An eye-opener

Students learn discipline, initiative through adventure


Struggling with a few poles, ropes and empty drums were two groups of young boys, all set out on the Dibba beach to fabricate a raft. Of course, their instructor was around, prodding them on and off with tips and suggestions, but letting them decide as to how to go about the whole construction.

A little away was another group being goaded by their instructor to try out kayaking. "Just see to it that your legs are straight", or "try patting the kayak on the front first and then the back", could be heard when these youngsters took their seat in the kayak, wondering what to do next. All this was part of the adventure and environment awareness programme organised for youngsters by BP.

Spending a whole day with this enthusiastic bunch was an eye-opener of sorts. Can the young UAE national boys manage to adjust in conditions outside their homes for two whole days, and that too doing physical work?

Will they be able to adjust with boys from other countries? Will they enjoy being told what to do? Questions like these often spring up when we see youngsters devouring their burgers or racing along the roads on their roller blades. It was such a bunch of boys from all over the GCC that had gathered at Dibba for this adventure programme.

As Salem Bin Ashoor, corporate communication executive, BP MiddleEast, put it: "This programme allows these young people an opportunity to spend a weekend experiencing many adventures aimed at developing their potential. It offers them extracurricular extended learning that they may not get in the classroom. What we want to emphasise is the importance of safety, environment protection, creative thinking and a spirit of forging stronger ties among the youth of the region."

The spirit of adventure, but with some discipline attached to it, was observed in all the activities they undertook. Be it mountain biking or rock climbing and absailing (vertical walk down the wall), or kayaking, raft building or the dhow trip, each activity had its own lessons to be learnt.

Like in the case of raft building, some of the big skills that stood out there were the strong sense of initiative and leadership. "What we want them to acquire through this is the determination to achieve set objectives, team work and effective communication skills," said Khalid Mehdi Ali, raft building instructor.

"Prepare in detail before you start. Do not attempt any short cuts. Follow the procedures laid down and adhere to them. Think of innovative ideas to manage hurdles that are bound to come your way, and how you manage them would speak of your individuality," explained the young but tough-looking mountain climbing instructor.

And did the teenagers enjoy this seemingly easy but practically hard-on-the-hand and leg task?

Wassim Adel Obeid, a Grade 10 student of the Dubai International School, put it best: "It may have been hard. But what matters is that all of us tried our best. Even if any one of us could not make it to the top, our friends only cheered us. That has helped us keep our spirits high always and we are willing to try again."

"Our self-confidence was as high as the mountain," added a boy from Kuwait. Thanks to the ever-cheering guardians, students were never short of encouragement throughout their activities.

Guardians are seasoned adventurers from previous programmes, assisting the instructors, who are aware of the language (mainly Arabic) and the manner in which the boys need to be handled.

No wonder Ali Hassan Shehadi, a Grade 11 student of the Dubai International School, was all praise for them. "It's like we know them for years," he felt. "Our guardians also served us our food," screamed a group close-by.

A guardian-turned mountain biking instructor was Hashem Al Tamimi from Ras Al Khaimah. "Other than testing their limits, mountain biking develops in them a strong team-work spirit and the guts to live up to a challenge," said Al Tamimi. In all, this included the importance of preserving our environment and culture for the benefit of all.