Sunday, April 24, 2011

Preserving the Prairies, Preserving Ourselves
























DEKALB, Ill. - It was not too long ago when we, along with the other participants of the Southeast Asian Youth Leadership Program (SEAYLP) and students from Sycamore High School went to the Afton Forest Preserve in DeKalb, Illinois.

With shovels, gloves, jackets, and ourselves ready, we planted spiderworts across the muddy field. A few minutes later, we went to see the beautiful prairies in the area. We were pretty fascinated when we first saw them since we don't have prairies in Southeast Asia. The people from Afton then took us to an open field to plant trees, a practice they have been doing with previous SEAYLP groups.


It was pretty noticeable that some of the parts of the Afton Forest Preserve looked deteriorated, yet these parts were making up with the presence of spring. Most of the wild plants already dried up, but because of the improving weather, they were starting to return to their original shape.


That perhaps is one of the basic reasons why SEAYLP was conceived: to improve the lives of its participants and instill in them values of true leadership. However, leaders do not necessarily go with the flow or according to plan. Some of them fail, hence leaving them with the need to use alternative solutions. Like the wind-blown grasses in the prairies, true leaders allow themselves to bend with the situation of their communities, to grow in the soil, and survive the cold weather whenever necessary. During this activity, we figured out that the values of patience, friendship, and flexibility are some of the many assets of leadership essential in making a community an active and productive one.

Raffy Cabristante (Philippines) and Kyi Zay Min (Burma)

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