Karma Kitchen was a student-led event organized by two of my friends. It is an event in which the students, teachers and staff come together to treat the support staff by making food for them and entertaining them. The aim of this event is to give the support staff the respect and appreciation for their hard work by cooking for them and serving them. Karma Kitchen volunteers were divided into 2 groups; kitchen management and decoration. The decoration team decorated the venues and the kitchen management team took up cooking and wiping the dishes and spoons. I volunteered for cooking because I am interested in it.

LO2: Demonstrate that challenges have been undertaken, developing new skills in the process.

I usually do not cook at home because I am still learning. As we all entered the kitchen we were given the task to wipe off lates. I wiped a lot of lates and realized I was getting bored so I looked for other work. the actual challenge was to keep working and not get bored. I was next given the task of cutting chillies which I first did not know how to do and then learnt it from one of the volunteers. After which the most challenging task came on hand which was to make puris. For at least 20 minutes I could not make a single round puri but finally, I made a good puri and I was really satisfied as I learnt a new skill.

We also had to do something for their entertainment so I was told to dance, I am a horrible dancer but I took up the challenge to learnt a few steps and dance in front of them. I found it really challenging to learn even simple steps but I somehow managed to perform in front of the support staff.

LO4: Show commitment and perseverance in CAS experience

When making the puris I nearly gave up. For a long time, I could not make a perfect round puri and it actually left me frustrated but my friends there motivated me to keep trying so I tried and finally, I was able to make a good presentable puri. After which also I faced challenges but I kept trying and we made puris for nearly 2 hours and as I got the trick I had a lot of fun. While cutting lemons I slit my finger by mistake but that did not stop me from trying to cut other veggies. I gave up on lemons as already a lot of people were cutting them and then I cut chillies. I also was helping in making the Mohan thal and making the flour smooth was very difficult. I had to continuously rub the flour to make it smooth which left me bored but I kept doing it and felt great when I was able to make the flour smooth.

LO5 : Demonstrate the skills and recognize the benefits of working collaboratively.

Working with good coordination was very important in this project. We had to divide the work so that everything could be done on time. We had limited time to wipe dishes, cut and cook. We had to make chole, puri, chaas, Mohan Thaal and salad in just 3 hours. We all divided the work by making teams and when we were done with our work we helped the other group.

Working collaboratively is not very difficult for me so I was able to synergize and I took the task given to me. I usually like to lead but while this event I was working under other people and I learnt that it is equally important to listen to others and do my work religiously.

My overall takeaway form thsi experience was that it is equally important to appreciate and respect the support staff as other school community. When we gave them the gratitude cards they seemed very happy and proud of their job which actually made my heart full. The sight of them enjoying throughly and feeling good made this event a success.