MICHAEL Lim has a backyard that would be the envy of most people. Not many individuals can boast of having a clear view of a pristine mountainside from their porch, but Mike (as he is affectionately called by friends) definitely has the right.
THUMBS UP: Happy camp participants in a group photo next to the camp’s signboard.
Nestled on the foothills of the Serapi mountain range about 45 minutes drive from Kuching city, Lim’s unassuming bungalow is surrounded by lush tropical forest, clear running streams, small waterfalls and pleasant jungle trails. It is also within walking distance of the 150-year-old Sri Maha Mariamman temple and the remains of tea plantation sites established by Charles Brooke, the second white Rajah of Sarawak.
But then again, Lim would be the last person to boast of this, much less of himself, despite a notable career which has led him to some interesting encounters (see box).
He would much rather talk about Camp Mike — a jungle-type experiential learning camp he has built in his backyard — and the participants (mostly children and teenagers) who have stepped foot on its grounds.
Idea spark
It was about three years ago when the idea to create an outdoor experiential learning camp first occurred to Lim, prompted by his friends.
“It came from parents actually,” Lim recalled.
“Many of them were saying our kids are soft nowadays, not really learning, spending time in shopping malls — that sort of thing. Many kids were taking things for granted, don’t know what living in nature is, what basic living is. They were saying there’s no opportunity for a kid to live a life along that way (today).”
Those friends knew of Lim’s passion for the outdoors and training and encouraged him to do something about it.
After a good think, Lim felt there was a role for education based on the concept of experiential learning and learning by doing. With that in mind, he set about converting his backyard into a jungle camp site.
No-frills
At Camp Mike, most of the infrastructure and facilities used for training are temporary in nature such as basic obstacle courses which can be set up and taken down quickly. They are usually set up only a couple of days before a camp session and taken down once the camp ends.
The only exception is a roofed open-air meeting hall Lim has constructed next to a man-made pond stocked with a variety of freshwater fish and fed with water from a small mountain stream.
Although infrastructure and facilities are basic, they are more than sufficient, emphasised Lim, as he takes a decidedly “back-to-nature” approach, using the mountainside as his classroom to facilitate learning.
Forget about room service, wireless Internet, and air-conditioning. Upon arrival, participants must immediately hand over their mobile phones to the facilitators for safekeeping. Parents are also strongly encouraged not to contact their kids during the camp unless there is an urgent need, in which case they can contact the facilitators any time.
Participants camp outdoors in tents and cook meals over open fires. They learn basic camping and survival skills, including how to dig latrines, how to tie secure knots, and how to navigate their way in a jungle.
So how do the usually pampered offspring of Kuchingites respond to this?
“The kids just love it,” chuckled Lim. “They usually end up doing more than we want them to.”
Camp Mike offers kids the opportunity to have a real-life outdoor adventure and experience many things they haven’t done before. They can take part in blindfolded jungle treks and night-time walks on the mountainside, and indulge in water activities such as fishing, rafting and kayaking, and campfire singalongs under the stars.
Lim said the challenge of conducting successful experiential learning is not so much infrastructure but more towards soft skills — that is, developing a curriculum which benefits the kids as they participate in the activities, and from which they can reflect and learn from.
“I don’t see myself as a trainer, more as an educator to facilitate their thinking,” Lim said.
“There’s a big difference between training and educating. My expertise is to create an environment where the kids can do things, and then something clicks and the kids realise ‘yeah’, I’ve learnt something”.
Camp Mike focuses on teaching participants not only how to develop basic outdoor survival skills, independence and self-reliance, but also interdependence and teamwork.
“If we can impart this to the kids, we think we’re justified in running the camp,” Lim added.
Meaningful fun
Crafting fun and meaningful learning opportunities from the many activities at Camp Mike is not as easy as some people may think.
“One size does not fit all. While the basic modules are the same, you still need to find out the background (of the participants) before they come and customise some aspects of it just to tailor to their needs,” Lim explained.
In addition to basic outdoor survival and experiential learning camps, Camp Mike also hosts social activities for schools and youth groups, student camps, public speaking skills and English language camps, leadership and team-building retreats, and family days.
Camp Mike follows a “hands-off” approach to the learning process, preferring to let participants figure out how to solve the problems themselves.
“Our philosophy is we’ll try to help them as little as possible. For example, setting up a tent. We give them the materials, they work it out. When they have a problem and are really in trouble, only then they come and see us (the facilitators). Even though we’re always right next to them, we’ll only step in when it’s necessary.”
“At the end of it, we all sit down to see where have we done well and how can we celebrate success, where have we gone wrong, how could we have done better and what lessons have we learnt from here that we can take back to real life, like in schools for example.”
Limited parental contact
From experience, Lim knows that sometimes the presence of parents can do more to hinder rather than help kids learn, so Camp Mike has a strict “no parent contact” rule enforced, mainly to give kids the opportunity to learn how to solve problems on their own without relying so much on adults whenever they run into challenges.
“We tell the parents — we pride ourselves as professionals. If you want to send the kids here, trust us. Don’t call us (all the time). Give us your kids, drop them here, pick them up at the end of it and that’s it,” Lim said. “We’ll be in touch if we need to.”
Safety first
Lim emphasises that safety comes first at Camp Mike. Participants are thoroughly briefed on safety rules and proper procedures by facilitators before undertaking any activity.
“We never compromise on safety. When the kids come, we tell them there are only three rules in this camp — safety, safety and safety.”
Stringent safety measures in place include a low facilitator-to-participant ratio (at least one facilitator to every 10 kids) and security personnel stationed on site 24 hours a day to patrol the property, protect people and possessions, and ensure participants don’t stray off-site, especially at night.
Lifejackets are compulsory for water-based activities. Facilitators will teach participants how to harness and use them properly. Participants are required to demonstrate their ability to swim at least twenty to thirty meters before being allowed to take to the water without lifejackets.
The meeting hall also acts as an evacuation centre if the weather gets really bad at night.
Place of discovery
A great satisfaction Lim gets from Camp Mike is seeing the positive changes participants go through as they progress through the activities and when they tell him how much they have gained from the experience.
Lim recalled that during a camp a couple of years ago, he came across a young girl sitting in her tent at about one or two o’clock in the morning. Outside, it was pouring with rain and her tent was leaking.
She was crying because she felt scared and miserable. She was questioning why she was there in the first place.
The next morning, she came up to him and said: “Uncle Mike, I did it, I managed to survive. I’m glad I did it.”
Lim felt very touched by the gesture.
“Part of the experience is about overcoming difficulties and overcoming fear — I think that’s gratifying. Some kids would have given up but she said, “wow, I didn’t know I was so strong that I could make it.”
However, he is wary about projecting an image of Camp Mike as a place where children can be successfully changed for the better. The kids will have a fun time but whether they have really changed is more difficult to say.
“If I can impact some kids to some extent, I get a lot of satisfaction. It’s moving when the kids say “I didn’t realise it was so difficult and yet I can make it’. If kids tell me that, I think that’s enough to keep me going.”
“I’m not here to teach them but hopefully I can educate them and bring some changes — big or small — that’s happiness as well.”
Camp Mike is located at 10th Mile, Matang Road. For more information, call 019-8199777 or email [email protected] . Camp Mike also has a blog at http://camp-mike.blogspot.com/ as well as a Facebook profile page.