Emmaus Youth Camp draws 33 participants

KOTA KINABALU – This year’s Emmaus Youth Camp drew 33 participants from 17 parishes in the archdiocese.

The camp, held 7-20 Jan 2018, is for school leavers around 17-19 years old, with 11 boys and 22 girls.

It is organised by the Parish Youth Ministry Team in collaboration with the Archdiocesan Youth Commission with 16 volunteers from the previous year.

The base camp is at the Sacred Heart Parish Centre Karamunsing while the exposure site is at Kg Lubok under St Joseph Husband of Mary Parish Kiulu.

The objective of the annual event is threefold: to strengthen the identity of the participants as Catholic youths, to help them live out their Catholic faith in today’s world, and to heighten their awareness and sense of responsibility towards society.

Talks include self-discovery (Roney Alfred of Keningau), Salvation History (Roselinah Francis of Keningau), Gift of Life (Rudian Sinangkuhan), Youth Spirituality & Nationalism (Sr Anita James fsic), Local Church History (Neil Mah), Personal Grooming & Resume Writing (Suzane Dennis), Social Teaching of the Church (Sr Dora Obod fsic), and KITA (Campus Ministry Team & Anne Baltazar).

The talks are held in the morning with reflection, sharing, and creative activity in the afternoons.

The exposure on Jan 12-13 is to help the participants to get to know the local culture and lifestyle of the people there as well as its youth ministry.

Apart from the sessions and exposure, the young people have also to take part in doing household chores like cleaning the toilets, meal preparation, washing the dishes, sweeping and cleaning the surroundings and composting.

Other activities include daily Mass attendance, day of recollection, recreation and physical exercise.

The highlight of the camp will be the Emmaus Family Night on Jan 19 where the parents of the participants, representatives from the exposure site, the alumni, respective parish TPBP and benefactors are invited to join in the fellowship.