The Koolest Adventure

MANILA, Philippines - The Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Inc. (RAFI) Kool Adventure Camp (KAC) has words emblazoned on its gates that give campers an idea of what they can expect for the next few days as they enter the camp grounds: adventure, inspiration, discovery, change and much more.

Located an hour away from Cebu City, the KAC’s expansive grounds boast of various ropes courses, obstacle courses and challenge complexes; discussion and meeting rooms; camping grounds and cabins, all amidst a sweeping view of the lush green mountains of Cebu.

While the camp program has been running since 1999, in line with RAFI’s thrust on education, the fully-equipped camp had its groundbreaking in 2010 and began operation in 2013. Recently, it had its formal launch as the Kool Adventure Camp and has been visited by some 4,000 participants in the last 12 months.

However, camp director Edvan Loh asserts that the facilities are not the main attraction of the KAC. “For us, the facilities are just tools for learning. We focus more on the development of the participants and outcome of each activity,” says Edvan.

The camp offers two programs – the professional development program and the youth education program.

Anthony “Totits” Ocampo, who heads the professional development program, says that activities vary from one company or organization to another.

“This is not the usual canned program. We look at where we can supplement the company’s goals and push them in the right direction,” says Totits, adding that the KAC goes beyond just offering physical challenges like ziplines and wall climbing, but goes much deeper, into a meaningful team building.

“We do not have ‘off the shelf’ packages. Every organization is unique. They have unique requirements, needs and constraints. So we design the program from where they’re coming from and based on what they need,” says Edvan.

The tailor-made programs usually last for three days, and some companies opt to have these team buildings every few years to be able to track the growth of the company and its employees. “We bring companies to the next level,” says Edvan.

Some of the activities at the camp include balancing on high ropes, ziplining from one point to another, wall climbing in pairs – sometimes even blindfolded! – and much more.

Totits shares one of his most memorable stories of a camp he facilitated wherein the CEO of a company was paired in an activity with his secretary and janitor. The challenge required one person to be blindfolded while climbing up a wall, guided only by the directions voiced by the two partners. The CEO, Totits says, bravely volunteered to be the one put in the dark. When the activity was successfully finished, the company leader realized he could put a lot of trust in his subordinates and learned to respect and listen to them. While climbing up the wall made him dependent on the two teammates, it also made the janitor and secretary become responsible for the well-being of their boss, at the same time opening the lines of communication between them.

“At KAC, the participants gain a common definition of what trust and support is. They become more empowered and become clearer in their goals,” says Totits.

But, Edvan says, “A lot of the most powerful activities are not physical. It is the group discussions with our facilitators that really have an impact because we are dealing with breakthroughs in communication and emotions that allow the employees to work better together as a team.”

He adds, “We create a safe environment to talk about issues.”

The KAC makes sure the participants are not only doing recreational activities, but are learning in the process. “There is always an educational component. The adventure activities are tools for learning,” says Edvan.

The camp’s income from the corporate program is also what supplements the youth development program, allowing RAFI to offer leadership training to students from both private and public schools.

The activities for the kids are very diverse, says Daphne Dia, who heads the youth development program. For grades 1 to 3, the camp offers parent-child activities where the participants stay together in tents overnight on the camping grounds. “Through interactive activities, they are able to bond in a different setting,” says Daphne.

Some challenges are designed to reverse roles, with the children leading the parents. “We make sure that there is time after to talk about the experience that they shared and learned,” she adds.

Through the activities, Edvan says, “Parents realize the abilities of their children, they are able to learn from each other.”

“The amount of trust that the parent gives to the child is very powerful and also becomes a talking point for them,” says Daphne. Adds Edvan, “It is a big step forward in their relationship.”

For students grades 4 to 6, KAC focuses on personal leadership with urban backpacking and environmental activities, among others. High school students, on the other hand, have various activities geared towards realizing their goals, leadership and serving their communities.

There are also service learning programs where students are immersed in various communities and get the chance to interact with locals, ultimately to find out how they can be of service. “This program is going beyond the self and beyond personal leadership. It teaches the kids how to apply what they learned in the camp to their own communities,” says Daphne.

Students always leave with a concrete plan on what projects they can do to contribute to their schools and communities beyond the days they spend at the camp. Some schools even have their own Kool Adventure Club with alumni campers teaching younger kids.

“We let them realize that they do not have to wait until they are older to be able to be of service,” says Daphne.

From the youth participants from public high schools, she shares, “It’s the first time for these kids to experience anything like this. Every time they are able to overcome anything that they think they could never have done in their lifetime, they would be so proud of what they are able to achieve. In their situation, things can seem so hopeless. We really empower them and let them realize that if you just work for it, you will be able to do it, just like the activities that they do here.”

At the camp, the challenging ropes course is presented to the children as a dragon. “When they go back to their communities and we are able to reconnect with them, they would always say, ‘I encountered a dragon today and at first it was difficult, but I remember my experience in Kool Camp and I was able to slay it. If I did it there, I will be able to do it outside.’ Those are the breakthroughs that really have an impact,” says Daphne.

Edvan adds, “The idea is that they are able to overcome fears and they come to mold their mind.”

Many of the past campers have become very successful in their chosen fields. Some, such as Daphne, have come back to become KAC facilitators. “It is always amazing for us to have campers from before coming back and bringing in new campers,” she says.

One of the key factors that sets KAC apart is the training of its facilitators, who have attended trainings and conferences in Singapore, the US and China. Himself an instructor for many years in Singapore, Edvan eventually went on to manage his center, with about 120 staff members and facilitators. “I have been doing it for so many years because it is so powerful,” he says.

The executive director adds, “RAFI believes a lot in developing staff in order to meet a very high standard of performance. Before they conceived the KAC, the attention was already on meeting international standards in safety, program management and more.”

Safety is key at KAC, with all staff trained in first aid and risk assessment and management, and a fully-stocked clinic ready for any emergency. There is also a helipad on the grounds to fly out patients in an emergency. Thankfully, there has not been any grave injury at the camp and KAC is determined to keep it that way, with extra attention spent on making each obstacle course safe for the participants.

“We would also like to influence the safety standards of the outdoor industry,” says Edvan. “Right now, there is very little regulation and very little knowledge shared by all the operators and many of these right now are tour operators. We have the knowledge, we have the experience from overseas and this can be a training and sharing platform for that.”

KAC likewise has plans to further develop the parent-child programs in which many have begun to take interest. They would also like to further enhance their marine and environment programs, given the advantageous location surrounded by a rich and biodiverse area in the province.

Ultimately, they hope to integrate the programs into the school curriculum. Edvan says, “We can do values and civic training for the school in a way that has greater impact.”

It is the hope of RAFI that more and more corporations, organizations and schools from all over the country would find their way to the KAC to have a meaningful learning experience at camp.

The iconic structure that stands at the heart of the KAC grounds depicts three birds in various stages of flight. Designed by internationally acclaimed Kenneth Cobonpue, the structure reminds all campers that KAC is the nesting ground for leaders. The three birds also stand for RAFI’s three core values – character, competence and citizenship, says Edvan.

Towards the end of each camp, participants take a zipline across the camp, diving off from the birds-in-flight structure – each newfound leader, each camper, being able to feel how it is to let go of their challenges and fears, and soar to greater heights.