Fantastic young ambassadors' learn much to help with next stage of their lives

Fantastic young ambassadors' learn much to help with next stage of their lives

THROUGH a strange twist of fate Cowdenbeath Rotary Club sent six young people to the 2026 Rotary Youth Leadership Award camp, at Abernethy Outdoor Centre, this summer rather than the normal two.

But it turned out to be a real bonus for the pupils of Beath and Lochgelly High Schools and five of them came to Thursday's meeting of the club to report how they fared.

The club's RYLA officer, Hank John, explained: “Rotary clubs all over Scotland sponsor teenagers to go to outward bound base which is geared to giving the youngsters the chance to experience events which can build their self confidence.

“RYLA gives young people the opportunity to expand their horizons by developing team work and team building experience, increasing confidence levels, in addition to obtaining new skills and developing old ones, and returning a young person with enhanced attributes to benefit their future employers.

“Our two schools have been great supporters of the initiative and we had two pupils organised to go to Abernethy in July, but I received a call from the District 1010 RYLA organiser saying that four clubs had been let down by their local schools and could we be able to fill the gaps.

“A quick call to Beath and Lochgelly Highs saw us able to supply four more young people and they found it a welcome experience which has given them key information as they look ahead to life after school.”

The fivesome who reported to Thursday's meeting were Ellie Brockie, Levi Craigie, David Gray, Aleksander Petkov and Aila Booth.

Ellie, Levi and David are at Lochgelly High, where Aleksander was a pupil before starting at Fife College in September, while Aila is at Beath High, and they confidently talked of their experience of their week at RYLA.

David said that he was a bit unsure of what to expect in the week leading up to going to the outdoor centre: “I really was a bit uncertain about it all, but when I got there I found that the other members of my group were of the same mind.

“We quickly gelled together though and all our confidence levels grew, with the help of the staff at the site, and we learned an awful lot.”

Ellie reflected: “I would also say I was a bit nervous, but within a relatively short time I found I was settling in well and all the outdoor activities were a fantastic experience.

“Succeeding in so many events, I had never tried before, was so rewarding.”

Levi added: “All the challenges we were encouraged to tackle helped us make important decisions and being asked to spend a day as leader of my team was so rewarding.”

Aleksander, who is learning to become a physical training instructor, commented: “I found the importance of working as a team was such a key element to things, and ensured that everyone of us were on the same page at everything we tackled.”

Aila admitted she was very nervous before she headed to Abernethy, but as soon as she got to the outdoor centre and got down to work, things changed dramatically.

“I had never jumped into deep water before, but guided by a mentor I achieved it, and had a memorable week doing things I could never have done without RYLA,” she said.

The group agreed it was a life changing experience, meeting random people and forming into teams which saw so many challenges successfully tackled and creating massively increased confidence amongst them all. And to a person they felt that the RYLA experience would help them in their preparations for the next stage of their lives at college, university or the workplace.

In proposing the vote of thanks, club president, John Gilfillan, said: “Our group of young people were fantastic ambassadors for the Cowdenbeath-Lochgelly area at the outdoor centre, and it is excellent to hear of their successful experiences.”