Youcat Camp for youths in Perak Deanery

Jan 30, 2015

By Brenda Julianose
Some 110 youths from all around Perak Deanery came together for the first part of the YOUCAT Camp which was organized by the Penang Diocesan Youth Network (PDYN). The Youth Catechism of the Catholic Church, or Youcat, is another part of the year long programme of PDYN, apart from the Third Penang Diocesan Youth Day (PDYD3) which will culminate in September this year.

The event commenced with an Icebreaker, a Human Bingo facilitated by Mayette Bugaoan, a PDYN ataff. As simple as it seemed, it was a game which required lots of communication and courage, especially for the shy ones because it encouraged them to interact with almost everyone in the hall.

An introduction of the Youcat was given by Dr Steven Selvaraju, the Director of Penang Diocesan Pastoral Institute (PDPI). With his somewhat firm yet reassuring personality, Dr Steven kept the attention of all present as he recalled the history and rationale of the Youcat document, even if it was late in the evening. As soon as it was over, Simon Chan, the speaker for the English speaking group then led the night prayer with “When You Believe.” The serenely conducted prayer left all the participants at peace as they ended the day.

The participants were divided into three language groups the following day. Along with their respective speaker-facilitators: Simon Chan for the English-speakers; Justin Lee for Mandarin; and Dr Steven Selvaraju for the Tamil-speakers.

The programme for the English-speaking group was divided into different topics covering the first and second parts of the Youcat book. First was about God, the Father, followed by Jesus Christ, then the Holy Spirit, the Blessed Virgin Mary as the Mother of God and finally the topic on being a young Christian.

There was a session when the participants were given modeling clay and were told to create something they loved so much or something to symbolize what they enjoy doing. Participants were seen eagerly making their creation, resulting in a broad range of products, which included, the “African Butterfly”, the “Guitar Drumstick Croissant” and “The Happy Kid”.

The Nicene Creed was given importance and deeper understanding in another session. Later that evening, participants were given some seemingly impossible tasks to complete during the indoor and outdoor games prepared by the Brenda Julianose and Joanna Dominic of Perak Deanery Youth Council. And just like any other camp, it was facing the challenges of the games that was the turning point for many groups and participants, allowing them to learn much about their fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. The lesson many learned during these sessions was that, in life, we may often be lost, drowned by the worldly distractions that the young person may forget about his/her spiritual growth and life. But God is always faithfully taking initiatives to call back the young person. The Youcat would be a very helpful tool to find the answers to young people’s restless questions.

The camp ended on the third day with a mass celebrated by Fr. Aloysius Tan. His message during the homily was to ask for the grace to bring down what the young people have learned from their head to their heart, so that it could be meaningfully put into action. Daniel Roy Santiyagu, PDYN English Youth Coordinator, on behalf of Fr. Martin Arlando, Head of PDYN and Staff, thanked God for all the blessings bestowed upon the organizing team throughout the planning, preparation and camp itself: the ever-supportive priests in Perak Deanery, the facilitators; the Perak Deanery Youth Council and Perak Tamil Youth Network, for their tireless efforts in organizing the event, and, last but not least, all participants of the Youcat Camp Part 1.

At the end of the camp, Calvin Teh, from St Michael’s Church, Ipoh said “It was a blessing for me to have met and gotten to know so many of my brothers and sisters in Christ. Not only was my hunger for Christ’s Word fed, but the entire camp made me realize how much he loves us, which only makes me want to praise him more. The camp brought me a new family for me to care for and love.” Dymphna Magdalen, from OLOL, Silibin, shared “Personally, the camp was very enlightening. Sessions were varied, and I was very fortunate to be in a group of 4 other wonderful participants. I am glad I had the opportunity to work with these people during the camp.” The next Youcat camp part I will be from March 13 – 15 and June 5-7, 2015 in Northern and Penang Island Deaneries respectively.