There was much to explore and experience at the BRATs Year-End Journey in Pahang recently.

When someone mentions a “Young Journalist Programme”, you’d probably imagine a group of geeky kids, with their pens and notebooks in hand, desperate to rise up the ranks of their school’s editorial board.

The BRATs don't just learn how to write - they learn how to do video, take photos, survive in the jungle and so much more.

The kids would probably get a couple of workshops on writing, a few exercises on how to conduct interviews, and maybe a semi-interesting assignment.

But try telling that to the 30 teenagers who were at the BRATs On The Road Year-End Journey in Pahang recently.

The BRATs programme has always been about exposing teenagers to different communities, experiences, and environment, and they certainly got their fair share this trip.

The teenagers went on an off-road four-wheel-drive adventure through rugged jungle terrain, swam in a waterfall deep in the Pahang rainforest, explored bat-infested caves, hunted for frogs in a river late at night, learnt jungle survival skills, and so, so much more.

Some of the BRATs trying out tempoyak...

They also went to Raub, and learnt a few things from the townfolks.

The BRATs started their journey with one of the best asssignments a journalist can get; an ice -cream breakfast at Bentong’s famous Kedai Kopi Kow Po.

After that, it was straight into the jungle. The kids had a rough hour-long ride on four-wheel-drive trucks into the Kenong Rimba Park, where they pitched tents for a two-night stay under a rock outcrop. Facilities were not all that great at the park, but the teenagers made the most of their stay in the rainforest.

They went jungle trekking, cave spelunking and frog hunting in the middle of the night, but were also given a survival challenge. They learnt what to do if they ever got lost in a forest, and how to build temporary shelter, set animal traps and build a sustainable fire. If that already sounds like fun to you, there’s more. The second part of the camp was held in the small town of Raub.

Getting on the trucks that would bring the BRATs to the Kenong Rimba Park.

A group of four-wheel-drive truck drivers took the BRATs on a off-road adventure through a jungle path up a hill towards the Lata Berembun waterfall, about an hour outside of Raub. There were huge climbs, steep drops, big rocks and deep holes throughout the ride, which culminated in an adrenaline-pumping river crossing.

And those youngsters got to do all that because BRATs isn’t just any young journalist programme, it’s The Star’s young journalist programme and it’s been going on for the last 16 years.

Every year, three four-day workshops are run in different locations around the country where participants, proudly known as BRATs, get a chance to experience life as a journalist.

Everybody loved this part of the trip - the 4x4 off-road ride. This is right before the trucks moved into the jungle.

They are given all the tools – photo cameras, video cameras, and laptops (not just the usual pen and notepad) – and guidance they need from Star reporters and editors in order to produce media content. It was not just all fun, rugged outdoor activities at this year’s Year-End Journey.

As young journalists, their assignment was to share their experiences through their articles, photographs and videos. With tight deadlines, full days and little sleep, getting the work done brought in another burst of adrenaline.

In between their “working hours”, the BRATs hung out, played games, had a cooking competition, and were brought to a couple of Raub town’s famous eateries from some good ol’ fashioned Malaysian fare.

But for all the fun, unique experiences the BRATs had throughout the camp, one simple theme prevailed, a skill that hopefully will come in handy for the BRATs in years to come: communication.

The losing team from the survival challenge had to clean the toilets, and they were such good sports about it!

Whether it is through a jungle survival challenge, trying to perfect the “Algorithm March” or just working together to produce an article, the BRATs constantly learnt the value of communication, which is what journalism is all about at the end of the day.

There was a cook-out competition, and the BRATs were required to go to a local market and learn how to cook a local recipe.

* BRATs is The Star’s Young Journalist Programme for teenagers between 16 and 19. If you are interested to be a BRAT, e-mail us your name and contact details at brats@thestar.com.my.