This year’s Children’s Day is a very special one for Soham Academy of Human Excellence. On Tuesday, Nov 14, we took 56 of our kids to Microsoft Campus in Hyderabad. Surendra, a Director at Microsoft, took personal interest in ensuring the trip turns out to be a resounding success. In spite of his busy schedule he squeezed in some time to show his love for kids. He led a 10 member team who came up with a meticulous plan that was executed with atomic precision. The team conducted excellent ice breaker activities. This helped our kids in cozying up to an environment which is otherwise perceived as an intimidating one. All the MS volunteers instantly became didis and bhayyas.

A day before the trip we assembled all the kids and we talked to them about Microsoft and how the Hyderabad campus is noted for its greenery and its conservation of water and energy. One of our kids remarked during the lunch “Sir, you are right about water conservation. The water in the wash basin poured out only when our hands are directly under the tap.” She was thrilled beyond imagination.

About 15 days prior to the visit, we trained eight of our kids on chanting and mastering 38 Samskrit slokas along with their meanings. They chanted all the 38 slokas without the need for any notes. Later we asked the MS volunteers to challenge the kids with any word from any part of any sloka and the children will be able to recite the entire sloka. The kids were up for the challenge and did not fumble even once. This was the biggest hit of the day.

Later the MS team conducted a treasure hunt kind of a game. They were expected to answer a series of questions that required them to use a search engine. At a later session they were shown how to use MS PPT, Excel and Word.

The lunch was sumptuous. It was organized in an exclusive special corridor area. One of the girls asked “Sir, do they eat the same kind of food every day?”. The answer was “yes”. She promptly said “then this is where I want to work”.

Many of the kids felt that this trip is a big turning point in their life. Inspiring speeches by Lakshmikant, Manmeet and Surendra helped our kids immensely. Surendra’s presentation on the future of technology and some of the cutting edge MS products made our children eek out a loud impromptu applause.

A big thank you to Surendra for all his help in organizing this huge trip to MS. Some children mentioned that they will remember this trip all their life. Helping kids achieve their dreams becomes easier if they are sufficiently inspired to think of a bright future for themselves. This trip is certainly the most inspiring moment ever for our kids.

Here are some of the memorable pics from the event. Click on any pic to view the album.