COP Team Building 2022

|Bildad Mwangi|

Saturday 5th March, 2022 is a day that will forever be etched in my memory whenever I think of the Community Outreach Programme. First, it was my first team building activity although I joined the group a couple of years back but never got a chance to participate in their previous team building events. Second, it was fun, memorable, exciting and humbling for me. Yes, humbling. I will speak on that part a bit later. Our first meeting point was around the graduation square adjacent to the library a few minutes past nine o’clock in the morning. It was bright and sunny. The rising sun cast a rosy hue across the clear blue sky. Golden fingers of sunlight lit up the scene. What the day would bring was nothing short of good vibes, I thought to myself. 

Seeing some familiar faces that I hadn’t seen in a long while felt great and I was looking forward to getting to know some new faces much better. After an exchange of pleasantries, we were randomly grouped into four disparate teams; Green, Red, Yellow and Blue. Blue has always been one of my favourite colours and coincidentally, I found myself in Team Blue. At first, the team comprised of four ladies and four gentlemen, but later, two more ladies joined us. I was acquainted with only three teammates; a lady and two gentlemen; the others were new faces. We started off well and I was looking forward to connecting and bonding with all of them more in the course of the day. 

There were a couple of activities lined up for us, mostly physical and mental games. Our first activity was around the University and thereafter, we were to proceed to Karura Forest for our next engagements. We played lots of games, sang so many ‘throwback’ songs, danced and had an amazing time together. However, two games stuck out for me, that is; the amazing race and 50-50 Board game aka Kenya @ 50. The ‘amazing race’  made my ribs crack, especially seeing how people were explaining things to their teammates. If you know you know!

“Find me in a court where I will be waiting to pass judgement to the opposition in shorts.” This is a phrase that will leave an indelible impression on me for quite some time. At the beginning, I had mentioned how the day was fun but also humbling, especially for me. We were all at sea even after reading and re-reading the statement several times. It not only confused me but also made me feel ridiculous. The statement was our first clue in the Amazing race game. In the game, we were e given clues to find some team members stationed at different points within two kilometres radius from the university. It’s analogous to the treasure hunt game. We thought that the person we were supposed to find was at the law school; Sir Thomas More Building, wearing a short. Hahahahah!! That was funny! As you would guess, we were downright wrong. We looked for that person(s) for almost thirty minutes to no avail. To cut the long story short, the court meant the basketball court, judgement to the opposition in shorts was like a referee officiating a competition match at the sports complex. This was just one out of five other clues which we struggled to find but finally we made it.

The most amazing thing from this particular team building is the whole experience, the feeling of satisfaction and a sense of accomplishment as a result of hard work, a bit of stress and, of course, the laughter. The fun activities were designed to help us see each other in a different light, allowing us to connect in different settings. What made the experience worthwhile for me is a blend of several factors, key among them was how I felt about myself during the team building process. The significant personal contributions that I made for my team to stay motivated, competitive and remain present at all times was also worthwhile.  The experience also made me appreciate teamwork and look at it from  a new perspective. It was all about working together. It was about sharing and observing the ideas of fellow teammates. It was about compromising and reaching beyond the challenge of a single self-goal. It was about respecting and acknowledging each person’s input. It was all about motivating each other and giving it our best shot towards a common goal. The team building activity also allowed us to socialise, network and get to know each other better. It felt good to achieve a goal I had from the very beginning, that is, meeting new people and creating long-lasting memories. In a nutshell, we vibed, had fun and made wondrous memories that will forever be engraved in our minds and cherished in our hearts. 

I would like to express my sincere gratitude to all the stakeholders. All this would not have been  possible without the commitment of the organising team; their sacrifices behind the scenes to make the day a success, the phenomenal energy of the facilitator, Alex Mbogo of Yana Trekkers, and finally, the presence of all the teams and individuals on that particular day. Bravo to all who made this happen and made us have something to look forward to in the future.

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