BY SAUNDRA OBOTE
Situated in the North West province, near the
Hartbeespoort dam, and about an hour from Pretoria,Toppieshoek, leadership
development center, a TUT owned Centre, is a breath takingly beautiful place.
As the name suggests , this this a
place for individuals to gain a sense of
leadership , learn about togetherness
and the importance of team work, while at the same visitors to the Centre are guaranteed to have
fun and a real sense of adventure, through the different challenges to them
, both physical and mental
Guided by a team of well-trained facilitators,
the 2014 first year Journalism group got their academic year off to a fun
adrenaline filled start. They also had an opportunity to bond together and learn
from one another, ahead of the busy school schedule.
The
students were put in various groups and given activities that required the
students to work together as a team, while at the same time enhancing individual
ability to have a say in how the tasks were carried out
“it was very fun , we got a chance to get
to know each other , we got challenged , and most of we were united , my
favourite part was forming the groups , getting a name for the group as well as
working on the logo, and supporting each other in the group, “said Tumiso Setladi, a newly registered first year student .
While Boitshoko hobyane,relayed that she thought the whole trip was great and very inspiring, the food was
great. She added that they had very challenging games that needed teamwork. “We
learned leadership skills, cooperation’s amongst the teams. Although I did not
go up the pole, the rope excise was my favourite, as it showed the courageous
side of some people.” she said
Personally, I had a lot fun, perhaps too much
fun, but of all the activities done during this trip, the rope walking exercise
was perhaps the most fun, challenging and scary.
now while on the ground , the task looked quite easy , I mean what’s so
hard about going up a pole , having what I can only describe as a bird’s eye view of the Hartbeespoort dam,
and then holding on to your partners hand
as you progressed to the other side of the rope?
Right , some activities are easier said than
done, barely a minute after manning myself
up and going up the pole , I was ready
to come down !!! , my heart could not take it anymore as fear and paranoia, got
the best of me, my legs started shaking so bad I was sure if I was to stayed up
on that pole for a few more seconds , things may have turned out much worse……
And if you think I was bad, mmmhhh... Think
again, A little bird told me that a certain student who had gone went on this trip,
actually passed out for a few minutes ….
