Community Observation

Volunteering at a camp for serving food to the homeless children was a great opportunity. The camp was organized by a not for profit organization and gave an opportunity to high school students to volunteer. They do not approach the students directly, they do it through high school. The camp took place in a small village, about two hundred miles far from my city. The camps' duration was for three consecutive days. It was one of the greatest experience of my life, I learned many new things and values, met with different people, explored new places and observed some different cultures.

It was just before the winter break, my high school made the announcement about the camp and only seniors could participate for the camp. There was a limit of

twenty-five students to be selected for the camp. Five students from each of the sections had the opportunity to participate. At first, I did not give much importance to it but after the deadline came closer and no one from my section was participating. At that point I thought it can be a great source for doing something good for the community. It was far better than just sitting at home and playing video games and chatting with friends. I convinced four of my friends to participate also. Although, I had to put a little effort in convincing them by explaining them the advantages of the program. The most important point that helped me convincing them and even myself was that it will make a good impression on our resume and it can advance our career opportunities. In fact, according to Jeanne Segal, Ph.D., Editorial Director (2016), Volunteering can help a person to meet people in their field and gain experience in their area of interest. She further explains his point by stating that to develop certain skills like teamwork, communication, problem solving, project planning, task management, and organization, volunteering can prove out to be a great opportunity. The next day, I filled out the forms and submit it to the in charge of the program. There was an informational session just about a week before the camp regarding the specific details about the camp. They told us about the essential things to take with us on the camp.
On the first day of the camp I realized that the serving food is not my only responsibility during the camp.

There was a total of like fifty children. There were lot of other things needed to be done before and after the food was served. As soon as we woke up in the morning, we had to prepare for the rest of the day. Food was to be served three times a day; breakfast, lunch and dinner. The breakfast was served around 8:30 am and finish around 10:30 am. The lunch was served at 12:30 pm and finish around 2:30pm. The last portion, dinner will start at 6:30 pm and finish around 8:30 pm. Every person in the serving team can volunteer for only two shifts a day. For example, if a person volunteers for breakfast and lunch, he or she cannot volunteer for dinner. I volunteered for breakfast and dinner for all the three days because after breakfast, I had some time to rest or explore some other things around there. There are many things needed to done before and after the food is served. Some of the duties which are needed to be performed were like, arranging the table and chairs, cleaning the carpet, distributing the plates and bowls, and passing the napkins to each child. Once they have settled, we start serving the food. After serving, we must stand there and ensure that they have enough quantity of everything. For instance, if a child needs an extra bread or ketchup or water. Subsequently, once they are finished eating, we had to trash the plates and clean up the

place.
I experienced different kinds of living circumstances and explored some different places, which I did not came across throughout my life.

First, there was no bed available for us to sleep. One comforter was given to each student to sleep. I had a hard time adjusting sleeping without the bed. I was awake till three in the morning the first night of the camp because I was not used to this sleeping manner. Although, the next night I did not have to struggle a lot to sleep. One of my friends couldn’t sleep all of the three nights. We ate the same food which was prepared for the children. None of the dishes were my favorite but there was no other choice available there, I have to eat that only. In the morning, to take a shower one has to stand in a line because enough bathrooms are not available for all to take the shower at one time. Consequently, the amount of hot water was also limited, one cannot take a shower for a very long time. Out of all the things I disliked waking up 6:00 am in the morning. This is the saddest thing to do, when the vacations are going on. Although, I was able to explore more by waking up early and volunteer for the breakfast and lunch shifts. I saw lot of ancient sculptures and monuments and learned about history and culture. In future, if I have the opportunity to volunteer abroad, I would love to do something like that and explore more places. Although, according to wrote Prof Richter, executive director, South Africa-based Human Sciences Research

Council (2010), volunteering can provide young students a great and enhancing experience but the academics have said that volunteering abroad has done more harm than good. She further states, the reason behind this is that the student who volunteered abroad can undermine local workers and increase the victims of poverty.
The organizers arranged for some on camp activities for the entertainment of the students. One of the activities was campfire, where all students had the opportunity to engage with each other. Students were friendly and engaging with each other but some of them were little shy too. I met some new students from different schools who were interested in applying for the same major as me for college. I obtained some ideas from them about what to look in a college before applying and which are some of the great colleges to apply that fit into my budget. Also, I engaged with the chief accountant of the organization, who gave me lot of information about how to get an internship in your senior year of college or after graduation. He also told me to join different clubs in college to enhance my college resume. We played some games and there was some prize for the ones who came 1st, 2nd and 3rd. Although, I did not win any prize but had lot of fun engaging with others. Overall it was a great opportunity to make some new friends for life. In fact, according to Rita Altman, R.N. Senior Vice President, Memory Care & Program Services (2013), volunteering helps people make some new and good friends. She also states that volunteering can provide a great opportunity to increase the mind power and social engagement with people.
My overall experience on the whole camp was phenomenal. I learned how to be independent and do all the work on my own. I got a head start how does it feel like to live away from family. My perspective about life changed a lot after this camp, I thought I have many problems but after coming here I think my problem is nowhere as close to these children. At least I have my parents to support me but they don’t have anyone. I also learned to adjust and live in the extreme conditions. I made some new and good friends and met with nice and interesting people. Volunteering involves lot of work and commitment but the happiness and joy one see’s after providing the service, it makes everything worth doing.