Survivor Enrichment Activity
by Wendy Hickman / ga10042007


 

Many people contributed ideas for this activity on a Yahoo Group for
Enrichment Night Ideas.  Thank you to all who so willingly shared your ideas!
 

We had a wonderful Quarterly Enrichment Meeting this month. Here is a description of our night:

6:30 - Sisters arrived and received a colored pipe cleaner to put around their wrist. Sisters brought their 72-hour kits with them.  We had tables with sample kits, sanitation items, children's kits etc.

6:45 - Sisters gathered at tables. We gave each sister a $.10 notebook and a pen (to take notes and later add to their kits).  Tables decorated with large red cross with a brown paper bag stapled shut on top. Bags had a red sign that red "first aid challenge."  Sisters worked on 7 scenarios (all dealing with earthquake injuries).  Inside the paper bags were a first aid kit, the 7 scenarios, and a paper to answer 1) how would you treat this injury using only the items in your first aid kit (or in your own 72-hour kit)?, and 2) what do you wish you had? We had a few "good" first aid kits -- and a few that weren't so good -- something had leaked, one had half the contents removed and matchbox cars inside, and my favorite was a fisher-price kit with the toys and a few Band-Aids. Sisters worked on these for about 15 minutes.

7:00 - We hooked a MP3 player to the church sound-system. We had a clip of overlapped "earthquake sounds" (sirens, breaking, screaming, rumbling etc.). At my signal, a sister started this (loud) 40 second clip while ALL the lights were all turned off. It took a second for
the right lights to get turned off so they were going on and off and it really added to the total effect. I knew exactly what was happening but it still was unnerving. We turned off every light in the church and left them off for the duration of the evening. I read a script into a microphone -- stating that we'd just experienced an earthquake. I gave some details and asked some questions for them to think about. Then, we instructed them to find their "family" by locating the other with their same color of wristband -- there was a lot of confusion here (it added to the overall effect). We had each color gather around a sister with a corresponding "glow" necklace color.

7:20 to 8:30 - We had 4 groups rotating through the following activities:

*Shelter Challenge - Outside on lawn. Sisters had rope and tarps to make a shelter for their family anticipating a rainy/windy night.  Sister-in-charge also taught them some different knots and their applications.

*Food Challenge - YW rooms off kitchen -- tables and lanterns. We did this like "Fear Factor" where we gathered some typical 72-hour kit food items and challenged the sisters to taste them. Those who tasted them all won a mini candy-bar (fun if 100 grand or something
like that). These foods (MRE, Emergency Bar, & Freeze Dried lasagna) are actually not the greatest, but so many people store them without tasting them -- maybe not realizing that their families may not like them or be willing to eat them. This is the point we wanted to
make. Then we gave them lists of other food options. Refreshment was served here -- bottled water & trail mix (either to eat or keep for personal kits).

*Rescue Challenge - Primary room with couch, table, lamps tipped over etc. Water sound effects. No lights at all -- flashlights only.  Sisters were given instruction on turning off water and gas. Then they did an "actual" rescue where they had to apply their skills (turn off water & gas) and rescue a child with a broken leg as well as transport him out of the "house."

*Communication Challenge -- Tents set up at back of gym. Lanterns set around some camp chairs. Sisters were given an assortment of radios and two-way radios. They had a challenge to communicate with someone via two-way radio. We taught them importance of knowing how to use these radios BEFORE as well as training kids how to use them. We
also showed different options and how to find out the weather.

8:30 - Closing thoughts and we gave each sister a vile of consecrated oil to put into their 72-hour kits.

We got a lot of positive feedback. Our bishop's wife said she dreamed about an earthquake that night. I was happy to hear people call the activity "fun." Interesting that sisters quickly commented that their backpacks or buckets were way too heavy. Backpacks on wheels seemed to be the most universally liked.