AIBD Team Building
ADRENALIN RUSH & A WHOA! ADVENTURE- Novice Rafting & Drum Circle Team Bonding
As work stress mounted and routine by day became energy sapping, the staff of AIBD took off to a great one-day team building trip in Kg Ulu Slim, Slim River on 11th October 2019. It aimed to give the staff a way to relax out of Kuala Lumpur and be with team mates to destress, energize and promote a deeper sense of camaraderie.
The team building programme also aimed to inculcate the work values & ethics such as team work, motivation, conflict resolution, risk taking, creativity,boost morale and leadership.
Cheered on by the saying ‘Never be afraid to try something new. Remember amateurs built the Ark, professional built the Titanic`, the majority of the staff voted to go on a white water rafting experience, to let the adrenalin rush and be WHOA by it!
Kg Ulu Slim is just 140kms, about 1 1/2hours from Kuala Lumpur and the 7kms Slim River Rapids Grade3 (intermediate level river) was great fun, the adrenalin rush cannot be explained by words for novice rafters like us.
My Adventure Host team, led by Mr Izz Idris (Izni) assisted us with the logistics. He provided impeccable service throughout the day, along with the incredible warm-welcoming nature of his co-hosts that orchestrated the rafting activities. Our wonderful moments were even captured by his team offsider.
From the basecamp at Kg Ulu Slim, we had awesome 4WD experience to the Put- In Point at Kuala Tibang, about 4 kms from the basecamp. We had a chance to see some Orang Asli (indigenous people) villages along the way. At Kuala Tibang, besides getting our rafting equipment -helmet, paddles and PFD(Professional Floatation Device), a detailed briefing on safety and procedures of white water rafting was given by Ms Eja, the raft instructor and her team of river guides. We were then divided into 4 groups with 2 guides in each raft. Snacks and drinks were provided at pit-stop.
Cool! The river was as so-called`slim` that we had to squeeze through many rocks. Often, we had to jump from left to right-right to left in the raft and falling on top of each other. To reach the Take-out point at Post Bersih, Rule no. 1 learned- teamwork; Rule no.2-trust & obey/follow the instructions of the leader (river guide)- ALL RIGHT, ALL LEFT, ALL FRONT, ALL BACK, ALL IN and NORMAL. Rule No.3: team spirit and calm response when risk arise- when the raft overturned, somebody fell off the raft or succumbed to an over flipped and have to swim the last rapid before the take-out.
Drumcircle Team Bonding Activity
In this activity, drumming was used as the vehicle for creating connections among us and ultimately in the workplace. It uses rhythm to explore and inspire group empowerment, leadership and build better relationship. According to the drumming instructor, Mr Haiqal, drumming builds effective teams and inspires oneness towards a common goal.
We had a fun time trying to create simple rhythms by playing percussion instruments in a drum circle. We were required to concentrate, listen and communicate through rhythms. Creating spontaneous rhythms and beats helps to reduce stress and releases negative energy besides promoting creativity.
We were amazed at how fast we can create simple rhythm and beat together as a team when we had to showcase our learnings in AIBD GOT TALENT presentation. Lalalala,lalalaah,lalalalah,lalalaah… was such an effective method to motivate team spirit working together besides increasing potential skills that we have.
All in all, in just a day, we really learned that when the going/crisis gets tough, there is no turning back but just follow the leader, stay focus towards oneness in achieving the common rhythm /goal and drop the past if the loads get heavier, just move on. For this moment, we have just supported the local communities to make a living from eco-based tourism.
