ACTIVATE YOUTH CAMP @ 7: DANCING INTO THE YEAR OF PERFECTION

As 2019 launched Activate Youth Camp into its 7^th year, the number resonates with us as the year of perfection and  the theme Convergence becomes perfect to bring it all together.Our third day started with our early morning drills after which campers headed out to breakfast.

The next on our agenda was flash light where we reflected on the lessons learned from the second day and how to be in a better shape for today.

Today’s adventure opened our eyes to understand it was in times past that curiosity killed cat. Now, curiosity with direction and focus saves the cat and makes the cat exceptional and we were challenged to always want to know more and be more than what we are now. We moved on from adventure to general training facilitated by Ruth Goma.

In the general training, Champ Ruth Goma guided us into reflecting on the themes of Activate Youth Camp from the first year from “I Have It In Me” to our theme for this year “Convergence”. In this process, we reflected on the impact of AYC on campers who had attended before and they shared their impact stories which led them to return to AYC and how they want to use this impact to change the lives of others. 

The outcome of our learning today was the development of creeds along the themes of AYC over the years and a formular for success which is listening + understanding ÷ hardwork = success.

The skills sessions are beginning to take shape as we began to see the first finished prototypes from all of our skills session today.

The spotlight of tonight was dance. 

With pumped up adrenalin and dancing shoes, our campers displayed creative moves and showed who the boss on the dance is before our celebrity guest; award winning dancer, choreographer and director Segun Lawal of the Spirit if David Dance Group.

Before leaving, Segun Lawal noted that “being at Activate Youth Camp, you have the opportunity to let your creativity change you and your environment for better” before reiterating his commitment to the vision of Activate Youth Camp over the past 7 years and the next 100 years.

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FUN, STYLE AND COMEDY: A NEW WAY TO FOCUS

Activate Youth Camp for 2019 has hinged on Convergence as we aim to bring it all together into focus. The morning started with the camp drill as campers woke to a warm up exercise to keep fit for the day’s session before heading for breakfast.

Following this was flashlight! Flashlight was a recap of what was learned from arrival and introductory sessions of yesterday and expectations for today. Straight out of flashlight, we moved into Adventure. This is a breakout session in small groups supervised by mentors where campers discuss frankly about their career objectives, ask sincere questions and share ideas openly about what they need to achieve their goals with fellow campers guided by mentors in their groups and coordinated by Mrs. Rotimi Adeaga. 

To set the pace, they were asked to daydream into the future, explore their passion, find where they want to be and build on them after which they came to share with the entire camp their discovery of what they want to become in future. 

Today, we were graced with the warm and lovely presence of Dr. (Mrs.) Bola Balogun who is the Permanent Secretary of the Lagos State Ministry of Youth and Social Development representing the wife of the Lagos State Governor Dr. (Mrs.) Ibijoke Sanwo-Olu. She brought goodwill messages noting that “Activate Youth Camp builds independence and confidence. It is an opportunity for youth to learn new skills that will be useful and help them make a meaningful participation in the society”. In rounding up, she admonished that as campers here and as young people we should: “understand our focus, organize our life, know our purpose, trust people to do things, set priorities, avoid distractions, ask for advice and don’t lose track.” 

In the afternoon, our skills sessions started. The skills for this year are sewing, craft accessories, graphics design, Ankara accessories making, paper craft, dance, adire, photography and small chops making. Today being our first day, theoretical and introductory trainings were held for the skills. The break sessions formed the rest of the afternoon and evening which were were used for sports. After all, “all work and no play? ... 

The climax of tonight was when our participants displayed their talents in comedy with selected performers gracing the stage to flex muscles on comedy before ace comedian Saco who was our guest for the night. He went on to share personal experiences to motivate campers to “focus on their dreams as it is never too big neither can you get arrested for dreaming big.” 

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CONVERGENCE: BRINGING IT ALL TOGETHER

The journey started in 2013 when Activate Youth Camp set the pace to bring teenagers across the country together for a summer break of a lifetime. From the get go, AYC taught teenagers to tell the world “I Have It In Me”. This self-affirmation led to the development of “Leadership From Within” in 2014 and by 2015 we led a clarion call to “The Awakening” of giants to stand tall and ready to face life challenges and be “Courageous” throughout 2016. By 2017, we deviated from the norm by being “Divergent” and the results of this status quo shift led our teenagers to lead an “Ingenious” life in 2018.

This year, with the theme “Convergence” we are bringing it all together. We will be harnessing our collective strength and successes over the past 7 years to create an energy fusion launching us into the next 7 years of transformation, rebuilding and reshaping our nation for greatness through the teenagers (“Champions” as referred to in camp) that are coming through the doors of Activate Youth Camp.

A brain child of Pastor (Mrs.) Kikelomo Omooba, AYC has attracted top ranking and highly successful global Nigerians from academia, government, international organisations, corporate/private world, Music and entertainment to share experiences, mentor and have down-to-earth interactions with the Champions.

Over the years, our champions have transformed into great mentors; our mentors  have gone on to be global achievers and the positive feedback from parents, guardians, sponsors and partners have continued to inspire us to be better.

At the close of arrivals today, we have 280 teenagers, 16 facilitators and 40 mentors/interns and kicked off the day with a session on Focus through Photography by the ace photographer Modamo followed by Champ Rotimi Adeaga where campers were made to introduce themselves to and make 5 new friends.

To round up, she shared a breakdown of schedules for the week, camp guidelines and code of conducts to be followed by all.

Now, all is set as we are bringing it all together at Activate Youth Camp 2019.








Follow us on this journey for the next 7 days of impact at as we begin this journey of guided learning and for the 7^th year in row, join us in our Champions Creed:

I will think right

Think fast

Talk right

Walk Right

Act Right and Live Right

Because I am Champion

Thank you Lord For Perfecting All That Concerns Me

I Am Aware I Have It In Me

I Am A Champion

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Camp Day Three

It’s day 3 and the campers have gradually started getting the hang of waking up at 6am for drills. Their eager footsteps echoing through the hostel is an indication that waking up early,exercising and bonding is a good way to start the day.

Its adventure time again. Champ. Rotimi Adeaga did a recap of yesterday's adventure and the campers shared what they learnt.

Today's adventure was more engaging; the campers were divided into smaller groups so that they can participate better. Two short clips were shown to the campers to make them understand why they should never give up on themselves and on their dreams.

General session came up next. We had Barr. Taiwo Akinlami as our Facilitator. He pushed out the problem-solving nature in the champions by asking them solutions to different real life issues like SHYNESS, OBSTACLES, and PRACTICAL CHALLENGES.

Major lessons learnt from the session are:

YOU ARE AS GOOD AND AS STRONG AS THE RELATIONSHIPS YOU KEEP.

YOUR ASSOCIATION DETERMINES YOUR LEVEL OF CONFIDENCE to a large extent.

The Skill session was interesting, interactive and engaging as usual. Looking closely into the eyes of all our champions, the dedication gleaming in their eyes is priceless, they are really eager to acquire more knowledge.

We had a mouth-watering lunch!

On the journey of guided learning, Aunty Sade exposed the girls to Sex Education, Social media Pressures and how to manage Relationships. Champ. Rotimi Ogunyemi was with the boys and encouraged them to serve with the person that drives them. Our facilitators from both classes had soul lifting words of wisdom to dish out to the campers.

After Sports, we had team meetings as regards tonight’s entertainment. It was a good time to put teamwork to play as they all worked together in creating their dance steps for the night. 

With only 45 minutes to prepare for the dance competition, the campers not only wowed the Mentors and In House Facilitators but also the guest judge. Before she left, she made emphasis on HARD WORK and CONSISTENCY as tools for sustaining one's dream.

The day was a good one, we cannot wait for tomorrow

LIGHTS OUT

Camp Day Two

The day started for us at 6:00am with a 10mins drill to get the children ready for the activities of the day.

By 7:00am, the campers were already gathered at the hall waiting for breakfast. While waiting, the campers were divided into small groups for a brief motivational session.

After breakfast, Champ Rotimi Adeaga took the campers through a session of adventure using Falz's “This is Nigeria" video as a case study, pointing out the vices mentioned and how they think they can be dealt with. She further engagethe campers in a game; giving them a list and asking them to name the problems affecting the list given. Although it was fun, the campers ended the session with more knowledge acquired. 

Thereafter, we sang our anthem and read the champion’s creed to remind ourselves that we are indeed champions.

The general session was a very engaging one. Mr. Ade A. Adefemi, a life coach and motivational speaker facilitated this session. He equipped the campers for greatness by teaching them practical lessons on LEADERSHIP.

The instant feedbacks from the campers showed that the session was not a waste. One of the striking feedbacks was by Champ Gabriel from Team Ruby. He said, "A GOOD LEADER LEADING A BAD FOLLOWER CANNOT ACHIEVE A GOOD RESULT, A BAD LEADER LEADING A GOOD FOLLOWER CANNOT ACHIEVE THE REQUIRED RESULT BUT A GOOD LEADER LEADING A GOOD FOLLOWER WILL FACE ANY OBSTACLE AND ACHIEVE A BRILLIANT RESULT"

It was the first day of skills and the campers were excited as they found their way into their different classes. Skills for this year are: Small chops, Adire Making, Ankara Accessories, Photography, Dance, Events/Decoration and Shoe Making.

During the journey of guided learning, Mrs Mosunmola O. Dosumu made the girls realize why they have to be INNOVATIVE while the boys had a beautiful session with 

Mr. Temofe who charged them to be patient enough to listen and understand things. He told the campers that the major key to success is communication and with it comes listening and understanding.

It was also the first day of sports and the campers with burst of energy made their way to their different sporting activities which includes: Soccer, Volleyball, Basketball, Chess, Track/Field and Aerobics.

After this, each team had a space to themselves to get ready for the group presentation.

Variety Night crowned Day 2 and our ribs cracked as the campers from the different teams gave us unadulterated comedy. MC RAY was our guest for the night.

 He told the campers that there are comedy materials all around us and for those that will find them selves doing comedy in future, they need to understand stage management. We laughed our hearts out at the end the day. Comedy night was so hilarious and awesome.

It really was a GOOD day. 

Day 2 down..

Day 3 here we come…