Contributor: Cavan Chan
We are excited to announce the kick-off of our new service-learning programme “Leaders of Voluntary Engagement (LoVE)”! This programme is designed to provide relevant training and service opportunities for students to enhance their personal qualities while engaging in meaningful service projects to contribute to the community recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. In January 2023, we spiced things up with the exciting Programme Design Skills Workshop and Team Building Day. These two-core training courses in late January were a great success, with more than 50 LoVE participants taking away the knowledge and skills needed to create engaging programmes for the needy. With a mix of challenges, problem-solving and team games, everyone had lots of laughs and gained valuable insights into how to work better together as a unit. We are connected and ready to contribute to our community.
To top off the event we organised certificate training on Mountain Craft and Low Event Challenge in February 2023 which really brought everyone up to speed on all the essentials and provided a great foundation for them to further their skills. All LoVE leaders experienced a unique challenge that promoted creativity and teamwork, while honing their skills in preparation for a volunteer service. In the end, the teams competed to come up with the best volunteer service project and execute it with the help of their newfound knowledge.
Henry Wong, a LoVE leader studying Year 1 for the Bachelor of Global Business Studies, found the training extremely interesting and meaningful. “Having to pass through spiky grass, climb uneven rocks, and get muddy is really challenging for someone like me who is clumsy. In addition to learning how to use maps, calculate distances, and use compass, I also learnt that team encouragement is the key to getting through all the challenges. In fact, my teammates did not complain when I slowed down progress, but instead helped me when I almost fell and felt overwhelmed. Their encouragement gave me the courage to overcome my fears and successfully complete the training. By combining mountain craft knowledge and team spirit, I believe we can provide a unique volunteer service to the needy. It is really exciting and I am looking forward to it.”
Another LoVE leader, Amy To, who is studying Year 5 for the Sociology also shared what she gained from participating in LoVE. “ I learned what it takes to host a game during the Low Event Challenge training course. To start with, it is important to clearly explain the rules so that everyone understands how to play and helps maintain fairness. Furthermore, we need to put more efforts to make interesting games, such as setting the goal, matching the activities to the theme, and adjusting the difficulty level. Hosting games is actually harder than I thought, especially if the host wants to grab the participants’ attention. After this certificate course, I can better master the skills of leading games, and hope to design an interesting activity to the children affected by the epidemic!”