I and a few others from my grade visited an old age home as a part of our CAS service.
LO2: Demonstrate that challenges have been undertaken, developing new skills in the process
Before visiting the old age home I was constantly thinking about what are we going to talk to them and what if it gets awkward. The first day that we visited was not interesting as we couldn’t find any common topic on which we all could talk. From the second visit things got interesting, they told us stories, their joyful moments, about their children, and their journey. They not only told us about their positive good moments but also how some of them are abandoned by their children, some widowed or having different types of illnesses. These stories we shocking to us when we first heard, but it was the truth, and they seemed to have formed a new family in the old age home itself, where they are accepted.
LO4: Show commitment to and perseverance in CAS experiences
We all thoroughly visited once a week for a whole month. Sometimes it was hard to commit due to assignments and submissions but we made sure to visit once a week for a month. We did not miss any of the four visits.
LO5: Demonstrate the skills and recognize the benefits of working collaboratively
If I were the only one visiting the old age home then it wouldn’t have been possible for me to visit even once a week. Because we visited as a group one or the other convinced and motivated the other to come for the visit; this happened especially after the first visit.
LO6: Demonstrate engagement with issues of global significance & LO7: Recognize and consider the ethics of choices and actions
After visiting the old age home, the two emotions that I felt were gratefulness and pity. Visiting the old age home was a new experience for me, which I may never forget. Before this activity, I always thought old age home is for the people who are abandoned but visiting the old age home and interacting with some of them made me understand people come there on their own willingness and their own decision; it is not always their family or the situation that makes them live there.