A Spain-based non-profit organization, ThinKids, in collaboration with Rabtt, an NGO working in education sector, recently set up a summer camp under the World Camp 2014 programme at the Saint John’s Boys High School, Youhannabad, where students enrolled for a five-day course, aimed at improving critical thinking, self-awareness, problem-solving skills in them.

ThinKids, founded in 2010, is the brainchild of Ignacio Gonzalez Cabello, Javier Gutiérrez and Santiago Aldanondo, a group of twenty-something boys who believe that an innovative approach towards education can help children become entrepreneurs at the early stage of their life. Shifting from the traditional paradigms of classroom education and teaching, the trainers of the organisation trigger creative thinking among the students through summer camps that focus empowering skills and multiple intelligences in young minds.

Rabtt was founded by Imran Sarwar in 2011 and it has Harvard University South Asia, British Council Pakistan, and Seeds of Peace International among other organisations as its partners. It emphasises creative thinking and creative skills as a part of the learning process in a typical classroom. Rabtt has so far conducted 12 workshops and numerous camps, engaging over 1,300 students and 150 volunteer trainers.

Under the World Camp 2014 mission, the collaboration between ThinKids and Rabtt looks help students learn something different from theoretical methods such as traditional rote learning.

“We found Rabtt online and were pleasantly surprised to come across an organisation working on a similar focus like ours in Pakistan. As part of the World Camp 2014, it only made sense to collaborate with Rabtt. We have leant a lot from Rabtt and are thankful to them for giving us the relevant resources and allowing us to connect with the wonderful students at Saint John’s Boys High School in Youhannabad,” says Ignacio Gonzalez Cabello.

“Our workshops cover various aspects of learning like reading skills, creative writing, communication skills, peace building, and theatre and arts. ThinKids is trying to do the same in Spain,” says Imran Sarwar.

Through the five-day camp in Youhannabad, ThinKids and Rabtt helped the children think out-of-the-box and solve real world problems on their own. Each day consisted of a five-hour programme, divided into two sessions: workshops and projects. Some of the core activities included public speaking, spatial intelligence and 3D workshops.

“By the end of the camp, we hope that the students perceived learning differently and are able to think on their own. These are young, thirsty minds that just need a little push to do big things. They are learning through games, music, and art,” explains Gonzalez Cabello. On the last day of the summer camp, the students presented their projects.

During the camp, ThinKids did face the language barrier to some extent but with Rabtt’s assistance this was taken care of as well.

“Children around the world are very similar and we want to reach out to them despite the language barrier. We had fun working with them,” says Javier Gutiérrez.

Under this global programme, ThinKids has already setup camps in Iran, Turkey, Uzbekistan, China and Tajikistan. From Pakistan onwards, ThinKids plans to travel longer distances to reach Nepal and other parts of the region.

Published in Dawn, August 24th, 2014