged. The Uttarbanga Unnayan Parshad has decided to help the NGOs engaged in the welfare of such children. We have set aside a sum of Rs 55 lakh for the purpose,” he said.