Youth Camp in Mombasa 2018
ROCK students had the opportunity to attend the annual youth camp for the second time in Mombasa in December 2018. Please take the time to read this article prepared by the students on their experience at Camp this past December in Mombasa, lessons learned and an interview with one of our students.
One day when I’m a success in my work, I’m going to build a huge orphanage exactly in the heart of the biggest slum in Africa, Kibera with a similar mission that ROCK shares. I’ll provide an opportunity for underprivileged kids (just like me) to go to school, have three meals a day, have access to clean water, wear clean and ‘expensive’ clothes. And most importantly, I’ll mentor these kids to reach the level that I’m currently at (one of the biggest tech entrepreneurs and writers in the world). I’ll invite my good friends who are also doing good with life to train, coach, and mentor these kids.
One day, these kids will be some of the greatest people on planet earth; people with huge impacts in the world; winning Oscars, Nobel prices, Grammys, Ballon d’Ors, etc. Name any great award from your country.
These kids’ families will rise above poverty and enjoy life as they’ve wished to for decades.
One day, I’ll arrange for a special week to intensively train, coach, and mentor these kids. In fact, I’ll invite other kids to attend this special event; they’ll learn how to deal with pain & suffering, how to set S.M.A.R.T goals, how to see the world objectively & appreciate everything that happens around them, and how to practically and positively change the world.
Imagine that day, when me — Melkizedek stands on the podium and inspires the audience with my life story, of how I have successfully broken all the barriers to be successful.
Perhaps that seminar would be almost similar to the one ROCK students attended in Mombasa this past December.
Indeed, this camp was a life-changing event for most [if not all] of ROCK students. The students interacted with their fellow students from different regions, different mindsets, different views of life, and different visions and dreams. It was a nice peer-to-peer learning experience for the attendees, especially those who attended the event with aim of self-development and improvement. The speakers were nothing but teachers and mentors to the attendees; through their amazing practical teachings, students could easily grasp and relate and almost immediately apply the teachings in their daily lives. The teachings were also eye-openers; it could easily be noticed when the attendees were perplexed by some of the quizzes and answers that were provided by the experienced speakers.
Below is a breakdown of some of the things that were taught during the one week camp in Mombasa.
Social media
Social media has really helped to fasten communication and transfer of files from one point to another. It’s helped to make the world a little bit smaller. It has also provided with a platform for people to freely share their opinion on different matters. For young people, it’s undeniably a source of happiness and enjoyment. But are there negative sides of social media? The answer is YES.
Despite being a source of happiness and enjoyment for most of the young people, social media has negatively affected this generation; they have developed an attachment to it that they can’t live without it. According to an article posted on the New York Post, an average person struggles to go little more than 10 minutes without their phone. Of the 2,000 people surveyed 1 in 10 check their phones on average once every four minutes. According to a study by research firm Dscout, average phone users spend 145 minutes on their phones and engaged in 76 phone sessions per day.
The social media indoctrination has expounded to affect other areas of our lives. Most of us are still not aware that we’re living in the big data era; the algorithms are way much smarter than humans. Artificial intelligence is taking over, and it’s not just taking over, it is destroying the unconscious ones. With 65.9% of the world’s population having access to smartphones, the tech giants such as Google and Facebook have devised the best strategies to find, control, and utilise us; in our pockets — smartphones. Now, it’s not only about Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or WhatsApp. Now it’s about Netflix, Tinder, Spotify, and others. Young people spend a lot of time on these platforms, and as a result, they are less productive. Instead of focusing on “important” things such as studies and work, they spend a lot of time scrolling through Instagram and chatting on WhatsApp.
It’s also a myth that social media is a source of happiness and enjoyment to the users. It’s been found out that people get really depressed and unhappy when they can’t access their phones. A study by the global tech protection and support company Asurion found out that losing a phone; either being stolen or broken can have an immense impact on people’s lives. During a study, they asked the respondents what they would give up other than losing a phone for a day. It’s quite unfortunate that 40% of the respondents answered that they’d rather lose their voice for a day. 62% said they’d rather go for a week without chocolate.
Also, with the rise in technology use, cyber-bullying has become a norm on these social sites, causing individuals to hate or even commit suicides.
Through this camp, ROCK students were taken through these statistics and could understand them better. It’s without a doubt that those who attended the camp and actively listened won’t fall into this deadly trap of social media addiction.
Grief (Identifying and dealing with grief)
Nobody is happy all the time. You’ve lost your loved ones, failed suddenly, or got criticized terribly. The reality is that we live in a world that we can’t live without grieving. There are only three options; you grieved some time back, you’re grieving now, or you’ll grieve in the future. And it all depends on how you react to these bad situations. Some will decide to react with anger and curse the cause of the pain. Some will grieve but hold the event in their heart, and as result of bottling up these emotions, they resort to exalting revenge on someone else (perhaps their enemies) just to make someone feel as bad as they do inside. Some will just be aware of the pain, appreciate it, and move on. It is important to note that there is no need for falling into the last two categories; they’ll just fuel the multiplication of your misery. Being mad and angry for a bad event in your life doesn’t move you any closer to the solution. Instead, it moves you even further away from the solution; it causes more problems.
What do you do after unexpectedly failing a test? Drinking alcohol or using drugs to help temporarily numb yourself and move your attention away from reality? Getting angry at your teachers? Excluding yourself from those who passed the test? Or do you accept the results and pledge to work hard next time? More often than not we beat ourselves up for our failures and losses. It has been proven that the strategy doesn’t work. We’re humans and as a result, we have to accept to live on both sides of the coin (success & failure, gain & loss).
Here the five stages of grieving:
- Denial — refusing to believe that something negative has happened.
- Anger — becoming bitter with the supreme being and the cause of the problem.
- Bargaining — Attempting to postpone or lessen the pain of grief or separation.
- Depression — This sets in after one is lost. It may lead to tragedy if not well managed.
- Acceptance — Coping with loss.
The last stage is not just about acceptance. It’s about accepting, adjusting, and advancing. You have to remember that life must continue.
Myths about grieving
- Don’t feel bad — As human beings, we are equipped with the capacity to feel bad.
- Replace the loss — Relationships are not easily replaceable. Acknowledge the time spent, memories made and make the intention to move on from there.
- Grieve alone — A problem shared is half solved. When you grieve alone you suffer more.
- Time will heal — Time can help you cushion the pain but as time goes by you get more depressed. So share out your problems to anyone who would help.
- Be strong for others — Instead, be human; cry out your grief.
- Keep busy.
To those who tend to comfort those who are grieving, Peter Odanga, the director of Word of Life Kenya has got a word for you:
When someone is grieving, don’t approach the person and start to pull up Bible scriptures or lame motivational words. All you need to do is show up and shut up.
As someone who attended the camp, I understand what Peter meant by those words. It means that it’s good to give people a chance to grieve. We are humans who possess emotions. When something negative happens, the level of cortisol hormone in our bodies rise. And as a result, impulses are sent to the brain and the body becomes aware and reacts by grieving. It’s impossible to deny this process unless your body is not functioning well. Also, letting one to purposefully grieve helps him/her let go of that particular bad event rather than holding it back, which will lead to periodic, unnecessary bad thoughts. Hence, an individual can’t live freely and fully.
At a personal level, I can attest to the idea of grieving to let go. As someone who lost his parents at an early age (4 years), I struggled to let go of this reality until I learnt “the art of grieving and letting go”. And the “art of grieving and letting go” involves grieving when there is a need and living in the present moment. It’s just that simple.
By virtue of attending the camp hitherto, ROCK students are at a better position to deal with pain and suffering that they experience on almost a daily basis.
Forgiveness
Forgiveness is another lesson that stood out during the camp. Forgiveness is somehow connected to grief. My aunt didn’t treat me well when I was staying with her during high school. Some of the words that she uttered to me were offensive. It’s now 2 years since I finished high school and moved out of her house. Now, should I still hold it in my heart, my aunt’s bad utterances? Or should I let it go and forgive my aunt? I choose to let go and forgive her, because holding those words does not help me at all. In fact, it complicates my life for no good reason. It’s ego working in us and convincing us to hold grudges to those who wronged us. But what’s the reason to hold grudges? To revenge one day? To have a story to tell one day? Whatever the reason, holding grudges denies you the chance of living in the present moment and truly enjoying life.
How does it feel to carry 25 kilograms bag of cement from point A to B, for a distance of 100 metres? Imagine what it feels like to reach that 100 metres mark with the bag on your back and eventually putting the bag down — free, light, and happiness. This is what happens in real life; someone wronged you 2 years ago and you’ve refused to let it go and forgive that person to date. It’s like carrying the 25 kg of cement since the day that person wronged you. What a horrible life! Remember you don’t just hold one grudge — you hold lots of grudges with different people (even with children and people younger than you). Sum them up to realize the exact amount of kilograms you’re carrying. Some people hold a lot of grudges that they can’t even list all of them down. That’s misery. Life is so short that we should not spend time carrying such big loads on our backs for zero returns.
As best selling author, Mandy Hale once said, “happiness is letting go of what you think your life is supposed to look like and celebrating it for everything that it is”. You won’t experience true happiness unless you let go of those grudges that you keep down to your heart.
Fun, fun, fun!
All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.
The students really enjoyed themselves. Apart from the above described ultra-important lessons, students experienced fun at its best. A lot of interactive games were played to break the monotony of the camp. One of the main reasons why ROCK organizes annual camps is for the students to visit new places, make friends, and have fun. Most of the students live in a small, enclosed, and unsuitable environment that doesn’t support fun and happiness. Most of the students also come from struggling families — all they experience on a daily basis are sorrow, depression, and sadness.
The camps provide the students with a different atmosphere full of happiness, love, and fun. ROCK students participated in a lot of games and as a result, the best gamer in the female category emerged from ROCK. Thanks to Mary Juma!
When talking about having fun, swimming in the ocean can’t be left out. It was fun learning how to swim in the Indian Ocean. Most learners unexpectedly drank ocean water and nearly drowned but they could not afford to give up on the learning. We also ensured that safety was always maintained during all these fun activities.
Ivan Madahana on what really stood out for him and how he is planning to apply what he learnt from the camp to his day-to-day life
Mel: What really stood out for you from the camp?
Ivan: Since it was my first time at Word of Life camp in Diani, it was an awesome experience because what the speakers talked about are the challenges that I face in my daily life as a teenager. All the lessons we were taught at the camp are not taught at school by my teachers so this was amazing because if I could not have attended the camp I could have missed these very important lessons in life. Another thing is that I had a chance to interact with my fellow youths during group discussion to discuss the challenges that we face as teenagers and possible solutions to these problems e.g drug abuse, peer pressure, social media addiction, among others.
Mel: How are you planning to apply what you learnt from the camp in your day-to-day?
Ivan: As a teenager I’m planning to talk to youths in our locality about the topics that the speakers taught us and also I’m planning to hold group discussions at home together with my friends so that we can discuss about the challenges that we face as teenagers and how we can be able to overcome them. Also, at school, I will talk to my classmates about the topics that we were taught by the counsellors and the speakers.
Marion Julie on the importance of the camp to ROCK students.
Mel: As someone who has attended multiple ROCK camps, what really really stood out from this particular camp and how do you think the camp will impact ROCK students?
Julie: Quiet time, one hour of complete solitude to meditate on the daily teachings and plan on near future events, stood out for me. After morning sessions, we were granted some time to think about whatever has been taught and how it relates to our daily lives. Through that, I got the chance to look back and reset some things in my life as a young person.
The camp had a great impact on the students. It gave them time to interact and bond. During school sessions, they rarely have time to interact and just talk about things outside of their studies. Some students are reserved while they are at the centre, others are bookworms and never want to be disturbed while they are studying, the boarding school students never get time to interact with day school students. However, during such camp times, they mingle and become even closer to each other and with students from different areas and they get to share ideas.
The topics handled at the camp purely relate to young people. So, many students became self-aware when these topics [social media addiction, relationships e.t.c] were handled such that when they come out of the camp, they were aiming at becoming totally different people, positively impacted students.
You did not attend the camp :-( However, you have something to smile about now — you’ve received an exclusive report of how the camp went down.
ROCK would like to appreciate all those who donated or supported this year’s camp. Your sincere donations and support have helped improve ROCK kids’ lives.
Scholarship update
ROCK has already taken in new students to join high school. These are students who passed their final national exams but didn’t have means of joining high school. Last year, we took in 25 students. This year, we’ve taken in 27 underprivileged students from the slums of Kibera to join high school.
For donation or support, visit our websites ROCK Kenya and LeoROCK (ROCK in Germany). You can follow ROCK Kenya on social media platforms: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.
2018 graduates update
2018 grade twelve graduates are giving back to the community before you could join their respective colleges and universities. They’ve signed up to various local primary schools to teach young kids English, math, science, Swahili, among other subjects. Many local schools experience a lack of enough teachers and as a result, some classes can go for a whole day without being taught. ROCK is stepping up to fill the gap by sending its graduates to the local schools to act as teachers.
