THROWBACK: JUNIOR EDITION : Annual Campori 2013

by Ashleigh Teng, Year 6 Aqua, Class of 2018

I woke up to a beautiful day filled with bright skies and not a cloud in sight -thank goodness! For on the 25th of October 2013, Cempaka held their Annual Campori for the Upper Primary students - where we were expected to "rough it out" for three days. Where we'd be away from the slightest usage of technology and instead, be one with nature. Giving us the chance to bond and work together with our friends, it was a very comfortable and fun atmosphere indeed.

After nearly three long hours of strenuous travelling, we arrived at the grand Cempaka International Ladies College (CILC) located at Enstek Technology Park, Sepang. The view was breathtaking. It looked more like a resort than a school campus, really! We were divided into groups for our team projects as soon as we arrived. Our first task as a team was of course designing out team flag and creating our war cry. Then, we were introduced to our facilitators who had spent weeks before devising many fun and challenging games to keep us occupied during our three-day stay at CILC.

Once the briefing was over, we were told to set up our tents in the scorching hot afternoon sun. Learning how to pitch a tent was a great first-time experience for most, if not all of us. The first night was immensely hot even without the sun's rays sizzling our skin. Due to the unbearable heat of the night, I spent the night tossing and turning in the tent. As a result, I woke up feeling rather like a zombie in the morning. Speaking of the morning, it was no different from the night - in fact, it was almost twice as hot. Just standing still for five minutes outside made me sweat buckets!

In the evening, was survival cooking, where we made our own quite delicious satay! After that, we completed our craft project and group presentations before going for supper. The last day of Campori was the amazing race, where teams had to pass through various checkpoints designed to build teamwork and cooperation. We had quite a hard time locating the checkpoints to complete our tasks! Even though my team did not win, we still had a blast trying. After the race ended, everyone was pretty exhausted, but Campori was not over yet. There was a final briefing, where points throughout Campori were evaluated and the winning teams were announced. 

Eating our homemade Satay!

Photo credit: Encik Iqbal

Throughout Campori, I learnt many invaluable lessons. Be it not to waste electricity, food, or water, to the importance of teamwork and cooperation. For me, Campori has been one of the greatest and certainly most enjoyable experience in Primary, and I am truly grateful to be able to experience it.