Being the typical software engineer to the very last fragment of my existence, the closest I have done to a social service was to transfer money online to a well advertised NGO which promised to send me an update of what was to be done with my money.
And so never having known how it feels to actually provide your services to the society, I ended up at a Royal English School in one of the narrow lanes of Brookfields. And no, as rich as the school name sounds to be and the location sounds like a rip from a hollywood flick, the school and the place were far from it.
A narrow little building housing classes 1 to 10 with a total of around 300 odd children from the so called lower to lower-middle strata of an Indian society.
Around 18 of us, with only a plan, a plan to bring joy into a day of these kids lives, marched into our respective classes.
I had no idea on how or what to do to keep 10-12 year old kids occupied, but from the moment I stepped in to when I got out, I had no trouble at all. The kids were so full of enthusiasm and vigor, that they filled up all the time with their laughter, antics, their innocent curiousness and the eagerness to showcase their talents. It was such joy to watch them play and perform. They din't need sophisticated toys or expensive gifts to make them happy, they just needed for someone to spend time with them, listen to them, play with them, encourage and appreciate them.
The day ended with the kids performing some group dances for us, and there was just no stopping them. They played to the tune of almost 10 songs, each with more energy than the last. And we gave them all some prizes and chocolates for all the effort they put up.
As one of my colleagues rightly put it, it was meant for us to 'IMPACT' their lives but they ended up impacting ours!
It was such a fulfilling experience, and I have to thank D for giving me this because otherwise I would have only found the easiest way out to social service viz some more online donations.
And so never having known how it feels to actually provide your services to the society, I ended up at a Royal English School in one of the narrow lanes of Brookfields. And no, as rich as the school name sounds to be and the location sounds like a rip from a hollywood flick, the school and the place were far from it.
A narrow little building housing classes 1 to 10 with a total of around 300 odd children from the so called lower to lower-middle strata of an Indian society.
Around 18 of us, with only a plan, a plan to bring joy into a day of these kids lives, marched into our respective classes.
I had no idea on how or what to do to keep 10-12 year old kids occupied, but from the moment I stepped in to when I got out, I had no trouble at all. The kids were so full of enthusiasm and vigor, that they filled up all the time with their laughter, antics, their innocent curiousness and the eagerness to showcase their talents. It was such joy to watch them play and perform. They din't need sophisticated toys or expensive gifts to make them happy, they just needed for someone to spend time with them, listen to them, play with them, encourage and appreciate them.
The day ended with the kids performing some group dances for us, and there was just no stopping them. They played to the tune of almost 10 songs, each with more energy than the last. And we gave them all some prizes and chocolates for all the effort they put up.
As one of my colleagues rightly put it, it was meant for us to 'IMPACT' their lives but they ended up impacting ours!
It was such a fulfilling experience, and I have to thank D for giving me this because otherwise I would have only found the easiest way out to social service viz some more online donations.
