RAFI’s Kool Adventure Camp holds urban backpacking challenge

The Kool Adventure Camp (KAC) of the Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Inc. (RAFI) conducted a back-to-back Urban Backpacking Challenge for the Grade 4 to Grade 6 student leaders from Sacred Heart School-Ateneo de Cebu and the Dutch and Belgian youth delegates of the Multi-city Youth eXchange (MYX) Program last July.

The participants of the backpacking challenge walked through various areas of downtown and uptown Cebu City to gain a deeper understanding and appreciation of the culture, history, and people of the community.

Last July 22-24, 46 students from the Sacred Heart School-Ateneo de Cebu underwent the backpacking challenge with the aim of developing a deeper sense of servant leadership to help address leadership issues in the light of the Ignatian core values.

They went to the Heritage of Cebu Monument where they learned about the different Cebuano heroes and events that helped shape the history of Cebu; explored Colon Street; danced the sinug while offering prayers for their loved ones at the Magellan’s Cross; rediscovered the value of the Sto. Niño to the Cebuanos; and traced the roots of the influence of the Jesuits in Cebu at the Museo Parian sa Sugbo.

They also went to Cebu City Hall to find out the services of the local government unit; Taboan Market where they learned how to make puso (hanging rice); Freedom Park to discover the different flowers grown in Cebu; and Carbon Market where they prepared a menu of three meals for a family with 10 members using a Php 285.00 budget, the minimum daily wage of an average Cebuano worker at the market.

In order to make a comparison of the differences in downtown’s business establishments and the recently established commercial centers in Cebu City, they were tasked to do a transect walk at the Asiatown I.T. Park.

Another activity that brought the participants out of their comfort zones is the experience of sleeping at the Fuente Circle where they set up their own temporary shelter.

The delegation from the Netherlands and Belgium through the MYX program of the Eduardo Aboitiz Development Studies Center of RAFI had their similar backpacking challenge last July 27-29 to provide an experiential and interactive way of introducing them to Cebu City. A special feature for their challenge was a visit to the Fort San Pedro, instead of going to the Museo Parian sa Sugbo.

KAC, launched in 1999, is an adventure-based education program of RAFI that provides youth and adults with learning and development opportunities through experiential education. Its program offerings, which seek to build character, develop competence, and inspire active citizenship among its participants, include youth adventure camps, adventure training and consulting, corporate adventure workshops, land and sea leadership expeditions, urban backpacking, games and initiatives, and trainer’s training, among others.

KAC is one of the programs under RAFI’s Leadership & Citizenship focus area, one of the five focus areas of RAFI where future leaders are nurtured to prepare them to effect change. Its other focus areas are Integrated Development, Micro-finance & Entrepreneurship, Culture & Heritage, and Education.

KAC is currently building the Philippines First Outdoor Experiential Center at Barangay Cansomoroy, Balamban Cebu, which is set to open in 2012.

For more information about KAC, please contact 418-7234 local 207 and look for Althea Santillan or visit www.rafi.org.ph.

Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Inc (RAFI) is a non-stock, non-profit organization committed to “elevating lives through a comprehensive approach that champions best practices in community development”.

Ellen Red
Communications Assistant for Digital Media Management
Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Inc (RAFI)
35 Lopez Jaena Street, 6000 Cebu City, Philippines
6332-418-7234
ellen.red@rafi.org.ph
http://www.rafi.org.ph

This release was published on openPR.