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Mentor Diary Day -1 to 1 Friday 21st July – 23rd July 2006
On Friday night we the mentors and admin gathered at Stanmore Hujjat centre at 2300hrs. This was the beginning of the long trip that we would face. The 6 new mentors, Aliraza, Aqil, Hasnain, Murtaza, Sajjad and myself were all present and anxious to get the trip underway. Firstly we were briefed on the timetable of the camp and our other duties aside from being the campers family and guide. This was followed by a series of energisers and ice breakers that we could use when we have planet time with our own planets (groups). We were then brought some delicious Pizza which was thoroughly deserved I think!
We then need to weigh our baggage; every one was under weight apart from me! Some more energisers were practiced and by this time it was time for Fajr. The prayer was led by Sheikh. We then cleaned up and the bus had arrived to collect us to take us to Luton Air port. We were going to be accompanied by our trainer, Fazleabbas Kanji, our Camp Manager (our direct boss really), Yasin Rahim (our MBTI trainer [link]), and Sheikh.
CoEJ had decided to give us another baggage along side our own luggage to be responsible for till Sweden, I got a lucky with a small bright blue cricket set, where as Aliraza got left with the two chefs their luggage and special ingredients. The journey to the airport seemed quick but I think that’s because I fell asleep in the car. Once we arrived we checked in the baggage and all I could think about was it was hard enough us being a group of 15 but I could not imagine how it would be on the return journey when there would be 30 more campers and their luggage, but to top it they probably would be tired as well. I look forward to see how this will be done!
The flight was as any normal flight would be, cramped and bumpy with lots of people sleeping and snoring! Alhumdulila we arrived at Vasteras Airport (Stockholm) safely and without problems. We were received warmly by our Swedish connection or better known as Hassanain (Yes that’s the 3rd Hasnain and it will probably get confusing) Govani. Not only did he come in a fabulous conference coach but he graced us with yet more delicious food! The reason for the conference coach was because Yasin Uncle wanted to continue the training for the MBTI test that we took during the MTW. These test told us what theoretical personality preferences we had! But it doesn’t mean that’s what we are. We then self assessed ourselves to see what we thought we were and the aim of the training was to learn what we possible are and how to use it to our advantage. Also how we can use our preferences to work in a team and be successful and efficient. The training on the coach was very good but was only the first half of his session. After an hour of beautiful scenery we arrived at an even more beautiful location, our home for the next two weeks or so, Karsogarden!
My first reaction to the site was that there was a beautiful lake that the sun reflected on. The beach volley ball pitches looked to nice to be real. It seemed busy with other guest, but we found later that they were leaving the next day and we would have the whole site to our selves (bar the public that can use it if we are not!). We unloaded our luggage and moved it to the rooms that we would spend the night. We were shown around the site and were given a lot of information to things the campers were allowed to do and not to. It was like information overload. But as the day went on, things became clearer. We then ate more glorious food and prayed Zohr and Asr. This was then followed by the second half of Yasin uncles session and here we learnt how to understand other people mindset, and what there advantages and disadvantages are. We learnt how to interact with them and gain the most out of them. We learn the importance of a balanced team and when some members would be better in certain situations than others but also how to aid others to become better. This session was supported by a lot of practical work and role play and was all natural and not acting. After the session was completed, Yasin uncle departed for London and we really appreciate the time he took to spend with us away from is family to teach us.
I felt that I have learnt more about my self and how I can improve my position in situations, and also how I can be a better team member.
This session was followed by a Team building activity called Low Ropes. This activity will be performed by all the campers. It is a mental and physical challenge. Were a faced by a series of physical challenges that needed to be planned and we had to work together to complete the task otherwise it was not possible. I think that us the group of mentors learnt a lot from this as we were successful in completing the challenges. It was great weather and I think that the group also enjoyed it and were challenged.
By this time it was 1900hrs and we had had no more than 3 hours sleeping and I think that we were beginning to feel the strain of what was to come. We had dinner and talked about the things that need to be done in the morning before the campers arrived. We completed a few more energisers and it was time for prayers. After prayers we had a debrief and by this point everyone was seeking their beds.
Lights were out at 11:30 and we slept like babies till Fajr. We prayed and crawled back to our beds. We were up nice and early at 8:00. We had a series of task to complete before the campers arrived. Once everything was set in place we had a quick recap of what was to come! At 11:30 sharp, as planned, the coach arrived at the site full of 30 campers and the rest of the admin! We were ready! We were eager! We were determined!
Shabir Datoo |
