Kem Ibadah XIII : The Fighter Within You

PATTERDALE, UNITED KINGDOM, WEDNESDAY, 28/11/2021 - Kem Ibadah has returned for its 13th time with the theme, 'The Fighter Within You'. Brunei Religious Officers Student Association (BruROSA) held two-days two-nights religious camp from 26th November until 28th November 2021 at YHA Patterdale, Cumbria with 50 students joining: 28 participants and 22 committee members including BruROSA members.

After the arrival of committee members and participants around 8 p.m., the committee eventually started the event. Unfortunately, the unexpected storm had disrupted and cut off the electrical power. Despite being in the dark and cold environment due to the power outage, both the committee and the participants were able to work together and did their best to proceed with the ice-breaking and team-building activities, hence, making the event a successful one. During the ice-breaking session, committee members and participants introduced and familiarised themselves with their respective group mates. Afterwards, they had to arrange themselves according to the topics given. Then, they played a 'Guess Who' game. Not long after that, they were divided into groups to share their thoughts in which they got to know each other better. After a third of the night, there was an introduction of the theme of this year's Kem Ibadah, where the camp commandants explained what it means. The theme 'The Fighter Within You' embraced the idea that you fight against your desires in seeking worldly pleasures, abandoning daily prayers and so forth. This theme was further discussed in smaller groups during the sharing session afterwards, which promotes discussions on understanding daily struggles and overcoming them. Towards the night's end, participants were assigned to design their flags to symbolise their groups' names based on everyone's creativity. Before ending the first night of Kem Ibadah, each group presented their flags and group cheer in front of everyone. 

The next day, committee members and participants gathered early in the morning for a short tazkirah session regarding the benefits of solat sunat sebelum Subuh. This tazkirah was followed by Fajr prayer. After the prayer, everyone gathered to play an 'energizer' game called 'Finding Nemo'. Another short tazkirah session of Surah Al-Mulk was conducted to allow students to reflect upon the magnificence of Allah Subhanahu wa Ta 'ala through understanding the meaning of the Quranic verses. Apart from spiritual activities and discussions, the Kem Ibadah committees had arranged fun games and activities throughout the day. Participants engaged in the morning team-building activity held indoors, which involved buckets and balloons.

Around 10 a.m., the opening ceremony of Kem Ibadah officially started. The opening speech was given by the President of BruROSA, Mohammad Fikri bin Haji Ali who is also the Chairperson of the camp, and the Director of Studies of UPP, Cikgu Mohammad Danny bin Aimi. Among those who were present was the Religious Officer of UPP, Ustaz Haji Muhammad Fahmi bin Haji Abas. After the ceremony, Kem Ibadah continued with a sharing session about the companion of Rasulullah SAW, Bilal bin Rabah. BruROSA's Vice President and female Chairperson of the camp, Shahirah Bakar led the female's session, whereas the male's session was led by a committee member, Ahsan Abd Rahman. During this activity, the session leads shared the struggles, sacrifices and life story of Prophet Muhammad's close friend, Bilal bin Rabah. 
​

​In the afternoon, participants played an outdoor activity called 'Capture the Flag'. This activity aimed to assess teamwork, cooperation, perseverance, and building trust within teammates. Despite the cold winds, committee members and participants managed to carry out this activity with commitment and determination. After a short break from the outdoor activity, another Tazkirah session was conducted indoors, which was about the benefits of reciting Mathurat. Ahsan Abd Rahman from Queen's University of Belfast led the males' session and Irdhina Muhd Roslan from University of Reading led the females' session.
 
In the evening, participants engaged in another indoor activity which was a treasure hunt. In this activity, participants are required to find items with the Kem Ibadah sticker, take a picture of them and show them to one of the committee members. Committee members will ask a specific question, and participants will incorporate that item to answer the question. Therefore, this activity aims to assess their critical thinking, creativity and argumentation skills. The night resumed with a forum on Istiqomah, which was led by the two Guests of Honour, Ustaz Fahmi and Ustazah Dr. Widad, followed by a reflection session on the forum. After Isya' prayer, participants in their respective groups performed a short 'sketsa' circulating the theme, 'Bravery'. Participants successfully showcased their talents through their passionate acting performance. To end the night on a special note, both Chairpersons of Kem Ibadah, Shahirah Bakar and Fikri Ali led an emotional and tear-jerking Tafakkur session in which committee members and participants get to reflect upon their relationship with their parents.

The final day of this camp started with the Qiyamullail activity. Committee members and participants performed Tasbih and Tahajjud prayer together which was led by Fikri Ali. Following Qiyamullail activity was the 'Energizer' session which aims to energise and refresh the students with interactive games such as the suku kata shout and riddles. After that, congregational Fajr prayer was performed. This was then followed by kuliah Subuh which consists of discussing the benefits of Surah Al-Insyirah. ​

The two-days two-nights camp ended with the closing ceremony, during which the camp commandants: Zakwan Salleh from Imperial College London and Iffah Idres from University of Bath delivered the closing remarks. Afterwards, the best groups and participants for Kem Ibadah 13 for male and female were announced.
 
The following students won these titles for this year's KI:

Best Male Team: Tokutokuya
1) Aiman Aimee from University of Edinburgh
2) Irham Roslan from University of Nottingham
3) Adi Yusra from Newcastle University
4) Fikri Ali from University of Southampton
5) Afif Khalid from London South Bank University

Best Female Team: Supersave
​1) Arina Hamidun from Cardiff Metropolitan University
2) Nurin Ridhwah Rahman from University of Manchester
3) Iffah Rashidi from University of Warwick
4) Shahirah Bakar from University of Edinburgh
5) Natasya Norariffinihazalin from University of Nottingham
6) Husnina Mahali from University of Sheffield
7) Najdah Rahman from Manchester Metropolitan University

​Best Male Participant: Yadiy Rizalman from University of Edinburgh

Best Female Participant: Hazwani Omar Ali from University of Manchester

After the prize presentation ceremony, the event concluded with a video showcase of Kem Ibadah 13 and a group photo-taking session.

BruROSA would like to thank all of the committees and participants who had contributed their time and energy to make this year's Kem Ibadah memorable and beneficial!