Bal Mela is an event which is organized by our school and I was one of the heads of it. I’m counting this as my CAS project. Bal Mela was a student-led event held at Fountainhead School. My friends and I took the initiative of organizing the event the following year. For this event, underprivileged students were invited from all walks of life and community to celebrate and enjoy different sports, art, and games. They came from the nearby schools and villages to our school where we gave them a chance to learn a variety of activities. With this, they were also given exposure to a puppet show, giant wheel, inflated playhouse, and merry-go-round. This is an opportunity for us to provide space and resources for underprivileged children to enjoy the joys of childhood. Great opportunity to help distribute joy to those less privileged than us! I was interested to lead this as it made me feel glad and a sense of achievement arose when there were smiles at the faces of those innocent children who lack a lot of resources.
L1: Identify own strengths and develop areas for growth
Through managing this event I was able to identify my strengths. Since Bal Mela is been done in the school for many years, we had to find some activities which were unique, fun and were not been done in the previous years. Since I had a keen interest in researching and finding such creative activities, I helped my teammates to finish this work quickly. Though there were some parts where I couldn’t work so efficiently, but still put in my best efforts towards the event. It is very important to identify weaknesses but working upon it is a challenging task but I could accomplish it through the event because of my teammates and the main goal I had in mind of making the children happy.
L2: Demonstrate that challenges have been undertaken, developing new skills
There were many challenges we faced during the whole event. The main issue we faced was when the volunteers would not turn up, after registering themselves for the event. Due to this, we were short of volunteers, which would make it unmanageable for the other volunteers to handle. Also on the day of the event, one of the bus’s Tyre punctured on its way to pick up the volunteers from their stops. This delayed the timings of the bus, due to which many volunteers went back home and weren’t able to turn up for the event.
Hence at the end moment, we had to reshuffle everyone, which created confusion and which made things very hectic and difficult for us at the last moment , I and my team quickly reshuffled everyone and then delegated the work to the volunteers so that they can reach the assigned places. there were many problems but at last, we were able to overcome each and every problem and made this event a successful one
L3: Initiate and plan a CAS experience
We had to plan everything from the start, including the activities, the volunteers, the resources and the transportation. The event took place on 22nd February 2019 and we started our planning from 9 January 2019. In the first week, we coordinated with the teacher in charge to understand the requirements of the event and it can be conducted. Since all of us have been volunteering for Balmela for 3 years, we had the idea of how the event was organized. Within 15 days we were done with deciding 36 activities and we sent a volunteering form across our school so that people can volunteer in the event. We even went to all the classes from Grade 7 to 12 to inform them about the event and ask if they are interested in volunteering. We were able to get 96 people to volunteer for the event, which was a pretty great achievement. Side by side, we even created a resource list and ordered all the required materials. Till 5th February, we sent an mail to all the volunteers with their assigned position and responsibilities. We even kept a meeting where we briefed them about all the activities and made the required changes. Also, we had various meetings with the teacher in charge to discuss our progress. By 20th February, we were ready for the event. Although, we faced a lot of challenges on the day, it was a successful event as we could see huge smiles on the children’s faces. It gave us immense pleasure and made us feel good.
L4. Show perseverance and commitment in CAS experience.
When we had to face the problem of the bus, we had almost given up the hope of a successful event. But then the thought the giving happiness to the underprivileged brought back the motivation in us. We were committed to complete the event and give the kids what they deserve. We maintained this motivation even while we were planning for the event. The thought of doing something good made us committed to this experience.
L5 – Demonstrate the skills and recognize the benefits of working collaboratively
Since there were 3 of us, we divided the work according to the skill set, each of us perceive. This decreased a lot of burden from each person’s head, and also increased our efficiency. We were able to complete the task on time, with quality work.
The event was divided into 3 broad areas; the basket ball court, the assembly and the football ground. We all took one-one area and made sure to manage and keep a check on everything, in order to run the event smoothly. Since we had our phones with us, if we would have any problem, then immediately, we would call each other and would fix it.
L6 Demonstrate engagement with issues of global significance
Due to poverty, a lot of students from the government schools aren’t able to explore and enjoy such an event. Keeping this factor in mind, we made sure to keep the event free of cost for all the students. Our main motive was to serve the students and make that day a memorable one for each and every student, attending the Bal Mela. This event also made me realize, how grateful I am, as I have my parents who always take care of all my needs and demands. It made me realize how grateful I am, as I can afford all of these things and enjoy my life.
L7 – Recognize and consider the ethics of choice and actions
India has a lot of poverty, and in order to make this event successful, I made sure to be ethical and keep my moral values in mind, with my actions. In order to be ethical, I made sure to plan well and just didn’t do everything for the sake of doing it. Also, on the day, I made sure to check if everything was going well, and if the volunteers were treating all the children properly. I also kept my moral values in mind, and talked to everyone politely and treated everyone equally. I also made sure that it was the same in the event and followed by everyone.
This will be a memorable event where I could incorporate the skills previously learned, attributes and learner profiles into practice. I would surely take such opportunities in the future which helps in the betterment of society. Watching those children having happy and energizing faces had made my day. Sometimes such small things also affect you positively and hence make you learn and explore more about life.
