Tikkun Olam Sleepover

Tikkun Olam Sleepover

After arriving at Habo House in what was to be a memorable night and Sunday, we wasted no time and got into some ice breakers to get us back into the mood and vibe of the amazing Cohort that we have. Having not met as a cohort for almost 3 weeks, one could say that the passion of our group would be lost, but rather the opposite. We, as a group have a special connection with one another and were able to show that with the energy and enthusiasm we had.

Next was a scrumptious dinner all the way from Mama Falafel. Segregating the Vegetarians from the Meat lovers; a partial divide amongst us. Nonetheless, after the meat was devoured in a matter of moments we intermingled and re-joined as one.

Then we got stuck into the meaty stuff of the night (excuse the pun). Both Ellie and Ash each shared with the cohort who came before them, how influential family is to them and then who they are as a person today. We each all received booklets like this with these big questions to answer with cutting and pasting different photos of us, our family and those that are close to us into the booklet. Once our masterpieces were finished, we lay them down on the floor and everyone had a chance to look at who are the close people in everybody’s lives and how they have an impact on them.

Ironically, it was only now that we really got to know these things about the other fellows’ families. We have all touched base with each other on such a deep level that we know each and every person in the cohort so well, but now was a brief time to understand the family environments that everyone has grown up with and who is meaningful to them. After critiquing the images, evaluating whether avant-garde was used or the layout was decorative, we headed down to the couch room where we would reflect on ourselves and how we would want to be remembered.

Surrounded illuminated with candles that lit up the room we each found a place for ourselves and wrote a eulogy to ourselves on how we would like to be remembered at the end of life. This was quite confronting for some as it was a very personal task, yet for others it came with ease. Really knowing who you are, and knowing where you’re heading, knowing your goals, shows up in this type of activity. Knowing your identity and what truly is meaningful to you made this activity easy for some but difficult for others.

As we packed up the room and got into our PJs, some went to bed, others chilled till the early hours of the morning and the rest watched Pay it Forward in order to get into the spirit of tomorrow.

Struggling to get up after what felt like a light nap, we got up, cleaned our rooms like young leaders and after a scrumptious brekky, started the day with the Impact projects. Laid out on an A3 piece of paper, we had to decide what issue we felt passionate about, the target audience, the place, the response and the obstacles. Many people had similar ideas, and we were then put into our groups where similar ideas for projects overlapped, and were discussed and formulated. This was a really fun exercise and really showed how we can make a difference in our community. We really do have the power to make a change with the tools we have learnt.

 After discussion about these ideas and some food for thought needed, we met 5 young change-makers who have all either started their own organisation or made a difference in some way as a young Jewish leader. Hearing their different paths and what each of these individuals did and are doing was really inspiring and engaging and really helped solidify our thoughts about our own projects and ideas.

The sleepover ended with a Poetry Slam and Poetic skills workshop. Building our skills for metaphors and similes, as well as expression and speech skills, this activity although a bit wacky at sometimes where I almost thought the plot was lost, was very beneficial for us to know how to discuss many of the issues we face in our society in another type of way.

 

Overall the sleepover, smack bang in the middle of tests and school was meaningful and we all took something out of it and began our impact projects where we will put our words into actions.

Food: 10/10

Activities/workshop: 9.5/10

Energy: 8.5/10

Overall Rating: 9.5/10