A few of my friends and I decided that it is time to give back to society and in order to do so all 10 of us individually learned how to bake different desserts and then together we baked chocolate cake and choco bombs that we distributed to the kids residing in our nearby slum. Personally I learnt how to bake cookies, tea cake and brownies. 

• LO 1: Identify their own strengths and develop areas for personal growth.

I was always fascinated by baking and even though I didn’t spend a lot of time in the kitchen this project gave me the opportunity to learn different things. I picked up the basics from watching baking videos on youtube and eventually with a lot of trial and error baked a handful of easy recipes. After learning the recipes when all my friends and I baked on the final day I realised that in order to make this a success it was essential to have cooperation and synergy. To maintain this good teamwork, we used our strength in strategy building and keeping into consideration individual strengths and weaknesses divided the work so we could make a bulk of things and that too effectively. This allowed us to complete the task at hand timely and successfully.  

• LO 2: Demonstrate that challenges have been undertaken, developing new skills in the process

Throughout this project one of the biggest challenges was teamwork, having such a  big group to work with it was rather difficult to make unanimous decisions. But with patience we were able to overcome this challenge. When talking about team work it was also a hurdle. Since all of us had explored different recipes it was challenging to decide what to have on the menu for the final distribution. Keeping in mind logistics we strategically picked up the simplest and tastiest recipe so we could timely make them. Personally speaking, being an impatient person made it all the more difficult for me to be patient but with consistent practice I tried to develop this skill. Another challenge we faced was we were not aware of the number of children we would meet and so it was hard to decide how much dessert we were supposed to bake. 

• LO 3: Demonstrate how to initiate and plan a CAS experience

Well, amongst all the other learning objectives, from the beginning steps of learning how to bake, using trial and error bake cakes and cookies, learning from mistakes I made, coming up with the finalized menu with all my friends,  to baking the cake and chocolate bombs with my team, to packaging the goods and distributing them to the underprivileged community I demonstrated how to initiate a  CAS project. 

Throughout this project I portrayed various acts of being social, communicating with everyone and successfully planning this project. Throughout this journey I learned a lot about time management and teamwork. This was a very successful and satisfying project and it provided me with an opportunity to bring smiles to other children.

• LO 4: Show commitment to and perseverance in CAS experiences

Knowing that the final outcome of this project would be to bring a smile to children’s faces, all of us were very thrilled, committed and demonstrated perseverance. In order to show commitment throughout we all collectively came up with a schedule to follow and  this way we kept each other accountable and were persistent throughout. Even when we got distracted while baking we made sure we’d learn to bake a few things over a period of 1 month and then collectively bake a variety of things and provide it to the underprivileged. 

• LO 5: Demonstrate the skills and recognize the benefits of working collaboratively.

Baking for 30-35 kids isn’t a one man’s job and hence it is obvious this wouldn’t be possible without the constant help of the others working collaboratively. This experience involved some level of cooperation between the team since we had to finalise the menu, bake the goods, package them and then distribute them. Since everyone one in the team had different strengths/expertise and weaknesses we divided the tasks strategically which made our work more easier, rather hassle free and effective. Constant communication between the team while baking made the baking process easier. We all kept each other accountable during the first month where we tried to learn different dishes and made sure everyone brought something new to the table. Together we uplifted each other, worked together, communicated and together helped serve the community. Not only this working in a team also allowed me to learn from everyone’s mistakes and not repeat them on the final day. Being a team also gave us a sense of accountability which motivated all of us to work better and more efficiently and timely. 

• LO6: Demonstrate engagement with issues of global significance.

By helping the underprivileged, through this project we engaged with issues of global significance such as poverty, lack of hygiene and hunger. Interacting with these kids who lack access to basic sanitation and food, distributing sweets to them was one step towards eradicating hunger and starvation. 

• LO 7: Recognize and consider the ethics of choices and actions

Keeping into consideration safety and hygiene we also made ethical choices and actions. Firstly we also sanitized before and after baking. Not only this we also sanitized before and after distributing the goods.Looking at the current covid situation we all ensured that we wore masks all the time to make sure no one gets the flu and to maximize safety. Throughout we made being ethical our utmost priority. 

As a whole this experience gave me the opportunity to learn a new skill and help the community. It was a very satisfying experience and something I’d surely like to do more often. 

Evidence:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Etu2ttrPP6Ae18HFf5jQE_OuQZaHZsJfqhHbjeiwM6A/edit?usp=sharing