(Admin) ‘THIS IS OUR TIME’— ILOCANO YOUTH RECOUNTS SIRIB CAMP EXPERIENCE In a bid to nurture the future leaders of Ilocos Norte, the Provincial Government of Ilocos Norte through Sirib Express held a trainor and leadership camp which successfully trained 302 youth participants from April 7 to 16, 2014. The Sirib Camp, a youth summit held at the Dungon-Dungon, town of Bangui, was held through a series of special lectures and activities which aim to promote cooperative education and inculcate on the youth the importance of team building. The Dungon-Dungon campsite is a usual site for the activities of the Boy Scouts of the Philippines Ilocos Norte Chapter until Governor Imee R. Marcos sees its potential to cater to bigger activities and thus began developing the area. Trainors are mostly professors, lawmakers and former members of the “Kabataang Barangay” (KB), a national youth organization headed by Governor Imee Marcos from 1975 to 1984. Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) succeeded KB when it was abolished in 1991. The camp was divided into two parts: the Provincial Trainor’s Training Camp from April 6 to 10 and the Provincial Leadership Training Camp from April 12 to 16. A stronghold of 76 youth leaders across the province attended the Provincial Trainor’s Training Camp; 56 of them willingly stayed to succeed the trainors and direct the Provincial Leadership Camp which was attended by other 246 participants. Jill Janine Laeda, one of the event organizers and member of the Sirib Express core team said that the goal of this setup is to strengthen the leadership skills of the youth leaders. This they must put into practice by proactively aiding the trainors on leading and training the second batch. No ordinary camp The campsite is at an isolated clearing located on a hill that borders Bangui and Burgos. A small, muddy lake faces the entrance and a surrounding forest separates the site from the few houses located around the block. Campers shared tents and lined up for comfort and shower rooms, although the most extreme test was to remain “unwired” from their mobile phones and computers for ten days, Laeda revealed. “What we first did in the camp was to confiscate phones although we allowed the participants to use them from 6AM to 7AM and 6PM to 7PM,” Laeda said. Watches were also confiscated to keep the participants from checking on the time. Laeda said that the “only reference for time” in the camp was the “sunrise and the sunset”. “We all know that if they have these gadgets, for sure, they won’t be able to concentrate so we did the confiscation,” she added. James Ceasar Ventura, 21-year old youth leader participant, said that these challenges encouraged self-discovery and taught them “discipline”. “The experience is fulfilling…we became aware of the things needed to be done by the Ilocano youth, especially that nowadays, SK has been inactive. We found a new way to make the voices of the youth be heard.” Ventura said. A day started at 5:30 AM when the participants were required to wake up to exercise and carry out a sunrise reflection activity right before breakfast. After a series of lectures and other activities in the morning until afternoon, the day would be concluded by another reflection activity at sunset. This was being carried out near a steep which boasts an amazing view of the bay, the lush mountains, and the famous Bangui windmills. “This is when we usually think about things, especially those that we have learned and those changes which happened to us when we went through the course,” Ventura said. Ventura also talked about an activity called “vigil” which occurred the night before their graduation. According to him, this is when they begin “embracing the responsibility as youth leaders.” Ventura is the interim president of the council proposed by the participants which they called Sirib Ilocano Kabataan Association (SIKA) during a plenary meeting at the camp. “Our vision is to uphold the privilege of the Ilocano youth to be heard. Our primary objective is to involve the youth to the various projects of the government, especially that now we have Sirib Express as well as the support of Governor Imee Marcos. This is our time,” Ventura said.
Posted on: Tue, 29 Apr 2014 12:33:10 +0000
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