PROJEK BINA UKHWAH

B.U T & E

Bina Ukhwah Training and Education Program FOCUS?To become an inclusive knowledge platform in educating and empowering all youths, through capacity enhancement training session. HOW?Through mentorship, workshops, training programs, information talks. ACTIVITY?SHAPING SUPERHEROES AT CAMP WIRA Brunei’s youth group, defined as 15 to 40 years of age, make up close to half the population of the country (2018)[1]. Yet, many in this large community face daily struggles with the challenges of the digital economy, peer and family pressures, and looming unemployment. Others are affected by circumstances they cannot control, living in underprivileged families without enough means to provide for basic needs. Eager to learn and improve themselves, these troubled youths may turn to less-experienced sources who may be unable to provide correct guidance. Others find it difficult to express their problems and internalize them instead, which manifest as depression and self-harm. Local NGOs have long recognized the severity of this problem and have been working to close this gap. Project Bina Ukhwah (“PBU”) recently made an impactful contribution by holding Camp Wira, its first ever youth camp at Kompleks Sungai Kebun from the 6th to 8th September 2019. The Camp hosted 29 participants from all walks of life, between the ages of 14-21 years old. Camp Wira’s objective was to harness the energy of the youths and teach them how to channel it into meaningful outcomes for themselves and others around them. Activities were designed to push participants out of their comfort zones and beyond their boundaries and to break self-limitations they had mentally created. Camp Wira’s facilitators, who themselves are youths, were in an ideal position to create a friendly and familiar environment, allowing closer communication with the participants on an individual basis. Participants were kept busy and on their feet during an activity-packed weekend. The activities ranged from the Amazing Race, a series of strenuous physical challenges held at Jerudong Park, to breaking emotional and mental barriers by encouraging participants to share their problems and troubles around a campfire. The participants were true superheroes throughout Camp Wira, with unflagging levels of energy and enthusiasm, giving their full participation and presence. Several showed significant improvement during the short duration of the Camp, evolving from being quiet and shy to open, friendly and confident individuals. Camp Wira was a wonderful success, with participants receiving awards for Best Male, Best Female and Most Improved Individual. PBU hopes to reach more youths by holding Camp Wira more frequently with revised and improved programmes, to discover the superhero in each of Brunei’s youths. Author by Nadeeya Salleh [1] Wardi Wasil, “Calling all youths: ‘We need your input for the National Youth Policy’, The Scoop, 20 December 2018, available at: thescoop.co/2018/12/20/calling-all-youths-we-need-your-input-for-the-national-youth-policy/ and “Population”, Ministry of Finance and Economy, available at: http://depd.gov.bn/SitePages/Population.aspx, last accessed on 27 August 2019