This year, I had the chance to take part in the Bal Mela, a community service event created as a CAS (Creativity, Activity, Service) experience and project. The program aims to provide a fun-filled day for poor students attending government schools. As an IB DP student, meeting CAS criteria is critical, but the Bal Mela proved to be much more than that. It was a touching encounter that had a lasting impact on both me and underprivileged children.
LO 1 :- Identify own strengths and develop areas for growth
After participating in many events as a volunteer and student in charge, I was able to efficiently organize my time and keep track of each activity that was under my supervision as well as the one that I was leading. This enabled me to verify that none of the games assigned to me encountered any issues such as resource requirements, medical treatment if necessary, or discipline.
LO 2 :- Demonstrate that challenges have been undertaken, developing new skills
Facilitating the game for these children was difficult enough, but communicating with them proved to be far more difficult. I and the other volunteers, all three of us, could not speak the language in which they were comfortable conversing, making it difficult for us to explain the game’s rules to them; we had to seek assistance from their school’s instructors. It was tough for us to administer the activities since we had to work with the youngsters based on their needs and requests. However, working for the Bal Mela allowed me to improve my leadership and communication abilities, which will benefit me in the future.
LO 5 :- Demonstrate skills and benefits of working collaboratively
I was engaging in an activity that needed me to collaborate with my other two volunteers as well as with the kids. I and the other two volunteers had split our responsibilities evenly to ensure that the game ran smoothly and that our lack of teamwork did not impede the children who were playing the game with great excitement. We needed to ensure that there were no breaks that would disturb the game’s pace. We, as volunteers, were also taking turns in the allocated responsibilities to keep things fresh for us.
LO 6 :- Engagement with issues of global significance
Concerns regarding insufficient facilities and underdevelopment among low-income children are developing globally. To solve this issue, the Bal Mela event allows low-income children to thrive holistically via games, athletics, and the arts. These activities also teach youngsters essential life values like teamwork, communication, and creativity.
The entire event served as a powerful reminder of the value of community service. It allowed me to venture outside of my comfort zone and interact with people less fortunate. It was extremely touching to see the children’s faces light up with excitement as they played the games. It emphasized the importance of modest acts of kindness and their good influence on others. The Bal Mela absolutely met my CAS expectations in terms of activities and service. But, more significantly, it established in me a feeling of social duty and a desire to continue giving back to my community. I feel that as IB DP students, we have a unique chance to apply our talents and knowledge to positively impact the world around us. The Bal Mela was a little start in that direction, and I intend to take part in many more similar projects in the future.
