Family Challenge 2014

The Fellowship

On September 6th and 7th I took part in the 2014 family challenge. The family challenge is a fundraising event for the Kamili organisation, a group that supports those with mental disabilities within Kenya. The challenge helps to pay for facilities and treatment for these people, and is a great way to spread awareness. We donated over 30,000 shillings to this organisation through the family challenge.

Gandalf!

After doing this challenge for eight years or so it was sad to think that this was going to be the last time that I would participate in this event. This year our group consisted of me, my dad, my two younger cousins (Isolde and Theo), and my uncle. It was challenging because we had always been a group with older children, and having a 5 and 7 year old definitely changed things for us. We found it a lot harder to get to each event in time and to collaborate effectively together (Isolde and Theo very often didn't know what to do in each game). However, when we had been brainstorming our team name I had come up with an idea of us being the fellowship from lord of the rings. As a result almost every member of our team wore a green hobbit cloak, the one ring around their necks, and carried staffs. My dad was even dressed as Gandalf! I thought this made the challenge a lot more fun for everyone, and I know we definitely should have won the prize for best dressed team!

The team rushes to the next challenge!

The challenge was organised the same way as last year. Each family was allowed two bikes, and challenges were set up at various points around Sanctuary Farm in Naivasha. Sanctuary farm was filled with amazing animals - zebra, wildebeest, giraffe, horses, and a great deal of other wildlife  An example of a challenge was driving a matatu around a course blindfolded (instructed by the rest of your team members). There were 47 teams this year, which was a fair amount, and everyone was extremely passionate and involved in everything. We camped in Sanctuary Farm overnight, and there was a wonderful barbecue. Furthermore, after we had finished our activities the second day we had the awards ceremony - people were recognised for individual challenges, and the overall winner was also announced.

Isolde and I

Isolde and Theo in their cloaks

As always, the family challenge was an increasingly positive experience for me. Improving interpersonal and communication skills, leadership, teamwork and collaboration, and many other positive traits, as well as being a genuinely interesting and fun event. I always walk away from the family challenge filled with awareness and empowered to make change in the world myself, knowing that I have learnt and achieved so very much within the span of only two short days. This was a wonderful final year in this event, and I hope that it continues to be so very successful!