Kursus PERASA

I went for a short course at the foothill of Mount Kinabalu over the last weekend. It was held in Zen Garden Resort, Kundasang, Ranau. A very nice and secluded resort with a grand view of Mount Kinabalu.

PERASA stands for Pembimbing Rakan Sekerja. Basically the course aimed to brainwash the participants to become nicer and more caring persons la. Something like Pendidikan Moral, but more relevant to the working world. There were 32 participants from all over Sabah... specialists, doctors, dentists, pharmacists and counsellors. The facilitator was an experienced counsellor imported from West Malaysia. The course lasted 4 days 3 nights.

It was a very intensive course. Sessions started from morning and ended past midnight. In between lectures there were group games, group karaoke (patriotic songs and Indon oldies), funny activities, video clips, assignments etc. Truly macam-macam ada. Besides learning good ethical values, we had to fix a 1000 pieces puzzle, make hampers, make group flag, collect token stickers, write little appreciation notes, do performances, wear a self-made silly hat all day long, keep a raw egg... the list was endless. Really tiring la! Other than that, food was great, weather cool and chilly, and participants were sporting.


We had a memorable evening at the Don Bosco Children Home in Kampung Bundu Tuhan on Friday. We went to entertain the kids, basically. The groups sang and danced with them and did plays. Some groups taught the kids to draw, others had singing sesions and group dynamics, interviews, planted trees in the garden, cleaned the compound... I chatted with a Sister Lioni to find out more about the Children Home. There are about 80 plus orphan kids staying there, from little children to form six students. In the day, they attend normal schools nearby, then come back to the Home, which offer them food and accomodation, friends and 'family'. It was started by a Catholic mission, and is now fully funded by public donations.


I was totally worn out after the course. Stayed a night in KK and had dinner with Uncle Sualim and family. Did a bit of shopping with my loupo on Sunday. PC Fair and Malaysia Mega Sale Carnival was in town. Later we drove back to interior Sabah.