CAS: Service semester reflection 


The service for the first semester is complete and finally I found time to concentrate and write a thoughtful and insightful reflection at this stage.

During the semester meetings our service group was doing many activities with children from SOS Village such as swimming, playing computer games, English writing, drawing etc.

To begin with, I would like to tell general information about the SOS Village organization and its activities. The first SOS Children’s Village was founded by Hermann Gmeiner in Tyrol, Austria, in 1949. As a child welfare worker, Gmeiner saw how children orphaned as a result of World War II suffered. Therefore, he decided to help them by building loving families and supportive communities which are SOS Children’s Villages. Later on these communities were established in many other countries all over the world in both developing and industrialized countries. One can read more about what this organization does and children sponsorship on the following website:


http://www.sos-childrensvillages.org/
 

As we study in Overseas School of Colombo, our service group including me worked with the children from Sri Lankan community.

I’ve loved these children during the half of a year service appointments even though we had them only once a week. These children are kind, intelligent and funny despite the fact that they had faced life situations which are difficult to accept and forego before they got to the SOS Village. I do really respect them.   

Regarding activities, swimming sessions were superior compared to all other activities because this was the only opportunity to access the swimming pool for them. Many of these children had gone to the pool for the first time ever. Consequently, most of them could not swim so we were teaching them… well at least we were trying to. I tried myself as a mentor with a group of children for the first time (new skills). I don’t have younger siblings only some cousins so I did not have that much experience with children. In addition, they did not speak English well though I do not speak perfect English either. Therefore that was an additional challenge for me – to explain and teach children primarily using gestures and face expressions only.

Work with children is very delicate and complex. You must be always attentive. Especially when the children are not usual. You have to choose your words carefully, behave in a particular way, control your emotions and do not pour out all your frustration onto them.

The last two sessions were special.  A week before the end of the semester we had a session devoted to the upcoming holidays. While children were swimming Charlie and me decorated the meeting room and prepared small gifts for them – Christmas bags full of sweets which we collected before. Moreover that day there was a birthday of two children, a boy and a girl, so we organized a cake and drinks for them and sang a birthday song. That was the last session in the school for this semester.

Sometime after we had organized a service fund raiser to get some money. We were making milkshakes in the school canteen. After what on the last session of the year we went to the Majestic City cinema to watch the new cartoon The Penguins from Madagascar. Children liked it as did we. Some of our service group members were even happier than them. I could see delight, surprise and joy on children’s faces. The stronger emotions I noticed amongst them when they got to an escalator. Some of them were very excited and others somewhat scared so we helped them to navigate through the escalator.

I consider that SOS Village has a global value and I am glad to be a part of it and help these children even in a small way. Perhaps in the future I will be able to do a lot more than now. This is definitely a small beginning of a big journey for me.
Birthdays are cutting the cake; Photo credit: Prerna Das

Boys are waiting for their portion of delicious birthday cake; Photo Credit: Prerna Das

Children are posing right after watching The Penguins from Madagascar  in Majestic City; Photo Credit:Prerna Das

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