#TalesoftheTribe: 100 hours of Community Service and more!
What started out for me as a college mandated 100 hour community outreach program almost instantaneously blossomed into one of the most amazing and gratifying experiences of my life. I started volunteering with TribesforGood originally to assist with the “I have a doubt ” campaign that required students who were willing to tutor and assist kids from grades 8 through 10 in Maths and Science.
Have you ever been called ‘didi’ or ‘bhaiya’ before? Or have someone genuinely ask you a question and wait expectantly for you to have the correct answer, and just take your word for it? The feeling is something that can not be put into the right words. It is a huge responsibility, yet at the same time so innately satisfying that for that moment nothing else really matters and you feel as if you could withstand those million butterflies in your stomach forever if it meant even one kid was learning something new. During my time with TribesForGOOD I was even graced with the opportunity for conducting Conversational English classes with a bunch of girls from Kshamata our partner NGO, in an attempt to add one more skill to their arsenal. I can positively say that these classes were the highlight of my day. Interacting with them made me learn something new every time and their energy was nothing short of infectious. You realise that answering doubts someone else has allows you to perceive the problem from a different angle, see flaws and inaccuracies you hadn’t noticed before, and force you to push through, apply yourself differently and come up with creative solutions that almost always betters your own understanding of the matter at hand.
Apart from these I was also given the chance to work on the “digital and financial literacy” campaign, that focused on curating and compiling information on government schemes and aids in an attempt to raise awareness and foster knowledge regarding their availability and accessibility. Further I also aided in Project “Vigyaan” that worked on creating audio-visual books in Hindi and English covering integral concepts from STEM subjects in engaging narratives. Having the time and dedication to take on more work, I was also assigned work to write and edit articles and blog spots and help in ideation for social media content. Overall, I was exposed to an environment that stimulated growth in all aspects of me, be it social, emotional or mental. The work made me learn so many new things about myself, and even relearn a lot that I had forgotten I had in me. Work was long, tiring and intimidating, but it kept pushing me to be better and for that I will be eternally grateful.
Here I do need to mention, all of this was only possible because TribesForGood allowed for a safe space to learn, explore and grow. I was offered no opposition or restrictions about how I wanted to work, or anything of the sort. I was always provided the freedom to make mistakes and constantly guided on how to correct them. They say there are things in life that change you, shape you, make you who you are, and this I promise you is one of them.
And this is just the tip of the iceberg. If you found our work interesting, log on to www.tribesforgood.com or find us on social media to know more, and reach out, because believe me the world could use a bit of reaching out.
Author: Anushka Sanjay,
