CAS Components Covered: Creativity, Activity, Service
The school funded a six-day trip to Gujarat’s Dang district, Padamdungri, where I participated in a rural immersion programme to learn about country living. Throughout the trip, I participated in a number of activities that covered all three CAS strands, such as warli paintings, bamboo vessel building, mud lipan, rifle shooting, trekking, and so on.
LO 1: Recognize your own advantages and identify opportunities for personal development
My creativity and passion of art were my biggest assets. I really loved painting the warlis, as well as constructing various stuff out of flowers, leaves, and twigs I found around me. I really enjoyed teaching and playing with the local school children.
LO 2: Show that difficulties have been overcome while gaining new abilities.
On the trip, I had a few first-time experiences.Mud lipan, which entailed handling cow excrement with bare hands, was something I couldn’t bring myself to do. However, I realised that in order to have a better knowledge of rural living, I needed to be uncomfortable and leave my comfort zone. This enabled me to discover self-management strategies. There were other activities that needed me to communicate with individuals in order to learn about their way of life and economic conditions, which helped me enhance my social and communication skills.
LO 4: Demonstrate a dedication to and persistence in CAS encounters.
Immersion in a rural area was a big change for someone like me who is used to living in cities. Even though I didn’t want to engage in certain activities because I felt they were filthy or because I was bored with them, I didn’t give up and finished the assignments throughout the course of the six-day holiday.
LO5: Show off your abilities and acknowledge the advantages of teamwork.
The principal exhibit for this learning purpose was the warli painting. We had to paint a wide wall that had been assigned to us. We divided into groups and began painting the wall. Everyone was given the opportunity to demonstrate their creative ability and originality, and the painting turned out beautifully as a consequence. When my buddies finished a task without hesitation, even if it was something I didn’t want to do, it motivated me to do the same. The benefit of this was that I was able to push beyond of my comfort zone by taking inspiration from others.
