Rotary Youth Leadership Awards 2009

On the 10^th to 13^th of December 2009, three Interactors from Sabah participated in the camp organised by the Rotary E-Club of 3310 and Rotary Club of Johor Centennial called the Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA) in Tanjung Sutera Resort, Sedili Besar, Kota Tinggi, Johor. The three participants were Adam Fu, Andrea Wong and yours truly, Mirabel Cassandra.

When we saw the itinerary that was given to us, our first reaction was, "Hmm, that's a lot of talks." To be exact, we had 10 sessions where community leaders and mentors talked about an endless variety of subjects which were designed to help us in our daily life as Interactors and also in efforts to become well-rounded individuals. The topics ranged from Personality Profiling to Managing Relationships and even to Sexual Health, Sexual Responsibilities. You name it and they'd have probably covered it.

However, the atmosphere of the talks were not boring and stuffy, but in fact, far from it. We got the chance to share our opinions as well as participate in some activities which made the sessions more entertaining. Where else could you find a talk that got us making balloon structures and painting each other's faces with clown make-up - expensive ones at that? Only in RYLA!

Of course, a camp is not called a camp without some form of physical activity. Therefore, every morning, we had a Clark Hatch instructor come in with an aerobic/martial arts/dance exercise routine to jolt our bodies up after a night of slumber. Apart from that, we jungle trekked throughout the mangrove swamp, forest and also the Sedili Town. It was very challenging and not at all what I expected. The route trekked was so tough that some people tore their Nike shoes. Of course, we got a chance to see a lot of scenic places and it was, to sum it up in one word, BREATH-TAKING.

However, the highlight of RYLA had got to be the Talent Night. We had been divided into 10 groups earlier and as a team, we could present anything, provided it being some form of entertainment. It was definitely a night to remember. Our stomachs hurt from having laughed so hard at the hilarious antics of our camp mates. I couldn't possibly imagine how the judges chose the winners. But eventually, they did.

And the third place went to the Orange Tigers, with their members donning weird outfits such as afro wigs and Spongebob Squarepants boxers. The Yellow Pikachus nabbed the second place with their entertaining dance to the song Barbie Girl by Aqua. But get this, the boys had on fake boobs fashioned from balloons and a string. They had to lift "it" up a few times during the dance which drew laughter from the audience. And, the first place went to, drum roll please… THE PURPLE BARNEYS!!! They had put on an entertaining show parodying the events that happened throughout the whole camp, while managing to "mildly" mock some people. But hey, it all made for a good laugh at the end of the day.

Undoubtedly, after spending four days together participating in the RYLA camp, goodbye came hard for us. I bet our friends on Facebook have increased tremendously now. It was also very refreshing to be able to mix with various groups of people - exchanging ideas and numbers. Not only that, we developed leadership skills as the activities there required all of us to step up to the plate at some point and take charge.

I, speaking on the behalf of the participants from Sabah am very grateful for being given the opportunity as well as the sponsorship from the Rotary Club of Kota Kinabalu to join the RYLA camp. We got to make a lot of friends, had the opportunity to learn, have fun and ultimately, grow as an individual.

Remember the Interact motto, Service Above Self? Well, I truly believe, to be of service to the people, we need to be well-equipped first. And RYLA achieves that purpose. Therefore, I urge all the other Interactors to join the camp because it is truly worth it.

MM