The rural immersion project allows students to become acquainted with the everyday routine, lifestyle, and even economy of the villagers while also learning about the government’s services provided to the villagers. On many days of the tour, students demonstrated their creativity, activity, and service. My friends and I were sent to a spot in Mokamal, Dang. The days in rural India were short yet difficult. We began working on day one, traveling to the field, chopping and gathering feed for farm animals, and learning about the locals’ everyday lives. The other days, we played with school children, went to the local market and learned about how people make a livelihood, learned about wildlife, explored nature, went hiking, and had a great time learning about methods to be creative in nature such as warli art, welding, and weaving.
The trip included all parts of CAS, Creativity, Activity, and Service:-
Creativity was explored by creating a basket out of bamboo sticks with the assistance of an experienced elder. To begin, he showed us youngsters how to make a bamboo basket and held our hands the entire time; with his assistance, we completed 1 basket and a half in a day.Participating in hikes, having enjoyable activities with school children, teaching them, and attempting to utilize machines and follow stuff locals do in their regular activities were all ways to explore activity.Service was demonstrated when we students prepared food for schoolchildren and even donated the items we brought to assist them survive the winter and continue their daily lives while their parents traveled to make a living.
Learning outcomes practiced throughout the experience:-
LO2:- Demonstrate that challenges have been undertaken, developing new skills in the process
Throughout the Rural Immersion project, I engaged in a variety of activities that proved to be tough. As a result of those experiences, I developed new skills that I had never had before. It was my first time working in the field, I had no prior experience with farm labor. I chopped the grain for the cattle, made a bale out of it, and stacked it with grit and determination, barely making it. It was my first time working with bamboo as a medium to make a piece of art, it was the first time in my life that I worked with a new material and on an unexplored project. Making a bamboo basket in the manner of weaving. Learning this new ability relieved some of my tension and made me happier, it became a means for me to relax in the future. This experience has taught me that taking on new challenges is vital because it allows us to develop previously undiscovered skills and shows us that we have more potential than we realize.
LO 4:- Show commitment to and perseverance in CAS experiences
The journey may have gone smoothly if it had just been a day or three days long, but it wasn’t. Having to come up to accomplish the identical chores repeatedly, almost like a ritual. Yes, on the third day, you are exhausted and want to return home; you have had enough “exposure”. But the thing about having to wake up on the fourth day is that it forces you to commit to the experience. This was also why the final few days seemed so much easier, because I had worked on and improved my perseverance.
LO6:- Demonstrate engagement with issues of global significance
Poverty is more than a lack of money, it is a violation of fundamental human rights and dignity. Millions of people throughout the world face insufficient access to food, water, healthcare, education, and sanitation. This not only causes great anguish, but it also hinders people’s ability to live healthy, fulfilling lives. During the Rural Immersion Project, my classmates and I raised around 15k rupees to buy clothes and other necessities for poor and underprivileged children. It was a great experience, and seeing the children’s smiles made the whole thing very joyful for every one of us.
LO7:- Recognize and consider the ethics of choices and actionsThis experience allowed me to become more grounded, as well as comprehend and appreciate my benefits. Through this experience, I realized that the privileges we have are not something that everyone has; even if they do not have these privileges, they have built themselves discipline to help them throughout their lives, such as waking up early to make bed, getting ready, eating and preparing food. And here I was, getting up late, failing to make my own bed, and failing to prepare my own meal. I don’t do half of what these kids do, yet I consider myself terrific. This experience has given me areas to work on and has also helped me develop numerous memories; it has become an experience that I would like to revisit, but in another setting and after some time has passed.
