#ActivateYouthCamp #DAY 4

It was a very cold morning but that did not affect the enthusiasm of the kids as they were looking forward to an adventurous morning with Aunty Mphon. The day started with an exercise that involves the use of the mind and your ability to endure and think outside the box. A game called Paradigm shift which involves the use of optical illusion was done and different correct answers were given by the participants. The aim of the game is to stimulate their mind and make them understand that we don’t see things the way they are, we see things the way we are. 

The participants were divided into groups and ushered to their various game points by their mentors and the lesson of the game  was to emphasize that there is no barrier and that impossibility is nothing.

The First Facilitator, Mr Lanre Olusola started his class with an energizer which includes bringing a participant out and asking other participants to say what they know about him/her. He later asked some kids to dance. The essence of this is to acquaint himself with the participants. The topic for this session is ‘Activating the power within’.  Goals is one of the major requirement needed to activate the power within. The participants were given an exercise that involves projecting into the future and imagine how they want to be in the next 50years (precisely 30^th of July, 2064). Mr Lanre asked the participants to get a partner which they did and he asked them questions that will unveil the leadership within them. Questions like, What do I like about who I am?, What do others say they like about me?, What compliments would I make myself?...and so on.  The questions were answered in their note pads and each participant was asked to read out the answers three times to their respective partner and the partners should reply with ‘I believe you’. Some participants were randomly picked and asked to share their goals with and the answers were amazing. Not only are the participants young but they are intellectually alert, their answers were amazing and positive. He instructed them to remove their shoes and step on the written goals, close their eyes and imagine what they wrote getting fulfilled. Bold and positive declarations pertaining to the goals were said and they were asked to congratulate themselves. There was a change in their thinking at the end of the session, they believe the future is now and they were excited at the written goals and who they want to become.

The second Facilitator, Mr Victor Paa Kwesi Mensah reiterated on the need to believe in your goals and be positive always. A quick recap of what was learnt yesterday was done. Gifts of books titled  The egg and the poultry farm and the teach children to save summit Magazine, were given to the kids who answered his questions correctly the previous day. He explained how to relate perceptions with life by imploring the participants to ask their siblings, Friends, "Frienemies", Parents, Teachers, and so on and ask them what they think about you. 

Questions and Answers Section  

In a nutshell, don’t be a spectator in your own life, development of your own potentials will not only benefit you alone but the world at large. The session ended with Mr. Victor teaching the kids a new song that goes thus ‘Making melody in my heart/3x, to the King of Kings. Heads up, Elbows in, Legs apart’

Even the mentors were not excluded from the benefits of the camp. Mr. Victor afforded us the opportunity to take the personality test.

Activate Youth Camp 2014, Day 3

The morning started with much excitement after the children were paired into groups with their various mentors. There was an interactive session called Flashlight. The essence of this exercise was to get feedback from the participants on what they have learnt the previous day. The kids shared about their experiences from the leadership talks to the sports session and skill development. The essence of this is to help the kids refresh their memory while building relationships with one another. This session lasted for about ten minutes.

Next was the adventure session led by Mpho, a volunteer of AYC 2014 from South Africa. The children were given a quest to interprete codes to help them find the clue to answer the quest successfully. All kids worked together as a team in relating the codes to produce results. There was a bit of confusion, nevertheless, the objective of this game was achieved. When the set time lapsed, Mpho explained more about the game.

  

First Session by Victor Paa Kwesi Mensah

Mr Mensah introduced himself to the children. He asked the children questions in turn for his give-aways. The kid who got his questions correctly picks a number, the gift to be announced much later.

He briefed the children about what they are to learn (about personality, making friends). He told the children that they are all participants in a movie and that they must play their part to be actively involved.

The facilitator asked the children to list some of the qualities of a great performance. He also asked the children on what made the volunteer actors distinct from each other.

He went further to speak on personality. He told the children the need to ask themselves critical life questions such as:

Who am I?

Why am I here?

He asked the children to list further questions they often ask themselves out of curiosity.

The children were asked to put down these questions on paper. The essence of these questions is to help us answer the question of who we truly are. The facilitator explained that the aim of the session is for them to have a plan clearly written out by the end of the session.

It is equally important for children to know how to be in charge of their lives. They need to be masters over their lives else they will continue to follow aimlessly.

Exercise – S.C.R.E.A.M

The essence of this exercise is to relieve the children of their problem (mental, physical and emotional). This is a meditation process to get them activated.

In answering to who we really are, we must take the rule of twelve. The first twelve seconds must tell who we are, it is also a determinant factor of whether others will keep listening to us or not.

 

 

Life Boat

Another activity ensued where the children formed lifeboat of three and five groups. In forming the lifeboat, they get to know one another, name, what they do etc.

The facilitator asked the kids to ask themselves what they want to achieve at the end of the camp.

A set of cards was shared to the participants for the Clarity 4D questionnaire.

The kids were asked to give a review of the session and all responses were positive.

Energy Cards

These cards help us explore our personality and that of people around us. Personalities are attributes that makes a person distinct from another person.

The participants were paired into groups to play the card game. First, the participants were asked to get to know one another. Then, a volunteer is picked from the group to present a card that best represents a participant of the group. If the cards match, then it means the group did well in networking. After the exercise, the participants shared what they have learnt about themselves and others within the group.

First impression, although not 100 percent correct, gives us a certain perception about a person.  

In other to understand your personality, you must get into a state of mind.

Personality is a way of responding to the world.

Personality is different from behaviour. People’s personality put them in their default mode.

Steps of Behaviour

Learn who you are

Learn who you’re supposed to relate with

Learn how you respond to others

Personalities can be used to describe the elements of nature such as air, fire, earth, water etc.

In life, it is you against the world this is why personality is important to help us distinguish ourselves from others while learning to live amicably.

Life is a series of connected dots. The dots in life are called situation. How you decide to respond to situation is known as Behaviour. The more you learn from the opportunities that comes your way and your response to it, the more you gain Wisdom.

Children do not have weaknesses except the ones they create. What is your weakness today is your potential tomorrow.

Questionnaire Evaluation

The kids assessed the report of their filled questionnaire. After reviewing the report, all participants were paired once again into different groups to further discuss their personality traits with others. Participants are allowed to comment on the report of others.

 

Second Facilitator, Clarity 4D Expertise

The facilitator asked the children if their profiles represented them well or they have any observation or contrary view.

He went further to explain the essence and usefulness of the clarity test to the category of participants who took the test. The explained that the children must ensure they make very good use of the information contained in the report to develop themselves.

We should appreciate when people give feedback about us whether positive or negative. We should go back and put the feedback to use in building ourselves to be better.

Paa Kwesi informed the children that the learning for his session will continue the next day. He promised to teach the children an action plan. Afterwards, he engaged them in a short exercise.

He taught the participants that information is not to be kept, it is to be digested. After digestion, they must make a decision to be better.

Take home assignment

The children were asked to write out three out of the instruction given in their profile. They are to express this in a sentence/statement.

Five minutes was allotted to the children for them to review all that has been said.

So much fun

These past 3 days has been incredible in every way! The spirit, love, camaraderie, teamwork, bonding and togetherness in camp is exhilarating. More was seen this morning as we had a quick ‘flashlight’ session where the children, facilitated by their mentors shared some of the things they’ve learnt in the past two days.
They spoke about activities of the past few days; like the ...vision and goal setting session, their experience during the sport session, the new knowledge acquired in the skill development session and the myriad of snippets of wisdom gained from the former Deputy Governor of Lagos, Princess Sarah Sosan’s opening address on Leadership yesterday.
Thereafter, the teens were introduced to adventure via experiential learning by the tenacious Mpho; a mentor from South Africa. Her session encouraged the children to work in teams and to dig into themselves to find solutions to clues hidden in different locations, which actually led them on a wild goose chase. The purpose according to her was to teach the children endurance and to prepare their minds for the mindset-changing and paradigm-shifting adventure sessions in the coming days. Truth be told, even some of the mentors confessed to being frustrated and lost during the ‘goose chase’, but all in all, at the end of the session, everyone was excited and are looking forward to the next bit of adventure tomorrow morning. Did I say tomorrow morning!? No! Because there are loads and loads of amazing upcoming activities today…

Photo Speaks

MEET THE FACILITATOR

My name is Victor Paa Kwesi Mensah, a Coach and Youth Development Practitioner. AYC 2014 gets closer by the day. I am pleased that for this year, Victor and Victors (V&V) and Clarity4D Ltd. UK, along with Connoisseur Consults, will be teaming up with Annie's Place in bringing to participants, the very best in personality and career development through our ‪#‎SPOT-On! youth development programme. Get ready, and see you all in Lagos.