The Aftermath of an Unforgettable Adventure: A Letter from an A.C.S. Student to Borderlands

There could be a thousand and one possible titles for this paper. It could be: The Misery of Being Back Home. It could also be: How Much We Miss Borderland’s Breads, Eggs & Sausages. But these are all possibilities that guard one truth, and that is how much the program has changed us all in such a short amount of time.

            

Now—I could go on and on about all the adventures we’ve done and all the fun adversities we’ve faced, but these aren’t the points of this reflection. This reflection is to show how much the program that you (the staff) have provided us that made us all more open and adventurous young adults. I’m sure that no one had one clue how much we will change when we all first walked into the Borderland camp. Apart from the screeches and squeals that were heard from both girls and boys alike, we have never felt more secure and united as one in these four to five days spent at camp. If you could just see us now, if you could just see how your efforts have touched all our hearts… I mean, you could even notice the many changes in us! Everyone absentmindedly lends someone his hand to help, people who you never except to talk to you come up and say hi, but above all, everyone is serene, open, and happy.

The Borderland program is a cherished adventure that didn’t just change us positively as a community but also marked our individuality. Speaking from my own personal point of view, I think Borderland has taught me that there is so much more to life than sitting home and being lazy. There’s a vast, beautiful world out there to satisfy your hunger for adventure, and why would you miss all the opportunities you are given in life? 

There are so many things to be done, so many Windows of Opportunities to be opened if you could just simply try. For example, one of the many things Borderlands has taught me is how just two small bake sale events could raise such money and provide underprivileged citizens with necessities they need. Oh forget about materialism, I will never forget how both the students and we were so happy. Such small acts of kindness could make such large communities overjoyed! So why not keep on helping others?

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I really don’t want to bore you anymore with crazy talk, but I would just like to thank and acknowledge the staff members, who without them we wouldn’t have stepped out of our comfort zones, got closer to each other, are more open to people and opportunities, and are not afraid to go on adrenaline-rushing adventures. In the end, thank you for making us all grow positively. I hope you keep inspiring other children and leaving a mark in their hearts like the one you left in ours. Thank you for everything, we will never forget you or the adventure you have kindly given us.

Love always,

Sima Bu Jawdeh

P.S.: We miss you Yohan, Nirmal, Kiki, Ken, Indika, Wade, and everybody else!! Much love and kisses from ACS! Take care and keep on inspiring!                    

Borderlands Summer Camp: Come Join the Adventure

So the next Borderlands Teen Summer Camp is a couple of months away - with the summer holidays looming, and at times seemingly unending, why not send your kids away for an amazing adventure camp, where they can make new friend, face new challenges, have lots of fun and all under the constant supervision of expertly trained Borderlands guides.

Kids can discover a new confidence, spirit, independence, motivation and appreciation of the natural world which surrounds us at Borderlands in Kithulgala.

Activities include white water rafting, canyoning, kayaking, abseiling, hiking, swimming, adventure race, camp fire building, morning exercises and no stay at Borderlands would be complete without the end of stay evening party - a chance for the kids to play their own music as loud as they like and let their hair down after 3 days of adventuring.

Our main concern will always be the safety and well being of the children - and our standard operating procedures are in place for every activity and every eventuality.

Contact Gwen on 0777 899 836 for further details or e-mail on journeys@discoverborderlands.com

Ending The Elizabeth Moir Stay on High

If I manage to maintain a semblance of hearing at the end of the evening, I will be incredibly lucky, after the Elizabeth Moir students have their end-of-stay big party, and enjoy lots of dancing, fun and ear piercingly loud music.

As has been experienced of late, the end of the day yesterday came with heavy, heavy rain - it woke most of the students up at around 3am, as well as myself, and as a result, unfortunately we were not able to do the abseil. A decision was taken by the staff that the water volume coming over the falls was such that it simply would not have been safe. So a change of plan was in order, as we took the kids to visit Belilena Cave, where we used the ancient backdrop for some team building games.

 

The drive back to camp always causes a bit of contention as to who gets to sit in the white truck - as you can see the lucky victors look quite pleased with themselves!

Since we had to think on our toes a bit today due to the cancelled abseil, it was time to get the kids on our new ropes courses.


Our zipline is not functioning, it needs a little finessing, the kids got a ride of their lives, and the river, empty of rafts today, was full of the screams of young students whizzing across from our tree house to the island opposite the camp. We also set them all the crate stacking challenge, a high rope course, where the premise is to stack the crates as high as possible whilst harnessed up. An amazing 17 crates by Nicole which means that not only is she the Elizabeth Moir champion, but has overtaken even our staff in their efforts so far at 16!

A great day despite the rain, rain and some more rain for good measure!

As always the evening social is a great hit - a chance for the kids to play their music as loud as they like without any parents screaming "turn down that racket"!

So I leave you with some photos from their night and thank you for entrusting your children into our care. As always we have been really impressed with the Elizabeth Moir students as well as thoroughly enjoying their company.

Welcome Back Elizabeth Moir! Day 1

Good evening - I write this from a rain-drenched Kithulgala. At times it feels as if it has been raining 40 days and 40 nights here, but today there was a window of dry weather just in time for the arrival of 40 students from the Elizabeth Moir School in Colombo. It meant that we could confidently run the white water rafting, since the river level has dropped quite considerably from the flooding status earlier this week, and the canyon was nice and high.

The day had plenty of action, adventure and some students overcoming quite major fears of water, a common phobia we encounter at Borderlands.

A flip on Killer Falls sent some of the students for a brief swim, but a clean rescue meant that no one suffered unduly and as we continued down the thrill levels were pretty high.

All the kids made it through the day in one piece, both on the rafting and the canyoning. Here are a selection of photos from the day to whet your appetite:

Day 2: Waterfall Showers at Borderlands for the French School

 The evening brought more ferocious rain however, morning stretches and games are rarely delayed. So whilst the children were awake at the crack of dawn, the Borderlands guides took it a bit easy and were ready for the day ahead by 6:50am!

 

 

For us, it was a real joy to see some new games, inspired by our guide Kiki, and seeing all the games being figured out and contemplated in French.

 

Today was a day we anticipated quite a lot of potential leeches being attached, however a wonderful preparation ahead of our hike to Belilena Cave by Karine meant that the kids had a chance to observe, touch and to some extent overcome any fears the students would naturally have about the possibility of encountering them on the hike. 

The journey to Belilena Cave is beautiful, climbing up through local tea and rubber estates, before finally reaching a local tea picker village and hiking the final couple kilometers through rainforest and up steep steps to the cave complex. 

The highlight I'm sure, especially for the girls, was the amazing waterfall which cascades down the face of Belilena Cave, and which must have, 16,000 years ago, provided excellent protection for the inhabitants. 

However today, in 2013, it simply provided an excellent chance for the most exciting natural shower the kids had ever had. 

  

A visit to a local rubber factory was very insightful - a 150 year structure still operating almost entirely the same as they did when the factory was first built - the main difference only being that the turbine is now operated by water and not by an old ship's engine, which means the factory is run on completely pollution-free energy. The structure itself is almost like some haunted house - and it was decided would make an excellent set for a horror movie (or a fabulous party venue!).

The rain put a dampner on any real hiking today, the weather has really been very unfortunate, and whilst it is the monsoon season, everyone is in agreement that Sri Lanka hasn't seen a monsoon quite like this for a very, very long time.

So considering everything, the French School students have been absolutely amazing in getting enthusiastic about everything that's come their way! 

Whilst it's our last night with them this evening, we still have a morning of adventure to look forward to tomorrow with a Treasure Hunt organised by Miss Karine.

We hope for clear weather, and in the meantime thanks to all the kids for another great day!