the experience is not as hard as i expected. i thought i would be all knocked out, all clumsy and all blur-sotong, making lots of mistakes along the way....kakaka......but i survived.
and i had a great time! learnt lots of games, made lots of friends, had lots of fun and part of my heart was stolen by a few kids who are really really cute!!! the participants all were really great! they were disciplined, showed great commitment and enthusiasm and all worked together to make the camp a success. i will definitely recommend this camp to others who want to experience something different outside the formal education at school. i read some of the feedbacks given on the forms collected and all said that they had an awesome experience, praising the facilitators, the programmes and the things they learnt.
the participants for this camp were all orang asli kids (aborigines) and they came from perak and pahang. so the camp was conducted in malay language instead of english. they were all sponsored by dana belia 1 malaysia.
so what is this camp??? it is diode camps organised by leaderonomics, a social enterprise organization. i get to know about leaderonomics from the star because their ceo has a column in the paper. the camp that i went to was sponsored by dana belia 1 malaysia hence the kids did not pay at all. they charge about rm500++ for this camp and it is 6 days long.
so if anyone is interested to know more about the camp, you can go to www.leaderonomics.com/diodecamps
now, let's feast your eyes on some of the photos i took.....not that many though because i had to facilitate activities.
so i arrived at the campsite earlier than the rest of the facis and i had the time to take a stroll of the camp area.
the campsite is just by the side of the road, on the way to cameron highlands. from tapah tol exit, it is about 5 mins drive.
this is a leadership camp. we did not know how many participants would come because there was no pre-determined name list. so we only registered them as they came. some left after 2 days because of some other commitments. in the end, we had about 40 plus who finished the camp.
it is all green everywhere and there is a stream that runs through it. pristine and serene. and that bridge is the only place where you can get phone signal.
the main building where the office, dorms, hall and bathrooms/toilets are.see those poles with tyres? the kids had to get the tyres out and it was really fun seeing how agile and fast some were. they just climbed onto the pole as fast as monkey and in less than a minute, the tyre was out and they were on the way to the stream in a second.
imagine telling urban kids to do that? they would take forever i bet.
one of the rooms in the main building. everything is clean so sleep came. kakaka, that was my main main worry. if i do not get my sleep, my body will slowly collapse and illness will come. that is one thing you don't want to happen to you during a camp.
the air-conditioned hall. it got really cold at night. this was where most of the indoor presentations and talks were given.
cross a small bridge, go straight, and you will reach the canteen.
everybody has to play their role and keep the place clean. wash your dishes and cutlery here please.
across the stream from the canteen is the outdoor campsite for tents. the boys slept in the tents. and this part of the stream was where they frolicked after evening activities.
the sleeping ground in the tent is elevated. good to avoid flood during rain.
the canteen where appetising food is served 4 times a day! fat!!!
pavilions. you can also sleep here but it will be pretty cold at night. even the kids i spoke to did not want to sleep there because of the cold. they wanted to be with their friends in the tent which was warmer.
ampitheatre, which we did not use.
obstacle challenges.
the toilets cum bathrooms near the tents.ok, that basically are the facilities in the campsite.
the participants had a lot of team games because we wanted to build their team spirits. they enjoyed the outdoor games the most.
this is my team, filling up plastic bags to use as water bombs in one of the games. i had 6 members in my team and they were the most boisterous and talkative among all. so the camaraderie and chemistry in the group were really good.
water bombs!
in the midst of the game.ok, no more pics of the fun games they played ;(
now to food....which made me come back with a rounder face. time to make my hair do its job to cover the two chubbier sides hehe...
if you want extra helpings, just go, there is always extra!! how not to get fat??
chicken chop!!!
last but not least.....the sweetest memories of all, the participants of the camp! i think everyone of them went home missing their friends more than anything. i asked one of the boys what he would miss most, and his answer was - kawan-kawan. oooooowwww......
frolicking with friends and facis at the stream
all looking dapper in their camp shirt. take our photos please....
my team. posing for their project.....and yippppeeee!!!! my team was announced the overall winner of the camp. so proud of them.here are some beautiful faces i captured while they were playing at the stream.
the boy who i will always remember as agile as the monkey. he can really climb the pole and my wish to him is to reach greater heights.
styling his own hair for the last night of camp.
and this, is my favourite. he is sooo sweet and cute. has such a charming smile that melts my heart. am already missing his companionship.other previous souvenirs from the camp:
words of encouragement and appreciation from fellow facis and campers. priceless.
gift from my group.
all looking handsome and pretty in the blue camp shirt.you know, we kept asking the campers what they learnt from the camp, but when i came back, i asked myself what i learnt from them instead.
they are all really happy kids that you can't help from being infected by their carefree attitude. i learn to seize the moment and appreciate the time we have spent together. i learn to be grateful for what i have and embrace what i am given. haiz....words fail to describe what i am feeling now. i guess i really miss them so so much.
well, it is time to switch mode soon. maybe i can still wallow in this melancholy for a little while more. then it is time to pack the bags and head back to bidor.
this coming week, will be all preparation for sports day. so it is time to get dark and sweaty and all bouncy for the kids.
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