At Goducate Indonesia’s first E-Talk camp, teenagers could be heard yelling their hearts out in defense of their teams, thus bringing some warmth to the cold atmosphere in the mountain town of Berastagi, some 70km away from Medan. E-Talk is a Goducate program that teaches oral English through healthy competition and entertainment. The camp was organized for Compassion International, a child-sponsorhip organization dedicated to the long-term development of children living in poverty.
The theme of the camp was “Express Yourself”, a catchline that covers self-expression, freedom, and self-worth, and intended to tell the youth that they are already blessed with being who they are, that they are doing well, and that thus they had no need to be afraid of expressing themselves. The teenagers were thus encouraged to speak their mind, especially on contemporary issues youths are facing, such as self-image, confidence and impacting others.
29 teenagers attended the 2-day camp. The youth were provided various ways to express themselves through arts, music, speech activities, games, competitions, and small-group discussions on the topics of Self Esteem (I am unique), Potential and Optimism (I can do it!), and Impacting Others (I can make a difference). For instance, there was a talent show to enable groups of campers to demonstrate their special gifts. There was also an Amazing Race, during which they had to do specific tasks to make a difference in their home, school, environment, and the community as a whole. Simple things such as picking up garbage, watering the plants, hugging, and saying thank you to their teachers, and sharing their skills with their friends and neighbors are emphasized in this race. We believe that little acts of kindness can eventually make a drastic difference to the community.
Compassion Berastagi Coordinator, Ms. Eka Malau said, “The camp was really useful for the students. We appreciate not only the language skill being enhanced but also the values being instilled. I hope to have the same camp next year.”
Henni, one of the campers said, “My friends hesitated to join when they heard about this ‘English Camp’ because they thought it was about grammar or the usual boring stuff. I joined anyway. I never expected that learning English can be fun especially with my team. Not only that, I learned that I am already blessed so I have to share my skills with other people. I also made new friends here”.
*Our guest writer is Rodney Paul Lagan, a community development worker
