1st Kiwanis Builder Camp 29-31 Aug 2015


Posted by Xian Wei

This was the first Kiwanis camp organised for young teens. At first, I felt that this was just going to be like any other camps before. Since I didn’t know any of the campers (except one) I felt shy and nervous and didn’t talk much. Nevertheless, I felt really enthusiastic about a new experience. 

We slept in dorms, much to my delight, and after we settled we went for ice-breaking sessions. When we were to be separated into teams I felt lonely because I’m not with my friend. So I just sat with my teammates and we discussed about our team name and cheer. After that we played station games. That warmed us up a lot and soon after that was over we became friends with one another. 

Next morning I felt refreshed for the obstacle courses. This was the part that was most fun to me because I like more hands-on activities. We did the flying fox but it wasn’t as exciting as I’ve done it many times. After that long, tiring afternoon we had a lesson on first-aid. This, to me, was quite new.

That whole afternoon, I kept thinking about our team’s presentation in the evening. I didn’t want to do badly so I thought a lot about it, with the help of my teammates. Finally, after a lot of discussion but little practice, it was time. By then I was really nervous. All went well and I thanked my team for sticking together. 

The next morning was MERDEKA DAY!!! After the morning exercise and then we had sort of free time. I made friends with every camper. They were very friendly and so we talked about the camp. I was really sad because I would miss my good friends. We bid farewell and left. 

This camp had let me discovered more about myself. I  participated a lot not just in activities, but also in discussion, acting, planning and more vocal than before. I learnt how to lead and communicate with my team especially when we were playing team games. 

My teammates were quiet, reserved, shy and came from different backgrounds. Some came from sheltered homes and from cities so I had real difficulty in communicating with them. However, we shared some similar qualities like we do not easily give up, very cooperative, and full of ideas. These qualities help bring our team together.

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