Youth prepare for heritage event

Youth volunteers of the Kabataan, Kultura ug Kabilin (KKK)   attended a team-building activity  as they prepare for the fourth run of the KKK in September.

 
The activity — organized by the Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Inc. (RAFI) Culture and Heritage, in partnership with the University of San Carlos Department of Anthropology, Sociology and History (USC-DASH), last July 28 and 29 at the Casa Gorordo Museum and USC Retreat House — included communication, trust, decision-making, collaboration, teamwork and goal setting.

 
An urban heritage backpacking challenge was held on the first day. The participants, assisted by the faculty of USC-DASH, walked around Cebu City and searched on the map their pit stops or heritage sites to be visited, which included Calamba cemetery, Tres de Abril marker, San Nicholas parish church, Vision theatre, old Veco building, Cebu Heritage Monument and Casa Gorordo Museum.

 
At the pit stop, the youth volunteers were then  asked to perform a task that made the site important to complete their challenge.

 
In San Nicolas parish church, for instance, the volunteers did the reenactment  of the baptism of Rajah Humabon, who was believed to have been baptized in the area.

 
On the second day, the youth participated in games and other activities for personal growth and interaction conducted by the Kool Adventure Camp at the USC Retreat House.

 
“The program is for the youth to have a better appreciation of Cebu City’s heritage. Through this, we hope to open the minds of our young people to the greatness of our past and in the process, appreciate and use it for a better Philippines,” said Dr. Jocelyn Gerra, executive director of RAFI Culture and Heritage.

 
The KKK program under RAFI’s culture and heritage focus area aims to provide an opportunity for the youth to share their experience in museum and heritage site visits in their history, culture and social studies classes. The youth volunteers, composed of college students, will act as tour guides and bus marshals to the next batch of team-building participants. Other focus areas are integrated development, micro-finance and entrepreneurship, leadership and citizenship, and education.

 
Last year, around 1,700 youth participated in the KKK and were able to visit nine museums and heritage sites.

 
For more information on the urban heritage backpacking challenge and the KKK, contact Karl Hegel Damayo at 418-7234 local 703.