The North Pole, tenpin bowling and team games were all in a day's work for bal-balikas from Sydney.

On Saturday 21 July, an outing was organised for 95 children to Darling Harbour in the heart of Sydney.  The children, aged between 7 and 13, travelled to the city on two buses to watch a documentary on the world’s biggest IMAX screen about the life of polar bears in the Arctic.  This was followed by lunch, team games in a nearby park and an afternoon of tenpin bowling.  The bal-balikas enjoyed the scenic views of the Sydney city throughout the day.  The weather was overcast but the rain kept away.

The aim of the outing was to build samp, suradbhav and ekta among the children and help them feel more comfortable around their sanchalaks.  Bal-balika karyakars and other BAPS volunteers helped make the day a memorable one.  The volunteers, and even many bal-balikas, enthusiastically performed their seva even while doing dharna-parna, ektana and other vrats during Shravan Mas.

The bal-balikas enjoyed the fun-filled day and bonded together.  Many made new friends and vowed to attend Sunday sabha and other bal mandal activities.