The anticipated weekend had finally arrived! 9 October 2009 heralded the start of our adventure into the wilderness that is Lephalale (or just Ellisras for those sporting a confused expression). Karina, Henriette and I were tasked with an almost impossible mission: capture the attention of thirty high school students, whilst all the while surreptitiously getting them to learn something, and perhaps even making them enjoy their captivity. In other words, we were conducting a leadership development workshop with the student body of Ellisras High School.

Our emotions were a mixed sense of excitement and dreaded anticipation due to the prospect of a weekend away with a bunch of hormone driven teenagers. But, as I discovered, being a MAC employee means more than just making the best of the situation: we committed to giving these kids more than they expected and just enough for them to grow. Arriving in Lephalale, Karina and I discovered two things: the people are very generous, but so is the heat. After a great home-cooked meal and some thermal adjustment, we started to prepare the assessment reports for the kids that we received earlier that afternoon - rather late than never, right? We eventually surrendered at 03h00 and decided to call it a morning. As our energy levels dwindled to a mere memory and our bodies reminded us of this fact, we realised that we would have to dig deep in order to maintain a sense of composure around 30 seventeen-yearolds for the whole of the next day. The first day of the workshop jumped off to a great start. The day’s activities included MBTI and EQ assessments, lego building, group interactions, introspection, collages and the identification of values. A real challenge for us, however, was to keep the group engaged and interested. The day’s formal activities were rounded off with a very exciting treasure hunt, which led the groups through a host of fun activities around the lodge. With the dawn of the second day, it seemed like all the kids were running on empty tanks, and it was up to Henriette to kick-start the day with a session on team development.

The following session focused on diversity, which was probably the most challenging topic for us, since we became very aware of the fact that diversity was perhaps the biggest issue amongst the children and also, unfortunately, the one issue they were not willing to engage in. The rest of the day was filled with a team skipping activity, Belbin team roles and an “egg-dropping” exercise. Each team was given newspapers, straws and tape to keep their egg from breaking when thrown from a height of 3m.

I enjoyed the honour of throwing the eggs, and I must shamefully admit that I gained a sense of satisfaction when I managed to crush some of them. The day truly ended on a high point with the help of Medupi Project CEO, Joe Meyer. Mr. Meyer (or ‘Oom Joe’ as the kids call him) really inspired and moved everyone as he shared his life story around the campfire. The final session on Sunday aimed to help the team construct their own code of conduct for the student body of 2010. This session proved to be another highlight of the weekend, since each member was asked to commit to the code of conduct by placing their painted handprints on a page as a symbol of their commitment.

We left these promising students with a message of encouragement and a challenge for them to harness their potential, strengths and diversity within the team. We came back from the weekend exhausted, yet exhilarated. We had the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of these young people, and we can only hope that the seeds we planted start flourishing. Looking back now, I am sure that I speak for the whole team when I say that it was all worth the effort!