Babysitting...

Well, that wasn't exactly what we were doing in Selayang but as compared to the typical age group that we normally deal with, these participants were really young, being between 10-12 years old.

It was an opportunity for us to get a different perspective of youth development. And as we set out to Selayang on Wednesday morning, we were both excited yet nervous as none of us had the experience of dealing with children from that particular demographic.

Marveen sums up our experience-

The Lasallian FT was once again in action, this time conducting a session for a group of kids in a programme organised by Yayasan Kajian Pembangunan Masyarakat. These kids come from an urban poor background, consisting of Indian and Malay kids. They all lived in flats in Selayang and were present for a 3 day camp, conducted by a group of young and very enthusiastic group of teenagers. We (Jon, Pui Yi and myself) were requested to do a simple session on Wednesday, the second day of the camp, on Values; somewhat similar to our Regional sessions (or so we thought).

As we headed of to Selayang that morning, we did not anticipate the challenge that was awaiting us over there. I must say, it was a very challenging task, but worth all the fun. Pui Yi conducted the first session on introducing values using a few bedtime stories. The task was to get the kids to tell the story and find its values, and that proved to be the challenge. They understood the story but found it difficult to speak it out as most of them were not so fluent in BM, gratefully the OT's managed to get them to understand it in Tamil, and in the process we learned a few words, Jon and Pui Yi that is.

As we progressed through the day we got to know these kids even more and it was a totally different experience alltogether, working with kids. Jon took off his session with an Obstacle course and followed with the balloon and pen game. His role was to wake them up from their assumed-value-centered mind or state, and to say that in reality, they do break their values without knowing so. It went well as the kids had much fun during the activities.

The final session was facilitated by me. The session was based on incorporating values towards Teambuilding. In groups, the activity was to build a bridge from paper and tape that could withstand the weight of at most 5 tin cans of soft drinks. The teams did well, quite ingeniusly I must say. This was then followed with the Entanglement game and the Raffia Loop around a Circle game. The whole time it was utter chaos, there were groups with awesome ideas, to kids in tears and playful slaps. Words cant describe the experience we had that day, though i said chaos, it was a fun filled one. And Pui Yi now has a profound respect for primary teachers, and I think Jon and I can second that.

I do have to say this, though the task was some what challenging and attention span was a fragment throughout the process, these kids got the message, having values equals to being and doing good. It was well worth the time we've spent there and to be a part of this movement, spreading change well beyond the Lasallian community and fulfilling the audacious path of Hope. It is these simple and tiny changes that can one day make a huge difference, you see Change will only come if we yearn and act for it.

All in all, a great experience and well worth the time spent.

-Marveen-

Thanks Marveen for the detailed sharing. Photos to follow soon. =)