Opening Image: Awe & Wonder | 2 mins

Ask the young people what they think the image on the screen is a picture of.

Once they have guessed, reveal the answer and explain that Awe & Wonder will be a regular part of their sessions, giving them a chance to discover something interesting or surprising about our natural world.

Check-In | 3 mins

Briefly offer your chosen check-in to the Ambassadors (see Suggested Check-Ins).

Standard Check-In

Ask the Ambassadors to stand up and imagine one side of the room is 0 and the opposite side is 10.

• 0 = I'm not feeling good today. I'd rather be under a duvet.

• 5 = I'm feeling okay, somewhere in the middle.

• 10 = I'm full of energy and feeling amazing.

Invite everyone to move to the spot that best matches how they're feeling today.

Once everyone has chosen, invite the Ambassadors to look around the room and notice where people are standing.

Say: “Everyone arrives differently, and that's okay. There are no right or wrong answers. Whatever number you're showing today is welcome.”

Designated Photographer | 1 min

Assign who will be taking photographs. These will appear in the Celebration montage.

Note: Ideally, set up the River Challenge before the workshop. This activity is best set up outdoors, but it can also be held in a sports hall or a large classroom. For a video tutorial on how to set up and guide the River Challenge, see: bertha.short.gy/river-challenge.

Recap and Overview | 2 mins 

Briefly reconnect the Ambassadors to their journey so far. 

Ask: "Who can remember what we explored together last week? Did anyone have time to decorate their Storybooks and would like to share what you’ve done?"

Take a few quick responses. 

Say: “Last week, we discovered what it means to be a Bertha Earth Ambassador. You also created your Ambassador Agreement. This week, we’re going to explore how we can work together, support and learn from each other, and use different strengths to achieve things that we couldn’t on our own.”

The River Challenge - Set Up | 3-4 mins

Set up the space as follows:

1. Lay out ropes for the start line and finish line, approximately 10 metres apart
   
   

2. Space out six clan stations along the start line. Each station needs:  

   • 1 Ping-pong ball

   • 5-6 Mats 

   • 1 Spoon

   • 1 Blindfold

   • The rules

   • 2 Fewer mats than the number of young people in the group/clan (i.e. 4 mats for 6 young people)
     
     

3. Place a container after the finish line to collect ping-pong balls and spoons.

Read the story and challenge instructions OR let the young people read the challenge instructions in their clans. Please allow enough time for them to do so. 

Part 1: Introducing Ubuntu | 30 secs

Say: Today, we will explore something called “Ubuntu”. 

Ask: “Has anyone heard of Ubuntu before?”

Explain: “This philosophy comes from the Bantu people of Southern Africa. The Bantu people also live in many countries across the continent of Africa.”

“The Bantu people believe that we cannot survive without supporting one another. Just as we need support from others, they need our support, too. We also need to care for each other. When someone else is unhappy, we feel unhappy, too. When we care for others, we’re also caring for ourselves.” 

“Ubuntu means, “I am because we are. We are because I am.” We are going to practice Ubuntu today by exploring how we can depend on each other in different ways, and we are going to do that in the form of a game called, ‘The River Challenge!”

“But before that we are going to ask you to gather round for a little story.” 

The River Challenge Story | 2 mins

Once upon a time, in the cold, desolate Lands of the North, lived six great animal clans. A clan is an extended family, all living together. Their lives in the North were tough. In fact, it was only by practising Ubuntu that they were able to survive the harsh conditions of their homelands.

Every winter, the six clans made their journey South, meeting to cross the Great River. All the clans were great allies, and each carried with them a precious egg. These eggs would be carried over the river and left in the warmer climes of the South, where by spring they would hatch into magnificent eagles.

The river’s icy waters were deadly, but the clans had learned how to cross them using stepping stones. 

Each one of you belongs to one of these six clans. You are now arriving at the bank of the Great River, as you have every winter, and once again you must prepare to cross it…

Important Facilitator Notes:

For the Ambassadors to really experience Ubuntu, it is important we let them default to their normal way of being. Don’t reinforce the Ubuntu message during the game until the very end, or if you need it to wrap up the game. Let them compete, send them back to the beginning if they break the rules, and allow some healthy level of frustration and competition to kick in.

In order to complete the River Challenge, each clan needs to work together as one. But the Ambassadors must come to this realisation themselves by practising Ubuntu. When reading the rules or answering questions, do NOT call the clans 'teams' or suggest they are competing. If the Ambassadors realise that all six clans can unite and begin working together themselves, they’ve mastered this challenge and are starting to experience the power of Ubuntu!

The River Challenge Rules | 5 mins

Explain the rules of the game:

1. The clans must safely carry their precious eggs across the frozen river. 

2. The start line and finish line are the two banks of the Great River. 

3. In your clans, each of you will take on the role of an animal with a special ability. 

4. The clans must cross the river whilst following these additional rules:

• No one can touch the freezing river. Each clan has five or six stepping stones (mats) that they can put down and stand on to safely cross the river.

• Stones, once placed down, cannot be slid or moved along. They can only be put down or picked up.

• The egg must be carried on a spoon. It cannot be touched or dropped.

5. If anyone does the following, then their whole clan will be sent back to the riverbank (start line):

• Touches the river with any part of their body

• Kicks or slides their stones along

• Touches or drops their egg

• Takes resources from another clan

• Does not take care of themselves or others

Split the Ambassadors into six clans. 

Tell them to stand by their clan’s stepping stones.

Choosing Roles  | 3 mins

Ask the Ambassadors to choose who will play what animal in their clans. They must choose different animals, and at least one Ambassador must be able to carry the egg.

Decide in advance what animal roles to give your group from below.

Note: Each animal has an advantage and disadvantage. One animal’s advantage mitigates another animal’s disadvantage, meaning the clans must work together to support one another.

Option 1: Complex Relationships

Good for Ambassadors ready to explore more complex strategies

Use these animals:

• Mole

Advantage: Can use hands and carry the egg

Disadvantage: Cannot see by day (is blindfolded)

• Heron

Advantage: Can use hands (as a beak) and carry the egg

Disadvantage: Has to stand and hop on one leg

• Horse

Advantage: Other players can lean on the horse for stability (especially useful for the Mole and Heron)

Disadvantage: Cannot use hands

• Badger

Advantage: Can use hands

Disadvantage: Cannot carry the egg

• Owl

Advantage: Can rescue one character who falls into the river by flapping over to them with their wings (saving the animal from having to return to the start line)

Disadvantage: Cannot use hands

Option 2: Simpler Relationships

Good for Ambassadors who benefit from exploring simpler strategies

Use these animals with one Ambassador as the Mole and the rest as Badgers:

• Mole

Advantage: Can use hands and carry the egg

Disadvantage: Cannot see by day (is blindfolded)

• Badger

Advantage: Can use hands

Disadvantage: Cannot carry the egg

Allow the clans two minutes to discuss tactics. Emphasise that the challenge is not easy, and they may feel frustrated at times! Let them know that they have just seven minutes to cross the river. You can increase this if you have more time. 

Let the Games Begin | 15 mins

Run the challenge. It’s important that you carefully supervise the activity, ensuring that the clans follow the rules and are sent back to the start line when they break them. 

Maintain tension with a seven-minute or ten-minute countdown, depending on how much time you have allocated. Ramp up the energy towards the end by reducing time left, if needed. Say “The ice is cracking! You now only have X minutes left to cross!”

If useful, pause the game part-way and check in with the Ambassadors on their strategy, but be careful not to undermine the tension of the challenge.

Bringing the game to a close: If towards the end of the allocated time the young people are still working in silos, remind them of the rules. Also, if some clans have crossed and are finished but are sitting watching the others struggle to get across, simply remind them of the rules. 

1. You can say to the entire group: "Right now, no one has actually won the game". Then let that sit with them gently so they can figure out what you mean. 

2. Or you can say: “Remember the rules? What needs to happen for you to win the game?” Let them look at their instruction sheets and figure it out. 

3. If they need more help, you can say: “Remember, the aim of the game is that everyone is safely across the river,” and emphasise “Everyone.” 

Remember to celebrate them as a group once they have figured it out and crossed the line together. If they don’t, still celebrate them as you go into your reflection session. 

Embed The Learning | 7 mins

Ask the reflective questions below to embed what they have just experienced. With the group in a circle, recap the meaning of Ubuntu (see Wider Context below). 

The Need to Work Together: 

Ask: “Did you put Ubuntu into action today? Could you have survived crossing the river without each other's support? Why/How?”

If the Ambassadors didn’t realise that all six clans could work together, ask: “All the clans in the story are allies and practise Ubuntu. What would have changed if all your clans had worked together to cross the river?” 

Share: “When we work in groups, we assume we need to compete with other groups. But just as Ubuntu teaches us, we can choose to care for others as well as ourselves, even when they belong to a different group than we do. When we do this, everyone benefits, including us.”

The Power of Difference:

Ask: “How did your different animal skills enable you to support one another? What happened when an animal couldn’t do something?”

Team Agreement:

Ask: “Looking back at your team agreement and what you have learned about Ubuntu (point to where it is on the wall or hold it up), is there anything you would like to add or even take out to reflect what you have learned? Do you feel your team agreement captures the philosophy of Ubuntu?”

We Are One with Nature:

Ask: “Do you believe Ubuntu works when we think about nature and our planet?”

The 3-2-1 Reflection is split into two parts. If you have time, complete both. If not, choose Part 1 or Part 2, based on what you feel will best serve the needs of your group.

Part 1: Quiet Reflection | 4 mins

Invite everyone to find a comfortable position and quietly open their Storybooks.

Explain: “Reflection helps us notice what we've experienced, what we've learned, what we've enjoyed and how we're growing. It also helps us think about what we might want to take forward or do differently next time. It is important to reflect if we don’t want to repeat the same mistakes.”

Explain: “I'd like us to spend the next 3–4 minutes quietly thinking about the following questions. Feel free to write or draw your answers in your Storybook. There are no right or wrong answers.”

SLIDE: Display the three questions on the screen.

1. ENJOYED
   What did you enjoy most about this session?

2. TAKE AWAY
   What are you taking from today that you will practise or bring into your everyday life?

3. CELEBRATE
   Celebrate yourself. What are you celebrating and why?

Explain why celebrating ourselves is important and why we don’t do it enough.

Part 2: Sharing Together | 4 mins

If you have already completed Part 1:

Invite a few Ambassadors to share one or two of their reflections.

If you are going straight to Part 2:

Display the slide with the three reflection questions.

Remind Ambassadors why reflection is important and give them a quiet moment to think about their answers.

Then invite a few Ambassadors to share one or two of their reflections.

You can then ask:

• Did anything come up that surprised you?

• What is one small action you are going to take away this week?

Encourage listening without judgement and celebrate each contribution.

If time, invite Ambassadors to record any final reflections in their Storybooks before moving into the Invitation and Checkout.