DAY 4: COURAGE IN CRISIS

The fourth day of AYC 2016 started with the campers being engaged in physical fitness exercises. At 7:00am they all assembled at the dining hall to have breakfast and then broke out for their team meetings to rehearse for tonight's drama performances.

Barrister Rotimi Ogunyemi was on hand to facilitate the general session on the topic Courage in difficulties: the story of the Hudson river plane crash" informed the campers that the true test of courage will only be determined in times of crisis using a short video documentary on the crash.

He ended on the note that "When life hits you with unexpected scenarios, do not panic but STAY CALM! Being courageous starts from the inside and displays on the outside showing that its not only about value to yourself but also to others.

During breakout motivational sessions, Mrs Izefua encouraged her team using "LEADD: Learning, Engagement, Acceptance, Decision and Doing" Mrs Foluke Ayoola taught her group the attributes of courageous people:

1. Courageous people believe the unbelievable
2. They must be patient
3. Have the courage to say "NO"
4. Do the right thing even when its not common
5. Show genuine emotions
6. Have the courage to forgive

During skills, it was amazing to see how well and far the campers had learned. The soap making class made soaps today, hair making fixed some new hairstyles, and the graphics class designed popular logos for the first time.

For the evening session, we began with ‘Journey of Guided Learning’ facilitated by Lampe Omoyele, ta brand builder and coach. He engaged everyone on "Purpose. Vision. Purpose." He hared his personal values as "Integrity, faithfulness and respect". He rounded up by noting "Wrong is wrong even if everyone is doing it; Right is right even when only you is doing it."

Various sporting activities were held later and in the evening the four teams made drama presentations depicting telling stories on how being courageous when confronted with challenges can yield great results if against all odds we go for our goals.

Tonight ended on a high for everyone as there were no winners or losers, only courageous people who dared the stage and told us impactful stories through drama.

DAY 3: DANCE, A NEW WAY TO BEING COURAGEOUS

Day three started normal with our morning drills, and there was no way we could predict that by lights out, it would have been an extraordinary experience. But then, this is what courageous champions are made of.

With friends for life to make, impact to create and future global leaders to nurture, Activate Youth Camp is just getting started; day three (3) was set rolling. Champ Ruth Goma did a recap of day two’s  movie and champions shared what they learnt from the movie – The Maze Runner. She highlighted that “Life is about choices, do you want to be courageous or do you want to fear… When in your difficult circumstance, courage must rise by you identifying your fears and facing it”. She rounded by charging campers to make a decision to be courageous and not allowing fear to dictate their future.

The breakout motivational sessions were life changing. Our facilitators had words of wisdom and calls to action on varieties of topic from financial management to etiquette, from spiritual development to personal development. The skills class keyed into the momentum and accelerated. The expression and dedication on the campers were immeasurable as they learn new skills that will empower them personally and economically.

The moments that glowed as stars in the night was the dance competition. We had award-winning Mr Segun Lawal, an internationally recognized dance trainer from the Spirit of David Dance Group as our judge as teams exhibited their dance skills.

Before leaving, he noted, “dance is not just movements, its worship and a display of courage against your fears as exhibited by King David” - now that is a new way to being courageous.

In case you missed our previous days, catch up here from the Theme and Arrivals video

GOING PERSONAL WITH COURAGE AND FACING YOUR FEARS

Activities for Day two of AYC 2016 started at 5:30 am with the participants taken through an early morning drill as a way of instilling discipline in them and making them fit and healthy enough to go through the various activities for the week. This lasted for about 30 minutes before they were released to their hostels to take their bath and prepare for the day’s activity.

By 6:30am the campers were already assembled at the dining hall where they had breakfast and as a new development to this year, we had small groups of campers having personal motivation sessions.

During these sessions, campers expressed themselves very freely on issues relating to their aspirations in life, opinion on various occurrences in the society, challenges they face, and how they believe the status quo can be improved. For one of the campers Ayanteoluwa Emmanuel of team Emerald, she expressed a great desire to become a psychologist, and further noted: "it is wrong to judge certain people for the perceived wrongs they commit without considering their background or whatever experiences that may have influenced their actions."

Champ Rotimi Adeaga during the motivation sessions

Some also spoke of their rejection of some upcoming societal trends like gay marriage and child abuse in today’s world. They also suggested various ways by which these practices can be checked.

Following the personal motivation session, campers were assigned to their chosen skills programme with facilitators engaging them in discussions to know their level of exposure to their chosen skills and better train them.

After this, participants went into more intense sessions for their various skills which included: choreography, photography, Vaseline and soap making, hair making, among others. It was indeed a knowledge-filled first half of the day and they were all filled with excitement, expressing great interest in learning  and even surprising their facilitators by showing how determined and COURAGEOUS they are to succeed.

The break session doubled as sports session and everyone had enough adrenaline to do sports they love. The most notably was the chess class where the chess instructor highlighted the key to playing chess: “Know what move my opponent makes, why he made the move, how should I respond to his moves knowing the move i make may not be the best but should be the right move”

Temofe Ugbona on :Facing your fears"

Just when we thought we had enough, our guest speaker Temofe Ugbonna took them on a life transforming session on how to face their fears, conquer limitations and create a niche for themselves. His take home call to action, “stop taking others personal opinions as your own reality. Never stop trying… you fail the moment you stop.”

What better way to end today’s activities than seeing the movie “The Maze Runner” teaching about daring the impossible, breaking norms and finding a way through life’s difficulties, courageously.

You should see the look on everyone’s face, it tells of only two things; Impossible is nothing and everything is possible!

Lights out!!!

HOW DO YOU SAY COURAGEOUS?

Courageous is “ possessing or displaying courage” where courage is “the quality of spirit that enables you face danger or pain without showing fear.” So how do you say courageous?

Courageous | Igboya | Obi Ike | onígboyà | mai tatare da karfin hali| courageux | Tunaomba | mutig|  勇敢 Yǒnggǎn |

Whichever language we choose to say courageous, we should know that in times like these Nigeria needs to build moral consciousness, develop young leaders willing to create change and a generation willing enough to dare the impossible; they need just one thing to transform words and theories into action: COURAGE.

For these next seven (7) days, Activate Youth Camp (AYC) 2016 will gather champions from across Nigeria to transform their views of life and challenge them to positively face every difficulty on their way to success “courageously” to achieve excellence.

As they arrive, we see teenagers desiring success, parents needing transformation and mentors(including facilitators) filled with passion to be vanguards in making this happen.

Campers and parents success stories from last year has showed the AYC vision is effective and this has driven us to improve every year more than the previous. A peek into what you’ll experience in the “courageous” journey with us whether you are at home or here on camp at AYC’16:

Today was team bonding! It was so lovely to see old attendees reunite with friends and new campers adapting to the atmosphere and making new friends; but this is just the tip of the iceberg of many more great moments to happen on camp. The rest of the week will see us begin with morning fitness drills, skills and development classes from renowned Nigerian entrepreneurs.

Two sessions to highlight are “Journey of Guided Learning” and “Variety Night”. On Journey of Guided Learning, we invite celebrities to share personal stories in motivating campers to defeat fear, crush obstacles and aim for the best in life. Not to forget skills classes where trainings from hair making, Ankara accessories to digital skills to keep them ahead of the competition in the digital age.

Camp is not all work! Adventures and sports are a part of our life; and campers showcase how courageous they are with their talents in variety night by delivering excellent outputs.

Once again, how do we say courageous? It’s all embodied in our Champions Creed:

I will think right, think fast, talk right

Walk right, act right and live right

Because i am a champion

Thank you God for perfecting all that concerns me

I am aware, I have it in me,

I am a Champion!

Amen!!!

Welcome to Activate Youth Camp 2016: “ The Courageous: I have it in me”