Self-reflections
An ode to the resolute spirits
Why is volunteering important for personal growth?
If you work in a decent-sized corporate, you are likely to receive few CSR emails asking for volunteers. In one such email, I found the opportunity to work with Team Everest. I volunteered for their ‘Speak Out’ program wherein I worked with a student to improve her communication skills. Once we sign up for the program, post volunteer orientation, every volunteer is tagged with one student, who will teach using a curriculum shared by Team Everest.
Volunteering efforts that require me to teach have always appealed to me. We not only get the chance to impart knowledge but also learn and communicate with a different stratum of society. To be able to work on someone’s communication skills, invariably, improves our own skills, making the whole experience synergistic.
It was a very seamless and well-organized program. Orientation gave us an overview of the NGO and the program specifics. They liaised and shared my details with the student and vice versa. The material to cover in each session was also provided. All I had to do, was ring up the student at the decided time, discuss the material as per session number and record the time and attendance in the provided link.
I got acquainted with my assigned student in the first icebreaker session. We decided upon a time to interact based on our schedules and discussed the approach for the sessions. Undoubtedly, she turned out to be a very hard-working individual. To put it in perspective, her day starts at the crack of dawn around 6 am. After classes and barely an hour of break, she goes on to do her part-time job that extends till late at night. From there, she travels via bus and reaches home around 10 pm, and then classes with me being the last activity (hopefully) for the day. Needless to say, it was a super hectic schedule for her with little wiggle room to even relax for a bit.
To top it all, her enthusiasm and energy on the call were, as if her day is just getting started. It was an honor to witness such admirable discipline and determination. Luckily for me, she had a good enough hold on grammar and needed some polishing on perfect tenses and sentence structures.
One of my favorite activities within a session was discussing the pros and cons of a given topic. One such topic was — ‘Education Industry is a business’. Whilst I expected her to speak or complain about rising fees, she mentioned how government schools are at a disadvantage as they received only 2GB monthly data when COVID hit whereas private schools got twice or more. It was such a revelation. Sitting in the comfort of our homes, privileged enough to stock up on supplies, with access to 100s of GB worth of data to entertain ourselves, it was a humbling fact to be aware of someone’s struggle with access to knowledge. One other instance worth mentioning was where the activity was to write 200 words on the scenario — ‘You are blindfolded and led through some woods. Describe what you can hear, smell, feel and taste.’ This sentence is easy enough to understand. However, she took it as wood i.e. the material. Safe to say, it took me a while to think, articulate, and explain how ‘woods’ is different than ‘wood’.
It was a very humbling experience. I started off with the noble intention of giving back. However, along the way, it felt I got much more than I gave. We tend to get blindsided by our comfort and this experience was a jolt to that. Every instance wherein I got the slightest urge to procrastinate, or tired or postpone just because I didn’t have the energy after a long day at work, I would remember her struggles and push myself. I wholeheartedly cherished this experience. I felt I grew a little. I am not the kind of person, who is proactive when it comes to social causes and volunteering. I donate here and there and wonder whether my donations are reaching the intended recipients. But without a shred of doubt, I can say volunteering is an amazing opportunity. There’s absolutely nothing to lose.
To summarize —
- My communication skills got challenged wherein I had to articulate and explain things that I otherwise assumed everyone knew.
- My grammar got a revision.
- I got to be aware of a differing perspective on things from a person of different social strata.
- I became aware of the extent to which people struggle and push their limits which inevitably inspired me immensely.
- I felt utterly grateful for my upbringing, opportunities and humbled by the whole experience.
And to top it off, I ended up contributing and supporting a cause.
