Less than a year after returning from her YES adventures in the U.S., Reem Al-Khashti (YES 2015-2016, Kuwait, hosted by AFS in Houston, TX ) found herself in another totally new culture. Reem was selected to participate in the 2017 Youth Enrichment Camp trip to Sri Lanka for secondary school students. She was one of 14 students who participated in this week-long trip designed to empower Kuwaiti youth to build their leadership skills and discover their potential.    

Reem wrote the following to tell about her experience: 

"This camp included members from the ages 13-17. We were a total of 14 campers, 7 boys and 7 girls. Some of the activities were hiking, trekking, raft building, horseback riding, star gazing, biking, whale watching, and fishing.

During the hiking trip, we had use teamwork to search for clues that were hidden in the jungle in order to make our way back to our campsite. We had map-readers, pace counters, timekeepers, trekkers, motivators, and more. The raft building was an activity that allowed us to build something from scratch using limited resources. We were offered logs, barrels, and ropes. We learned special techniques such as wetting the ropes before tying them. The star gazing activity was very educational and was led by one of the Loyac counselors.

Aside from all the of quests and adventures we had, we tried spreading positivity and love to the locals. Both the campers and the counselors visited a school to cheer the children up. They showed us their traditional dances and songs and then we did the same. This trip made me realize how sentimental we should be rather than focus on material wealth. It allowed us to be grateful and appreciate our lives back home. We learned how to be independent and never say no to new challenges.”