The highlight of my time in South-Sulawesi was being a facilitator for Rumah KaMu’s annual Youth Camp. When I arrived at Rumah KaMu, preparations for youth camp were well under way. 21 participants out of many 16 year old high school applicants from Makassar had been be selected. 11 other facilitators and I went for a weeks retreat in Malino, to discuss tactics and build on the evaluations of previous youth camps, so we could make this year’s youth camp an unforgettable experience for the participants and the host community.
The idea of youth camp is to give students from the city the chance live with people from a completely different environment. This year the youth camp was held in the beautiful farming village called Jene Tallassa which is situated in the mountains a few hours out of Makassar. Finally the day came for us to leave. The participants arrived, very exited, and some apprehensive. We all piled into a hot, sweaty bus and headed off to the mountains. We stayed with host families and learned much about daily life in the mountains. The participants learned how to research using observation and interview techniques, then set off in small groups to explore a topic of their choice over the 10 day duration. At the end of their stay they analysed their data and write a report which would not be assessed. The topics looked closely at the village’s, farming industry, irrigation system, education system, its reaction to modernisation and its migrant workers.
The students produced very interesting reports, despite this informal style of the education. Informal education has been proven in many organizations around the world to hold the key to reaching students, especially those who do not get along with the ‘business orientated’ approach which we see in so many education establishments. The participants learned so much from actively experiencing a new culture and I’m sure they will never forget Jene Tallasse. There were tears when it was time to say goodbye, but I knew that some day the participants and I would return to this magical place to see its people again, especially my Bapak and Ibu, who took such great care of me during my stay.
