Westville campus RAs enjoying their teambuilding activities.Westville Residence Assistants’ Team Building
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Much is expected of UKZN’s Residence Assistants (RAs) who are called upon to attend to the diverse needs of students from different backgrounds. This can be mentally and emotionally demanding and it is important that they have an opportunity to de-stress.
With this in mind the Westville campus Department of Student Residence Affairs Residence (DSRA) Life Co-ordinator (RLC) Ms Lerato Khoadi organised a teambuilding programme for her residence life team.
The RAs engaged in various activities to boost their morale and mental health, and foster social cohesion and creativity. The event also aimed to refresh their minds given the hectic schedule they face at the beginning of the semester when new and returning students come into residences and house committees are elected. The emphasis was on teamwork in organisational or personal settings and the activities included Indiana Jones Challenges of war cries, spear throwing, paintball target shooting, Nyami-Nyami and an art challenge and go-kart construction.
‘We ask a lot of our RAs and it is vital that we also give them a platform to de-stress,’ said Khoadi. ‘They are the Department’s eyes and ears on the ground as they are the first people to attend to student matters in residences. It could be any time of the night but they still do their best.
Dealing with students from different backgrounds requires the RAs to constantly shift their critical thinking abilities and this can take a physical and emotional toll on them. Some of matters RAs face in residences are beyond their scope and they might not be prepared for them, but they still do their utmost to ensure that no student is left unattended. The teambuilding event enabled them to have fun and de-stress and also share their different problem-solving techniques.’ Two of the most important shared lessons learnt are co-ordination and being attentive to detail.
Residence Life Officer (RLO) Mr Siyanda Ndlovu said: ‘The event helped me to better understand the people I work with outside of their work zone. Most importantly, I was able to see that one should not just lead and not listen; other people’s opinions are also important in order to complete a task.’
The RAs found the teambuilding relaxing, therapeutic and educative. They reported that it helped them learn more about one another, and improve their teamwork, communication, listening and problem-solving skills. It also highlighted the importance of being responsible and building trust.
The activities required participants to trust that they were working towards a common team goal. For some RAs, the activities enabled them to explore their creativity and test their strengths and weaknesses. The fact that the RLOs and RLC participated in all team building activities showed that, regardless of the titles held by staff, it is possible to communicate and work together.
Words: NdabaOnline
Photographs: DSRA