For, three consecutive weekends we interacted with students across Surat. I was a part of a Science project in which we had, more than 8 activities associated with Physics and Chemistry throughout the service period. My forte is active communication and listening skills, which allow me to address my point and help the kids whom I am volunteering to spend time with. My purpose in selecting this CAS experience is to challenge myself in project planning and execution. Walking over an uncharted path always unhooks skills and behaviour that are undiscovered. Hence, participating in this community service would help me explore my strengths and weaknesses from the front seat. The issue of quality education was addressed at the forefront. Often, children are expected to excel in academics with the help of numerous content, but, often they don’t know how to approach or tackle it. Experiments and projects give a hands-on, practical experience of what the written work in the textbooks means. Which is exactly, what we did in this community service.
My experience can be summarized in the form of LOs. I explored LO1 when collaborating with other volunteers and the kids we worked with from other schools. I was able to effectively communicate and make the kids feel comfortable. I successfully delivered instructions to the kids about what they had to do and how they could ask for anything by just calling me or any other volunteer. The last session that happened was fully conducted and planned by me. I organized about 4 laboratory experiments, gave the instructions in Gujarati and accommodated the kids in need of help. That day was the most exhaustive and least successful because despite taking trials for the experiments. Some experiments failed, also the kids were having fun but sometime into the activity, there was some communicative delay.
LO4 – Show perseverance and commitment in CAS experience
Because of this, I learned the skills of management and collaboration. I felt that pinning myself with all the duties wasn’t a good idea. I discovered that when politely communicated, the volunteers were responsive and empathetic towards me. The management was a huge problem because we were asked to plan on our own by showing up during our regular slots. It was difficult to find time in our schedule but still tried doing that. What worked out in the end was the kids were engaged to their full capacity, there wasn’t a time they were idle or not participating in anything.
LO3 – Initiate and plan a CAS experience
Lastly, this community service adhered to the global issue of “Quality Education.” Almost all the kids that showed studied only in a book-based setting. For them, experimenting, modelling, and project-making was new. Our activities revolved around the wonders of science. Therefore, we managed to serve them but giving them a chance to learn hands-on. Practicals are considered to be an effective source of education. So, our 3 weekends were full of educational learning that didn’t included reading books, something that they did everyday.
LO5 – Demonstrate skills and benefits of working collaboratively.
In conclusion, my journey through community service during my CAS program has been nothing short of transformative. It has provided me with a profound understanding of the power of giving back to the community and the impact that even small acts of service can have on individuals and society as a whole. Community service has not only allowed me to connect with diverse groups of people but has also helped me develop essential life skills such as communication, teamwork, and problem-solving. These skills are not only applicable to my academic pursuits but will serve me well in my future endeavors.
