By Maariya Naim, Volunteer, Srinagar Chapter
On 23rd May 2019, the volunteers of Srinagar chapter carried out a community service activity at a local school and organized various activities for the children of different age groups.
“The main activity that we carried out was the Nature Scavenger Hunt, where the kids were divided into small groups and were headed by one senior. The groups were given a list of objects to find and bring back to the people in charge, and the winners were awarded small stationery kits. It was an activity based on cleanliness and awareness about the environment. Candies and Kung Fu Panda bands were also distributed among the children.
With older students, an English learning session was carried out. They were pretty excited because we’ve done this before on one of our previous visits too. Overall, it was a psychology-based activity and was fun. A storytelling session was planned for the tiny tots, and at the end of the day, all the kids were literally on top of volunteers. We also taught them how to make bookmarks and caterpillars out of scrap paper, which made them quite happy. Through the span of 3 hours that we spent there, the children got so attached to the volunteers, they didn’t let go of their arms or their hands.
We held a small meeting at the end of the event, and we discussed general problems regarding ideation and also communication. All the volunteers felt very inspired to work harder in the future. One thing a volunteer said, “I didn’t know I had signed up for this much amount of inner satisfaction and happiness when I signed up for AFS volunteerism, but I guess I’m in for a lifetime!”, which I’ll never forget. I guess it’s just true and all of us feel the same way!
Kudos to AFS! Lots of love from Srinagar.”