(CAS)-Service
The learning outcomes I focused on were LO2, LO3, LO4, LO5, LO6, & LO7
Due to the pandemic, a curtain lockdown took place a year ago. It was an unimaginable event that took place a year ago and nobody was aware of the situations that would come after that. A lot of people lost their jobs and was a very critical movement for a lot of them. People like us who were sitting at home enjoying it as a vacation might not be aware of the impact of the pandemic on middle/lower class people. Their earnings were gone, some weren’t aware of the impact of it and a lot of them couldn’t even afford to fulfill their basic requirements like food, clothes, water, shelter, etc. Thinking about their conditions brings tears to me then try and keep yourself in their shoes. A group of us students collaborated with an organization/NGO labeled GOONJ that allowed us to help the needy. We collected FOOD, CLOTHES, BLANKETS/WOOLENS, DRY RATIO, SCHOOL MATERIAL, BASIC ESSENTIALS, TOYS, etc to contribute to their better lifestyles.
LO2 Demonstrate that challenges have been undertaken, developing new skills in the process
We kept a collection drive where people could donate their old stuff and we would send it to the NGO who later distributed them amongst the needy but in the current COVID situation people prefer their safety over anything. In the beginning, we didn’t get any such responses for our proposal as people didn’t want to take any risks. After some time we made different posters and posted them on our media platforms, pasted the hardcopy of the same in different societies, shared it in different group chats and the responses for the same had increased in a very good amount. AS we started publishing our project we started getting more responses for the donation.
LO3 Demonstrate how to initiate and plan a CAS experience
Organizing all the data from the start is very important as each area has its importance. It was a little difficult for us to collect the donation and then sanitize it and then repackage it so we divided the roles accordingly. We kept switching the roles while doing the work productively. We organized all the collocation by categorizing the materials in different sections for easier assembling. Planning everything is always very helpful in all sectors, it allows the person to think more visually and have more efficient work in less time. It also reduces the chances of quarreling as the topics are sorted earlier. Planning also helped us to run everything in a systematic format which also decreases unwanted labor to a certain extent.
LO4 Show commitment to and perseverance in CAS experiences
It was very hard for us to collect the donation while maintaining the guidelines. The people who had their business around kept wandering around our drive-through and kept questioning us about our work. The people who donated a lot of them bought all the things mixed/kept in a single bag which increased our labor work while sanitizing and separating them. Some people came after the allocated timings due to which we had to extend our drive approximately by half an hour. After standing all these issues we still completed our task and submitted the collection to school. We were able to complete this task as every one of us wanted to do this for the social cause and not for the CAS experience.
LO5 Demonstrate the skills and recognize the benefits of working collaboratively
Working with others is not very difficult for me and in this case, the people with whom I did this experience were from my friend circle so we were more open towards everyone and collaboration was much easier. From the start itself, we divided roles equally for balancing the workload and avoided pailing up the tasks. We kept internal deadlines which helped us to work more efficiently over time. There were no such situations where we had to do someone else’s work but we were ready to help each other if there would be any problem. We always worked as a whole team where everything from making posters to repackaging the collected matter was done together.
LO6 Demonstrate engagement with issues of global significance
Due to the lockdown, a lot of people face issues to get their necessities completed. There were a lot of people who died due to starvation or could not control their bodies at a certain temperature. To help such people we started the donation drive through which we were able to help the needy. This issue is important to consider as it affects the economy of the country, it impacts the overall population of that region. The corruption rate will increase because the suffering population will have to find ways to sustain and it may also increase the symptoms of covid as people won’t follow the guidelines
LO7 Recognize and consider the ethics of choices and actions
The ethical consideration involved whether or not to keep a collection drive? Could it impact our families, could it impact the donor, could it impact the person who will receive it? These points made me reconsider my decision of having such an event but then we maintained social distancing, sanitize everything well, wore gloves and masks throughout the drive, avoided any kind of contact with anyone, and followed the covid-19 guidelines set by the government to make sure that the area didn’t get crowded. These steps helped us have a successful collection in the end.
In conclusion, Something that you don’t use or waste is very important to others who don’t have the privilege to have it. Being a part of this community everyone must help the needy in any form. This experience helped me improve my mental wellbeing and showed its needful impact on people who came and donated for the good cause. The learner profiles I displayed throughout this experience were caring, thinker, knowledgeable, communicator, inquirer, reflector, and risk-taker. I was caring while thinking about the needy and finding a solution to help them. I was a thinker when I was planning this whole experience. I was knowledgeable enough to understand the need for this task and apply it. I was a communicator while sharing/publicizing my work and while collecting donations. I was an Inquirer while searching about this issue in depth. I was a reflector as I used my research and found a way to solve this issue. Lastly, I was a risk-taker as I took the stand to collect in the COVID situation.
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