Bandar Seri Begawan - Squeals of joy were in the air when 26 participants were reunited with their parents after completing the four-day Life Skill Training (LESTARI) yesterday at UBD.

LESTARI is a support programme organised by the Brunei Darussalam Aids Council (BDAC). The participants, who called themselves `CEKAR 26', are undergraduates of Universiti Brunei Darussalam (UBD). The guest of honour during the closing ceremony yesterday was Dk Dr Nurolaini bte Pg Hj Kifli, the Dean of Students from UBD, who lauded the initiative and collaboration by BDAC and UBD youths in conducting the programme.

"Life skills are something very important, not only for our students but the whole of youth sin Brunei. We need to be aware of these skills, which are not learnt in schools even in UBD, (where) there are no structured curriculum Life Skills as it is. We teach communication and interpersonal skills but what the LESTARI programme did was more than that," she said. LESTARI is a combination of practical trainings obtained from local and overseas sources. It adapts to the local settings in its methodology by utilising music, storytelling, audio and visuals, interactivity and games.

Experimental learning methods were also used throughout the four-day and three- night programme that tested the participants physically, mentally and emotionally at indoor and outdoor activities. The programme has produced some 150 positive and resilient graduates capable of overcoming challenges and producing solutions in their everyday life. Among the programme's objectives were to drill participants in building their self-confidence as well as to educate them with life skills in an interactive and youth-friendly environment.

Dk Nurul Hamizah Pg Hamzah shared her experiences as a participant. "A lot of the activities are through self-assessment. I discovered new things about myself that I never have taught before." Another UBD undergraduate, Nurasilah bte Saidi said that the programme has helped her to motivate herself and to "achieve what we want in life". "We learnt about life, we learnt about appreciation.

It prepared us for the future but, most importantly, the programme taught us to respect our parents. This is the best programme I have ever attended," she said. Participants who completed the LESTARI programme will be automatically enrolled as members of the Penyinar, BDAC. The next programme will be open to all youths and scheduled to be held in December. -- Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin

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