Creative Funding Service

During our candle making activity, we made over 100 candles and now it was time to do the charity – to sell them. Ever since then, our friends from IGCSE also contributed to our work with their 50-80 candles, so now we had more than enough to sell. We packed all the candles, labeled them and priced them from `20 to `175.

Today was our 1^st term examination open house and the last day before the school closed for our Diwali break. So we had decided to display the candles in a corridor where parents and teachers can buy them. I was the first one to reach the school and so I started arranging the place so that my friends don’t need to waste time there. Then I along with my classmates Jaidev and Rucha arranged the candles in a proper monetary hierarchy. Very soon the parents started arriving. I asked Jaidev and Rucha to attend the candle counters and I myself took up the task of accounting at the cash counter. Together we made a great team which worked systematically until the very last candle. I knew it was going to be a mess since many people would buy candle at a time so I had planned to record data in my favourite mathematical way – tally bars. I wasn’t sure if it was a good idea since some of my friends opposed it but to my astonishment it just worked out the way I wanted. There was very less time between two costumers and numerous candles to sell; thus tally bars worked out very well for me. I was very happy that we successfully completed the task. I also felt grateful towards my friends Jaidev, Tanmay, Rucha and Shradha. All the buyers were also very happy and satisfied. Towards the end of the day I and Mrs. Vijayalaxmi counted the money we had collected and it turned out to be more than `3,000! I was so excited, since this was the first time I did something of this sort and it yielded such good result!

For now, we have decided to reserve the fund raised until the end of this semester when we will amplify it using yet another activity.

Tutoring the Little Buds_5

Last time we started with the alphabets and following the chronology we were supposed to continue with the same but since we had our exams in recently we couldn’t late their classes for two weeks. Now that we are back, we found ourselves at the end of the semester. So naturally there was no point in continuing with the alphabets as we had planned. So we changed our plan and decided to make this last session of the semester a fun one for them. Our supervisor suggested we conduct a diya (earthen lamp) decorating activity for them and give them some handmade gifts for Diwali – the festival of light.

We made paper miniatures of the traditional Diwali lamp called an aakash-kandil and also some paper baskets. We bought some toffees decided to put some in each of the paper baskets. After all the preparations were done, we were ready for our final session with the little buds for this semester.

Today when they arrived they all greeted us in an unusual manner. They seemed to recollect with we had taught them about good manners and they all wished us with a flattering smiles. My spirits at that moment were in the seventh heaven! I was so happy to see that.  We then teamed up and made a huge circle, I and Asmita distributed the diyas and decorating material to all of them and then returned to our students. I told them how they were first supposed to apply the glue first and then the tiny decorating beads and glitters. They were very comfortable with doing repetitive work so once I told them what was to be done they happily regurgitated the steps to get their work done. To me, they looked like small, cute and intelligent oompa loompas who were elegantly putting the decoration, all in a festive mood! After diya-decoration and the consequent hand-wash was done, they were in for a treat. We made them see a small animated video on the importance of Diwali and the gave them the paper lamps and baskets full of toffees. They really had nothing to do with the lamps or Diwali their target was obviously the basket full of sweets. Everybody was laughing and giggling and enjoying the time we were spending together.

Soon after that they left, and left with me were their memories. I recalled all the sessions were had undertaken hitherto and was so happy to have made them feel special and important. Not once did we let them realise the pity of the economic background they belonged to.  They were happy and so were we. Although I knew I wouldn’t be meeting them for almost a month, I knew they would return; and I was ready to wait until then.

The Medical Service

It was Sunday today. Most people are excited because it’s a holiday, but when you are studying in IBDP, Sundays can bring fun and excitement to you in many other ways. Today, as a CAS activity, we were to volunteer a regional organisation for their ‘Free Health Checkup Camp’.

Next Us was the name of the organising group; it was founded by some of the ex-students of the Bhosla Military School ( India’s most renowned military school chain). It is an organisation which works for the betterment of poor and underprivileged people by conducting health checkup and awareness camps in Maharashtra. Mr. Anup Golar, one of the members, told us that the organisation was their personal altruistic endeavor and that it was self-funded. When I asked how they managed their expenses, since they themselves funded it, he said that the little contributions all the members made were enough for them to help others. There was sparkling confidence on his face, while saying so. I was moved by this statement, the optimistic thoughts behind it were inspiring. The group had organized several medical camps hitherto, the most successful of all being the dental awareness camp. Apart from checkups and medical provisions they gave dental accessories to all the attendees, free of cost!

 During their blood donation camps, they even provided free blood to those who faced extreme poverty. Recently, they collaborated with Hedgewar and Aayush blood-banks. These blood banks have generously agreed to supply blood to Next Us at subsidized rates. Similarly, they have been receiving financial aid from different Maharashtra based philanthropists. I was very happy to hear that. The most interesting thing about this group was that they followed no administrative hierarchy. There was no president, secretary or subordinate; everybody had an equal position and each of them was equally responsible. I was deeply impressed by this notion. It would be great, I thought, if the entire world could learn from their rejection of rank based administration and embrace governance where everybody was equal. 

Mr. Anup then introduced me to my activity supervisor Dr. Trishil Kawaade who was a dentist. I was supposed to volunteer him, while my peers assisted other doctors. Dr. Trishil was a very kind and friendly person; he told me about my duties and gave detailed description about the medicines and equipment. After sometime the patients started coming, a vast majority of them being villagers. It was really difficult to handle them.  Their adamant fallacies were difficult to eradicate. I and Dr. Trishil explained them how brushing their teeth was more beneficial than just scrubbing them with their fingers. In India, there is something called ‘dant-manjan’ which is powered mixture of some regional herbs and is believed to clean the teeth better than brush-toothpaste. It is an outdated product in the modern times because the advent of tooth-brush and paste has elevated the standard of oral hygiene to a greater level.  But their tenacious mentalities were too inelastic to be altered! At one moment, one of the patients even asserted that whatever doctors say is all incorrect and that he has no faith in Dr. Trishil what so ever! It was a really shocking moment for both of us. The entire situation seemed to be paradoxical, if he were not believe the doctors why was he there, in a medical camp, in the first place!?  Dr. Trishil made detailed gum-teeth diagrams to make him understand that rubbing his teeth with his fingers wouldn’t remove the tiny food particles which get caught between the gum and the teeth. In addition we told him how these food residuals can permanently form tartar which may dangerously contribute to tooth decay. But unfortunately, it was an exercise in futility. That man was impossible to convince, and the task was immensely challenging.

Serving others, by lending their problems an ear and solving them, is what I learned from today’s activity. It has made me more aware about my surroundings – the people, their mentalities, their mode of comprehension, their beliefs and perhaps their destinies. In this camp, we were working as a team, although under discrete medical braches, but under one title and with a singular aim – to serve others. While cycling back home, I realised I had spent my entire day serving people and that my Sunday was now redefined. The day our efforts can bring sun those entrapped in darkness, is perhaps a day worth bring called a Sunday. In the past seventeen years of my life, it is today that came across – a Sunday.

This is the certificate our school received for volunteering.

Treasuring Trees

It will never rain roses: when we want to have more roses we must plant more trees.                                                                               -- George Eliot

Today we had our first session of gardening activity. It is a long term service activity and shall account for 8 hours of service for documentation. I find it unfair to limit our CAS hours for CAS is limitless; it is the soul of an IB student. However, I also understand that one needs manage it in order to put it in a curriculum. I never count hours when I am working, but when I sit to write my journal, where I must mention it, I realise how small my task was. I am very much fond of CAS activities; especially this one for it is to do with my beloved plants and nature.

We started with the most elementary of all gardening tasks – weeding. The area we were given was full of wind grass, and so we had to clear it.  At first it appeared like a simple task, but eventually I realised how tedious and tiresome it was. We first started uprooting the unwanted plants with our hands, but I very quickly realised that it was not going to work that way. The tiny – and perhaps microscopic – spikes on the grass caused an itching sensation which was undesirable. So I thought, why not aid our dexterity with some equipment? I asked Ms. Vijayalaxmi (my CAS coordinator) and then ran to our school gardener. He gave me two sickles and a crowbar; I knew it was going to help us for I had seen the local farmers use it. I used my sickle to rapidly crop the grass and shrubs and gave the other one to my friend. It turned out only two people in my class knew how to use a sickle, including myself. I therefore helped my friends learn how to use it. It is extremely simple and when they realised what the trick was, they instantly became experts at using it. It was really a good feeling.

We had planned to work as a team and so we had divided the field into sections. The consequence of our team work was that we were able to clear a substantial amount of land in a little time. We all worked really hard and our sweat was evident of that. I myself became more aware bout my abilities, I never thought I could do such a labour intensive work with such a massive input of energy.  But contrary to the tiresome task we all enjoyed it a lot. The presents of plants brought up many stories and incidences which we shared with each other, and despite our mundane task there was a lot of laughing and giggling which contributed to the already fantastic environment.

Towards the end of today’s session, we sat down to plan for our next session and also discussed why we were doing all this. We aimed to address the global issues likes pollution, deforestation and global warming by planting trees, nurturing them to their bloom and protecting them.  Undoubtedly, all these issues are of global significance and what we would do will contribute, although negligibly, to a healthier global environment.

Tutoring the Litte Buds_4

“Why' is the only question that bothers people enough to have an entire letter of the alphabet named after it.The alphabet does not go 'A B C D What? When? How?' but it does go 'V W X Why? Z.”

                                                                            ― Douglas Adams

  Alphabets are the 26 rungs of that ladder which is climbed and descended endless times to make a house of words. These houses make cities of sentences, countries of paragraphs and indeed the whole world of prose which symbolizes knowledge.  Teaching the alphabets therefore might appear to be a trivial task, but it is actually the most difficult one.

I realised this today during my yet another session with the little buds. We started teaching the alphabets today with the most obvious alphabet ‘A’. I always thought of it as something so basic that everybody in my view understood what it meant. But my erroneous notion was only highlighted today. As we had planned we made some worksheets which were intended to enable the little wonders to write and pronounce the letter A and teach them some basic words which started with A – more precisely ant, aeroplane and apple. To me and to my classmates, it was the easiest task we had undertaken, but we couldn’t interpret the mysterious smile which our supervisor Ms. Shaila had in the outset, until we actually realised the problem. Some of these little minds had merely any knowledge of writing, especially my students – Reshmi and Sonakshi. I asked both the girls to pronounce the letter out loud which they did, but only after a handsome amount of persuasion. Then was the real challenge, to make them write it! The worksheets had dotted-lines which they just had to trace in order to make a small and capital A (a). However they could not make their hands do that! I felt as if I should get inside their heads and make them do what I wanted! Alas! I couldn’t possibly do that! But then I saw my classmate Shradha, holding her student’s hand to help him write. I was struck by lightning at that moment, how could I possibly miss considering that? I quickly did the same, and things became easier. During this incidence I learned something very important. Sometimes, we become so obsessed with our advanced thinking that the most basic things cease to strike our mind. It’s not that I did not know how that was done – I learned it the same way – but at that moment, my mind had gone far ahead to find something new, leaving the most obvious thing behind. I therefore learned that one must always search for the simplest solutions to problems rather than wasting time in complex ideas.  They learned ‘A’ and I learned ‘a’ lot!

The Letter of News

Newspapers, magazines, and journals are an inseparable part of cultures around the world. Every person, sooner or later, comes across several forms of print media and is driven to learn its importance and significance.  On a global scale spreading important information to its intended subjects is called mass communication.  Undertaking such a meticulous task – albeit on a miniscule level – is challenging in itself. Therefore, our CAS coordinator Ms. Vijayalaxmi asked us to undertake the task of publishing a newsletter for our school. It was something I never did before but was certain that we will learn a lot by being the editors and compilers of the school Newsletter.

In this activity which accounted for 3 hours in total, I teamed up with my friend Shafqat who cooperatively worked with me to complete the publishing. Together, we planned an initial outline for our newsletter and then informed all the IBDP and IGCSE students to contribute their articles, essays, and opinion columns based on various school activities for the newsletter.

I myself wrote a poetry called Curiosity for the literature section of the newsletter. I had written poems before but never on demand and in a specific time. Initially, I was uncertain if I could do it for writing poetry requires creative thoughts and a peaceful mind, neither of which can be guaranteed always.  However, as I convinced myself to stick to it I was slowly able to compile a poem without having the associated thought s lingering in my mind for a relatively long time. I realised and definitely became aware for the first time that I could write poetry whenever I wanted to. I also learned how poetry is not just about writing what your heart says. Sometimes it involves considering the formal conventions and regulating some aspects of poetry including the ‘artistic license’. Since very few thought of writing poetry or a short story I also came to know about the preferences and mentalities of my friends. It sure helped me accept the fact that I am a unique individual with specific set of skills and so are they.  It is not necessary therefore that they may be equally interested in such cases.

Collecting all the different articles and reports from the interested students was a still an easier task. Reviewing them, editing them and presenting them in a palatable manner are some of the things we both struggled to achieve. Mainly, it is the conflict between freedom of speech and social convention which one must strive to resolve. We had to closely review the texts we received and edit them appropriately. In totality however, we learned a lot of things working together and really enjoyed producing a newsletter for our school. Following is our complete newsletter:

DYPIS Newsletter Aug-Sept 2013.pdf