Mandala Camp 2019

Every year, PPI (Perhimpunan Pelajar Indonesia) holds an annual camp for new student that came in to University Teknologi Malaysia that year. It is a must to join this camp as an Indonesian student, when I am in my first year I also attend this camp. The goal of this camp is to introduce the new student to college life, UTM, their senior, introduce them to the organization (ppi) and to create or improve their bond between them. This activity is important for the new students as life in their high school will be completely different when they are in college, this camp will help them to adapt. Every year, this camp will be participated by the first-year student, while the second year will become the one who facilitate the camp. Last year was my second year, so it is our turn the second year student  to facilitate the first-year student. The first thing that we do is we choose our leader, there were 3 candidates for the leader and each of them present their vision and idea for this year camp. As all of them presented, we make a vote for who will become the leader. After the election, we move on to choose the camp theme and name for this year camp. The vote theme and name really takes time as there are so many idea and so many person have different choice. After a long discussion and argument we finally reach an agreement for the name which is “Mandala Camp”, and the group name for the participants are the mountains that is located in Indonesia, the reason why we choose mountain as a group name is because mountain have their own story, including myth and culture and it will make them learn and love about their own country even more. After the group names, camp names, and our motto has settled we choose our concept and split into divisions. In this camp I was assigned to be a medical team division, our job was mainly learn about first help needed for a person and basic medical treatment, as for advance treatment we will take the patients to PKU. We held a lot of training before the event and also our division leader have a very good knowledge in term of medical treatment. Our division also consult with the 3rd and 4th year student as our senior and their past experience about being part of medical division in the previous camp. During our way to the camp day, we held a lot of meeting with the seniors also regarding the overall of the division and they inspect and gave some advice about how it should be change. We encounter with so many problem in that day since we have so many different opinion and idea between us and the seniors. After many meetings, we finally try to settled it and prepare for the camp day. Our division (medical division) buy and rented a lot of medical stuff and medicine for the participant also for the committee, we even rented a stretcher from PKU. The seniors also be there when the camp is held to watch and also in some part they become the performer for the event. After the preparations, planning and training for months, the camp was finally held. The camp was held for three days with various events. First we held a seminar where the seminars filled by various parties including the Persatuan Pelajar Indonesia Organization, University Teknologi Malaysia, and Consulate General of The Republic of Indonesia. We started around 8am and after the seminar we take a lunch and prayer break since the first day is Friday. Right after the seminar, the participant went to the camp site by bus that we already prepared. After arriving in the camp site, the participant were gathered and they need to set up their own tent by their group. By the time all of them finished build up their tent, we held some afternoon game time, and it is time my division started to watch closely for injured participant and right in that game so many participants got slightly injured. The games really bond us together with the participant also, and we play until in almost dark or maghrib prayer. At night we have a bonding session between the participant and the senior to let them know who their senior is. And after that day activity is finished, the participant is allowed to go back to their tent to take a rest, as a committee we held a evaluation session with the senior to improve and fix what we do wrong in that day and after the evaluation the committee also went to sleep. The next day we woke up early to prepare for tracking day. As the Tracking route is already prepared by the event planner division that is going through a lot of walking, climbing, downhill, going through river, and as a medical division we also have went down to the route and set up a medic checkpoint. As we prepared and the participant prepared, we started the agenda and the participant start tracking from the bottom route. At first our division is still have so little issue and that is slight injury, but after going for a while we started to encounter much bigger issue where some of the participant passed out and  more serious injury. As the tracking goes longer and longer, our division (medical division) started to overwhelmed as there are so many injuries between the participant. But this tracking not only about physical activity, there are checkpoints where in each checkpoint have some challenge that is prepared by the event planner division to have a value that hoping it will useful for the participant. After the tracking finished, the participant is allowed to clean up and take a rest. While our division which is medical division always some issue where after the tracking, some of the committee need medical attention, even my own self and I drink a wrong medicine. In that day, as night come, we held an activity where we set up a bonfire and we sing along a music. After music performance, we sing our national song, we prayed and we read our “Sumpah Mahasiswa”. Sumpah Mahasiswa is actually have an important historical story behind it. After we are done with this night event, the participant back to their tent and take a rest while the committee once again held an evaluation session. It is an exhausting day for all of us, right after the evaluation session we go right to sleep. The next day was the last day and it is the awards day for the best group, participant and etc. The camp closing was a happy day for all of us and right after we done with everything we go back to our dorm.  

This camp really shows me about the unity when we are just a small society in a foreign country. It is really take us together where we guide the new students and the new students also not hesitate to ask for help to us when they needed. We really felt the true unity between Indonesians where I think we did not feel this while we are in our own country. 

This is the first time I am directly working with PPI. Because in my university time I never join the PPI organization. So, having an experience to work in an organization in university really give me such a pleasant experience for my future. However, of course in any event there are issues, but for this time there were so many issues. Many of us Miss communicates among others as especially among divisions that really crushed us. But all of us does the best we can and we tolerate each other mistake, but we should be more organized, and have a stronger leadership leader. 

The most important aspect of this event that we need to improve a lot is communication, working with so many persons and divisions gave us difficulty regarding the communication. And this issue already pointed out by the seniors when the evaluation session being held. I think, if a more experienced person handles this situation, we might avoid that kind of issue and also we don’t need that much long of preparations where we have a lot of disagreement from the seniors. And If we have to manage this kind of event again in the future, I will change many things regarding the committee. We have so many divisions and each division have so many members, so personally the communication style and the bond need much more improvement. Also, the leader needs to have more sense of leadership where the fellow committee must have sense of respect, fear and open. 

Overall, this event taught me a lot of things and to be set in a completely new division that is far from my high school experience really give me a pleasant experience where I can feel how it is like in another division especially medical division. And having this organization really helps me while studying abroad.