Essay -“One day your life will flash before your eyes. Make sure it’s worth watching” ― Gerard Way

CAS ESSAY

The CAS component has given me an abundance of opportunities to learn, grow/develop, explore, but most importantly, it has given me doors that I would have never stepped in earlier. Creativity, Activity and Service were a stress-buster with sincerity. It has not only motivated me to take various roles that I always wanted to do, but has also made me a better person with essential skills required in life. The compulsory component of CAS was spread over the course of two years, I tired to be fair (ethical), put in my sincere efforts and give qualitative work (perseverance and commitment) throughout the time period.

 

I have tried to put in my heart and soul in all the activities done throughout, however, FSMUN 2.0 is an activity that reflects my learning and enjoyment of the CAS process. Attending a MUN for the first time, feeling like a newcomer, and still having major responsibilities. My role in the FSMUN organization committee was that of the head of the logistics and the finance department. FSMUN experience was something different, it is special because of my personal engagement with the whole project. It was the most impressive activity because it tested my physical and mental strength both. The amount of hard-work put in by everyone was immense. The activity judged the patience that I had built. However, through all the downs, appreciating the ups, neglecting the flaws, and loving the recognition of winning the best OC award. As Mother Teresa says “There is more hunger for love and appreciation in this world than for bread”.

 

“The aim of the IB programme is to develop internationally minded people who, recognizing their common humanity and guardianship of the planet, help to create a better and more peaceful world.” As IB learners we strive to implement various learner profiles in the CAS activities performed. Mostly all the learner profiles were implemented in different activities. The four major ones were thinkers, communicators, reflective and balanced. Using critical and creative thinking skills to analyze and take responsible action on complex problems is what thinkers are expected to do. During Garba fest, there were some issues regarding the payment and the malpractice regarding the passes had took place, as soon as I got to know, being the head of the finance department, I had to take a decision. I went to the higher authority and then solved the case internally, as being fair to others was also important. Being a leader or taking up a role requires a effective communication. During Bal Mela using the local language to communicate with underprivileged children or during the meetings for events to communicate effectively, seek perspectives and honest feedbacks, habit 5 of mutual understanding had to be put in practice ‘seek first to understand and then to be understood’. In collaboration with the learner profile ‘Reflective’, the habit of mutual benefit ‘think win-win’ played a role. During the flashmob event we thoughtfully considered the world issues and our own creative ideas and experience to perform it. We ‘synergized’ (the habit of creative cooperation) to work and understand our strengths and weaknesses, so that we have mutual respect and trust towards each other, We reflected our past learning on the issue of education, in order to support our mission as well as for personal development. Following the habit of integrity and execution, habit 3 ‘put first things first’, the learner profile balanced was implemented. Considering the importance and not the urgentness of different aspects, I planned my scheduled (‘begin with the end in mind’, the habit 2 of vision), deadlines were kept, and priorities were identified. Issue of time management with balancing the social life, family/friends time, school work and CAS-work had always occurred, but then the interdependence of our work with others was also something to be kept in mind. Valuing the IB learner profiles has helped me to become responsible and work effectively.

 

No individual can work alone in isolation for a long period of time. We need support and help to make a difference. Through work in groups and various people, being an introvert I have opened a little bit because I had to approach various people and for that I also had to learn to communicate effectively. I had learn to be patient and calm to make calculated decision as it was vital. About others I learnt that it is a human tendency to be selfish, show power and apply authority where not needed, take actions and decision in hurry which are against our ethics and values and later regret them, etc. But most important thing about relations that I understood during the CAS process was, mixing of leadership and management roles with that of our personal relations. We have been hearing about how to keep our professional and personal lives separate, but when it comes to our friends and family we always have our biases that played a role during many of the events, which raised various issues too. However, to overcome all the difficulties I had the school authority to approach, in personal cases I had my family (especially parents) and friends to help me get through it. Nothing is waste, I have always learned something or the other from all the activities, it has benefitted us in mental/physical ways. Combining the whole experience, all the IB attitudes like appreciation (being grateful), independence (not relying on others), commitment (not giving up and completing the activities),  cooperation (synergizing), integrity (doing ethical work and being honest), tolerance (accepting others), and respect I have developed through the time period.

 

Out of all the learning outcomes, learning outcome 3 “Initiate and plan a CAS experience” required the greatest amount of work/efforts and time. It is because we were required to do from scratch, starting from having ideas to its execution. Bal-Mela being my CAS project work came under this learning outcome. This the process for Balmela form tis planning to execution lasted for seven months. It was successful event. However, before the few days of execution I fell ill, therefore, the load of work fell on my other partners. Other difficulties regarding management and materials occurred, however, due to a wide span of time and with a large working team, we were able to control the things happening. All of us were committed as we used to come early to complete the work. I also believe that the process of effective communication helped as we were able to update each other about the process and the good understanding between the three of us lead to smooth process with no fights. Though we did not give up, I felt that Investing so much time on one activity and balancing the other work becomes difficult. Hence, it was challenging for me to achieve this learning outcome more than once.

 

As Ralph Waldo Emerson says “Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm”, I was really enthusiastic about this component of IB and now after completing this, I believe that I have achieved a lot. I would love to take this forward in life, by sharing, using and adding to my learning and experiences. Taking opportunities to help others and put in efforts to make the world a better place, I aim to do parts CAS all my life.
CAS apart from being the fun part of the diploma programme is a process of developing life skills, growing as a human being, and most importantly it is about learning. CAS has also strengthened the bond between us friends by building our trust. Remembering all the activities done throughout the process is like walking down the memory lane. CAS has given me a lot of things, but most importantly, it has given me memories in form of treasure to hold to myself.

“A goal without a plan is just a wish.” ― Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

CAS PLAN

Activities Components (C/A/S) Duration & Start/ End Dates Learning Outcomes
Basketball Activity 30th July 2015 (1 Day) LO 1 LO 2

LO 4

LO 7

Literary Fest Creativity 23rd August 2015 (1 Day) LO 1 LO 2

LO 4

LO 5

Bal mela (CAS project) Creativity, Service, Activity 8th July 2015 to 13 February 2014 ( 7 Months) LO 1LO 2

LO 3

LO 4

LO 5

LO 6

LO 7

Tree plantation Activity, Service 18th July 2015 (1 Day) LO 2LO 4

LO 5

LO 6

FSMUN Creativity, Service 4th September – 29th November 2015 (3 Months) LO 1LO 2

LO 4

LO 5

Flash Mob Creativity, Service 26th August – 5th September 2015 (11 Days) LO 2LO 4

LO 6

Garba Fest Creativity, Activity, Service 7th September – 14th October 2015 (1 Month 7 Days) LO 1LO 2

LO 3

LO 4

LO 5

LO 6

LO 7

A day with Orphan Kids Creativity, Service 19th September ( 1 Day) LO 4LO 5

LO 6

“Success in management requires learning as fast as the world is changing.” ~Warren Bennis

logo2-13This was the second time that a MUN was happening in the school. After listening to the experiences from my fellow friends regarding the first MUN, I was keen to participate in the second MUN ‘FSMUN 2.0′. I was really excited, however, I have stage fear, therefore public speaking was never my cup of tea. I decided to be a part of the organizing committee. My role in the FSMUN organization committee was that of the head of the logistics and the finance department. In both the departments I had partners to share my workload and hence I was able to give justice to all my duties, hence, have a balanced plan.

My goal was to understand the process of how the departments run and by the end of the event acquire knowledge about technical details. In the finance department I was responsible for keeping a record of the payments made by the delegates (cash inflow) and to coordinate with screen-shot-2016-12-05-at-12-05-14-pmother departments and to make the payments of all the expenses done (cash outflow). In the logistics department I had to ensure that, on the day of the event everything is working smoothly and had to monitor the work done by the other team members. Working with people, being a manager, taking responsibility, making other people work is something that I can do, hence, I applied for the head position of the logistics department. After interview and the completion of the whole process, we were allotted our duties. I was quite satisfied with what was given to me. But there was not much scope to explore in that department. Later, due to some issues, they needed someone to take over the finance department, I was offered to do so, and I accepted it. I being passionate to learn something new and explore how the way things work at a major level, was very curious. To some level I love math and management both, therefore finance department was an appropriate option for me. I had to learn the how the account system works, because out of city delegates made tscreen-shot-2016-12-05-at-12-04-52-pmheir payments through bank transfers, keeping the tally of each payment, contacting each delegate was a challenge for me. Simultaneously, I also had to keep a track of the cheque payments (submit those cheques) and handle the cash payments of the in city delegates. It was chaotic and tiring, because a lot of delegates had queries regarding the payment method and they used to even call at night. I ad to cater to each call. I took a little time to understand the process and the working already happening, because I joined this department halfway through and had to first understand the work already done. But the people with whom I was working were really cooperative, they gave me time and made me understood everything. The earlier finance department head was also very helpful, she forwarded me all the mails a and provided me with all the necessary information. Effective communication skills is something that I developed through this learning process. I had to do all the logistics work on the day of the event. I also won the best OC award for this. Overall, I was an amazing experience.

 

“Do anything, but let it produce joy.” ― Walt Whitman, Leaves of Grass

Garba Fest

img_4325

Garba and Dandiya are the popular traditional dance forms that are performed during the festival of Navratri. By taking an advantage of the festival time, a dance competition was arranged. It was condimg_4270ucted to raise funds for charity.  To contribute to overcome with one of the significant globe issue, ‘POVERTY’. I have a keen interest in math and accounting. I was the head of the finance department for the event, where my goal was to make maximum profit, so that more money is donated. I took this opportunity because I thought it is a good platform for me to demonstrate my leadership and management skills, also this was a good opportunity to work for a good cause. This event helped me learn the technicals of finance and I also gained an experience of finance management for a big event like this.

screenshot-2016-11-30-at-10-50-33-pmscreenshot-2016-11-30-at-10-51-02-pm

It was for the first time that I was handling finance department for an event. I was very nervous, because not only did I had to handle the payments of the participants and stalls, but I also had to plan and take care of the budgeting with keeping tally of the cash flow and thereby also managing the expenses of all the other departments. Maintaining the coordination between all the departments was essential. I faced challenges during the process regarding the budget allotment. As the number img_4261of participants were changing and we were unable to predict the accurate participants the budget allotment process was getting delayed and I had to redo it many times. It was tiring as well as time consuming, but success comes with sweat. The heads of the other departments were patient and cooperative, ence, making the whole process work smoothly. At the end due to time constraints and with fluctuations we had to rush to get the things done, but it was possible with everyone’s support (including the school, teachers, support staff, etc.). On the day of the event, there were instant participants and therefore I also had to take care of their payment. Also ensuring that were was no one in the event who has not made the payment, as it will be unfair to the other participants. Ethics had to be maintained. Taking attendance by tallying each individual was a tedious task.  

I learnt a lot of things from this event, mainly how to manage with unexpected issues and to deal with last minute crisis. I also learnt a lot regarding the practical process of budgeting, payments and cash-flow. I think this has added a new column in my learning sheet and has helps me grow a lot as a person, this as well has given a satisfaction of positively contributing to the society.

img_4304img_0122

img_2226

 

Profile -“Today you are You, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is Youer than You.” ― Dr. Seuss

CAS PROFILE – HETVI SHAH

 photo-4

My real name is Hetvi Ladhani, but after shifting to Surat, Gujarat, the family name has been changed to ‘Shah’.  We basically belong to Rajasthan and therefore I know the cultural language ‘Marwari’. I am brought up in this city of diamonds, ‘Surat’ and after spending years over here, I have developed a fluency in the local language ‘Gujarati’ too. In the city of Mumbai, on 15th of July, 1999 (last year of the 19th century), I was brought into this world. I consider myself lucky enough to have had the chance of witnessing both the 19th and the 20th century.

Who am I? Well, that’s a secret I’ll never tell. However, I will always want to be a person my parents want me to be. I believe that nobody is an open book, because even the books have some hidden messages that we may not be able to decode, and after all, nobody is like a clear water reflecting a face, the remains of the small pores can be skipped by a human eye. My debris speak a lot about me, they are the hints to the world about me. In my perspective, we all are magicians. Don’t we manipulate things for our benefit? The echo of the phrase ‘work out of your comfort zone to gain success’ remains in the back of our minds. I oppose this popular advice, as for me, working in my comfort zone motivates me to work harder, it provides me the atmosphere that suits me and allows me to be in my space. I just need to push myself, and not behave like I am on a Hawaiian beach. People who know me well, say I am always on my power saving mode. But folks, “Laziness is the first step towards efficiency”, says Patrick Bennett. One of my weaknesses are ‘hygiene factors’, their under maintenance affect me a lot, and I get irritated at the speed of light, like, if they are not maintained to an extent, it will make me feel really uncomfortable.  

I hate majority of the people I meet. I just don’t like meeting strangers, I don’t feel comfortable around the people who don’t know me well. Surprisingly, I have good coordination with the all my batch mates. On the surface, I may seem like a boring person to many, however, I feel that my pals cherish the time they spend with me. Family is very important to me and friends too.  “Be yourself, but always your better self” said by Karl G. Maeser, is a motto that my friends and I wish to follow. I don’t give myself too much liberty to judge people, however it is a human tendency to make judgments, and therefore before making an eye contact with a person, I always make a shoe contact. I have a weird habit of judging people based on their footwear.

Water is the substance that I adore the most. Its qualities personally teach me a lot, and may be therefore, I connect a lot to water. I want to be like water, people have no expectations from water, its existence reveals its importance. Why don’t we flow without any burden? Like in water the heavy substances settle down and it keeps flowing. Why are our shoulders so heavy? I am afraid of all the rides in the amusement/theme parks, but water rides attract me towards them. A few years back, I went to a water safari and that experience is something that I’ll never ever forget. I only felt the pressure of water pouring down from the waterfall on my shoulders, I heard the loud thundering of water and I stood there while the water coated my body, it was serene.

photo-1I have a penchant for knowing things, especially the details of situations and stories. I like travelling, watching movies/tv shows, reading, which has developed my little spark for writing. One day I will be an author, I claim! Hahahaha! My areas of focus are Math and Business management. Leadership and management skills are something that I have developed over the years. Since childhood I am involved in doing social work by taking part in various events. I am rigid, as well as emotional. Whenever I see a living creature suffering, my emotional ability overpowers my analytical ability. But as Mahatma Gandhi says, “The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.” I have tried to help a number of people in various ways, however, a selfish reason for doing so has always been in existence. My part time favorite activity is drawing (doodling). Time management has become a barrier of my life, but studies have always been my priority. Prioritizing my work has always helped me in achieving the goals I aimed for. I would like to end with a quote which reads “Life isn’t about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself”, by George Bernard Shaw.

P.S. I like quotes.

“Some moments are nice, some are nicer, some are even worth writing about.” ― Charles Bukowski, War All the Time

balmela_newbanner

 

CAS PROJECT – BAL MELA 

The event was ‘Bal Mela’, bal referring to ‘children’ and mela meaning a ‘fair’.  Bal Mela was scheduled on Saturday, 13th February 2016. Knowledge is not only to be acquired but to be shared as well. This event was organised with a motive to give exposure of various activities related to arts and sports to the underprivileged children. Children from all communities came to enjoy around 40+ activities which were arranged for them. We witnessed miles of million smiles and happy faces, that brought satisfaction and smile on our faces too.

 

Proposal Stage: Every year the school aims to conduct this event. A rigorous process is followed by the school authority to decide on the suitable candidates to lead the event. The same was followed this year. All the candidates filled the form and on the basis of the candidates responses, and also considering their past experiences, the best ones were selected. The second stage of the selection process was the interview with the respected authorities. I was really nervous before and during the interview. However, it all went nicely. Soon I got to know that I was selected as the event coordinator, along with my two other friends. I was really excited for the new opportunities ahead and at the same time, was happy to take this leadership role. However, along with the authority came responsibility.

21

Planning Stage: Khushali, Naomi and I had work like planning the activities, allocating those activities, selecting the volunteers, planning the schedule, ordering the resources, inviting government schools, NGOs, etc. we had to decide the menu and arrange the food for around 1500 children (following the school’s food policy while deciding the menu was an ethical action), and the list of responsibilities seemed to go on forever. The event that made me feel like a leader with tons of responsibilities on my shoulders. Luckily, I had two partners to share the burden with. The coordination was maintained at the best level between the three of us. We belong to the same grade and we know each other very well, this proved to be an advantage for us during the course of the event as we knew each other’s strengths and weaknesses, hence, it became much simpler to work synergically and to deal with all the crisis that came our way, together. As even without saying,  the work was done and each member was informed and simultaneously was updated.

In the past years, I have been taking a part in the organising committee of this event, by being a volunteer for various activities and therefore I had some knowledge about the technicalities of how the event works and progresses. We took to reference from previous years documents and had a talk with last year’s coordinators of the same event, and along with the guidance from the school authorities we started with our planning. We figured out the things that we need to change from the last year’s format and also tried to work on the feedback given last year.

Appointing duties to student volunteers was a difficult task, as we had to ensure that our personal biases towards our friends didn’t affect the allocation. Ethics played a role here as we had to maintain the equality in the process and also had to make sure that the roles were divided purely on the basis of one’s potential. This event taught me the importance of working collaboratively and the need to be patient and tolerant because we had a team of nearly 100 volunteers. If anything goes wrong, then there is no scope of learning and for improvement. We were truly disappointed when some of the volunteers didn’t turn up on  of the event., and some even backed off at the last minute. It was very difficult for us to find volunteers. However, I believe that it was the OC team’s commitment and perseverance that made the event a big success. I have learned to work under pressure.  

All the three of us have an inclination towards the field of arts. This time we decided to change the logo of the event. The logo for this event was being redesigned after a long time. We were very proud of the new logo, as well as were curious to see the logo being printed on a huge banner and to see the reactions.

Execution: Two days prior to the event, unfortunately, I fell ill. I was not able to contribute much to last minute preparations, however, I tried my best to do all the work that I could by sitting at home. On the D-day, as soon as I reached school, nervousness had taken over me. Everyone was doing the work assigned to them, all the three of us were running all over the school to check that everything was on place. As the children started arriving, the laughter and excitement was all in the air. I could not forget the pleasing view of children dancing, playing sports, some enjoying in the giant wheel, while others using their creative minds to paint, make a mask and  others waiting patiently to get a tattoo done.   Nobody seemed to be tired at the end of the day. I was all energetic and was ready to dance as soon as I heard the music. I was in an awe by seeing how talented all those kids were. Another ethical aspect was that we had to make sure that all the kids get an equal opportunity to experience each activity. Also, ensuring that we don’t hurt the sentiments of the kids, either by behaving inappropriately or by saying something which would hurt them.

Learning: The event required a lot from me, from multitasking, effective communication, patience, cooperation, leadership and management skills, punctuality, to staying calm and not losing my temper. I learned a lot and have developed as an individual. We are all privileged to experience the joy of living, this event taught me the joy of giving and sharing. Happiness is not found, it is created by yourself. And what I got to know is that happiness is a thing which if shared with others, increases and not decreases. The event was an opportunity for us to provide space and resources to the underprivileged children to enjoy the joys of their childhood.

 

img_0099 img_3291 img_3329 img_3333

 

“To get the full value of joy you must have someone to divide it with.” ― Mark Twain

A day with Orphan Kids – Charlie Helpage

_DSC6340

“To get the full value of joy you must have someone to divide it with.” ― Mark Twain. We h_DSC6144ad spent the day with the orphan kids from ‘Charlie Helpage’.  With the aim to make them involve in all the activities and put in all our efforts to make a memorable day for them. We had the preparations being done prior to the event. With our teachers guidance the activities were planned, like a few games, movie, dance, photo-booth, etc. and had prepared the schedule for the day accordingly.  With a group of around 7 to 8 girls we made a card for them, stating a thank you note for spending  time with us.

 

Art and craft was followed after the lovely dance and amazing games in the rainy morning. During the whole day, the one thing that touched my heart was, while I was telling a bunch of children about the card/craft that they had to make/do as part of the activity, few kids made flower and cards with heartfelt greetings for me. While I salute to their creativity, they kept me amazed with the trust that they had on me and the friend that they had found in me, whom they have just met a few hours ago.

 

_DSC6193All the volunteers were doing their part,  everyone was skilled in various field and therefore the quality of the activities did not suffer. We all made sure that we work collaboratively and simultaneously communicate with each other all the details, so that there are less problems and it is easy for us to maintain the pitch of the work. After dropping them till the bus and bidding them goodbye, cleaning and putting all the stuff was a tedious job. To work this problem out, we divided the work.
Something that I learned was that we have our parents to go to with our problems, but what about them? Whom will they go to with their problems? How fair is it on their behalf to not enjoy the privileges and luxury that we are exposed to? Across the globe there would be so many little lives like them, who would have to be dependent on other people for their happiness. Overall, interacting with them and understanding their lives was a worth learning as well as an emotional process.

_DSC6338

The difference between dancing with the feet and dancing with the heart!

 

Flash mob – Education for all

IMG_1523 IMG_1524

To promote the goal 2 ‘Achieve universal primary education’ of the UN millennium development goals, the group ‘A step towards human (ASTH)’ was doing a flash mob in a very renowned mall of the city. To spread awareness on a topic like ‘Education’ (which plays a very significant role and is an important issue all around the globe) they decided to present it in a creative manner, because the audience is always attracted towards art. The flash mob started with a dance followed by a speech, then a drama and at last again a dance.

The preparations were going on from weeks, everyday the rigorous dance practices were held. It was difficult for me to attend all the practices, but because of my commitment I had to manage my time. I had to put in extra efforts, because I am not that good at dancing. I developed my dancing skills in the process. We were all confident and were thorough with our dance on the last day. Along with excitement, I was very nervous. After a long time, I was going to perform in front of a huge audience. During the time of our performance there was a large audience waiting for us. My Mother and my sister were also there to encourage me. Just as the music started, we all were dancing on our tunes, but due to lack of space we were all banging into each other. I was proud of myself because I didn’t forget any step in the middle of the performance, and that I gave my best to make it successful.

The limitations were that were was a problem in the sound system. People were not able to hear our speech and the music too. This was a big led down for the whole group. Though we were able to generate some amount to fund, it didn’t meet upto our expectations.
Out of the six thinking hats, the green hat which is about creativity and the red hat which talks about feelings played an important role in this particular activity. Without creativity it was impossible for us to persuade people, and as our motto was to spread awareness and raise fund, we were dealing with human emotions and therefore considering feelings was necessary. Ethical aspect of the activity was related to the usage of the fund, and the goal of education itself. How justified is it to have differences in something as universal as education?

IMG_1532

Creativity is a wild mind and a disciplined eye! ~Dorothy Parker

Literary Fest – Ads to add up

A literary fest was organized in our school. Out of the many activities which were designed, I choose to take part in an activity called ‘Ads to add up’. I aimed to learn the conventions of an advertisement in a non-conventional manner. The whole process of this activity was fascinating. We were divided into groups and then we were asked to design an advertisement of a product and present it in an exclusive way.  IMG_5457

In our group, students ranged from grade 7 to grade 11 were there. Cooperation and Stephen Covey’s 5th habit ‘seek first to understand, then to be understood’ played a role to smooth our group work. Limitations which we were facing were, that there were too many people in one group, therefore considering each one’s perspective and opinion was a difficult task. It was creating a chaos. Also we had ideas but executing them appropriately was a barrier. Students from lower grade had only little clue about the format and the conventions of an advertisement, explaining them everything and then completing the task in the given time period was not possible. Due to time constrain the quality of our presentation suffered. Ethics played a role where we didn’t cheat or plagiarized another group’s idea. The activity was competitive in nature as we were all fighting for our house points.

We could relate this activity to our subjects like language, business management and visual arts. The methods used to create an advertisement and the format of an advertisement is something which we learn in our visual arts class. For example, the layout, visual appeal, font size, colours, etc.

In business management we are taught about the forms, the audience, the market of the product, etc. The purpose, the analysis, the impact, the conventions, the type and all the other things related to an advertisement is directed to us in our language class.

The activity was both informative as well as creative. I will remember the way people presented in a humorous way. This also taught us, by the way people sitting there responded that what are the things which audiences find attractive and interesting in an advertisement. Overall, it was a creative approach to an educative activity, which was appreciated.

IMG_5359 IMG_5377 IMG_5414 IMG_5416

The unexpected benefits of planting a tree!

We were taken to Janki Van- a new botanical garden which is being developed by Ministry of Forest (Gujarat) under the guidance of Head of Forest Department. This was our first trip, I was filled with excitement. We were going to help the workers in planting saplings of ‘Mehendi’. All these years we have been studying about global warming and deforestation, but today was the time when we were actually going to fulfil our responsibility towards   nature. It was a new experience and I felt a positive vibe that day. The variety of plants in the garden, with different colours, provide a dazzling view of the place. All the goals that were made for this activity were attained.

The following were the goals:

  • Learn techniques and acquire knowledge about plantation.
  • Learn new skills and experience a day of a worker’s life.
  • Start acting responsibly towards nature.

We learnt the technique of planting the saplings. The process was simple, but required proper focus to neatly plant them. Though the whole activity was a smooth process, it was a challenging task. I had to come out of my comfort zone and do the labour intensive work. It required a lot of hard work and was a very tiring exercise. From morning till the evening we were on the field, under the hot burning sun. I  made a commitment for the service and acted to make a positive difference in the world around us.

Doing teamwork was essential for this particular activity. My friends and I coordinated with each other to do the work assigned to us. We distributed the work, so that no one had to bare much pressure. We helped each other in carrying the heavy utensils. Cooperation between the group was maintained by doing effective communication with our groups members, as well as with the workers (as we had to take their guidance for completing our task fitly).

The limitations that I faced were regarding my lack of knowledge in this task, as well as not being physically too fit was a barrier. I was not aware with the technical way of using the equipments and therefore I was finding it difficult to use them in a correct way. Secondly, I am not physically that fit, so carrying the heavy utensils was a very tedious duty. It was an amazing experience and the activity worked as a stress buster for me.

IMG_3390IMG_3382IMG_3391

 

Process: Filling the vessel with the small plants, carrying them to the designated area, planting them and then watering the plants.

1 2