Community Service: A Deeper Meaning
“No candle loses its light while lighting another candle. Never stop sharing, caring and helping others, because it makes our life more meaningful”- Anonymous.
As teachers we have a unique opportunity to touch the lives of others. It has rightly been said that teaching is a service. All of us at school, knowingly or unknowingly are in the service of doing good. Service is something we participate without pity or preconception, but with a completely open mind and open heart, in entirety. In this way we also light the candles called ‘students’ who go into the society continuing to light the lives of many other people.
But for the people at large, when we ask about community service, the first few things that would site are activities such as cleaning dirty roads, helping the poor, volunteering in old age homes, orphanages, homes for the disabled, etc. Indeed, these are integral to contributing to the lives of others. They not only make us do good, but also inspire others to do the same.
However, there is so much more to Community Service!! And, this is the best part about it.
Community service is not just about the general public donating clothes or food for the poor, or about corporate companies donating large sums of money to a good cause. It is also about what we can do as day-to-day activities to help and serve the people around us, or the people we know. Let me give you an example- did you just help your neighbour’s child with her Mathematics homework? If you did, congratulations! You just participated in community service! The cause can be big or small, but if there is an effort to make someone’s life better in any way possible, you have contributed to community service and you should be proud of it.
“All good habits begin at home” they say, which aptly fits this topic. From an early age, if a child is ‘not’ taught to help in sharing household chores, help peers get through tough times, or even study for exams in groups, he/she will grow up to be indifferent towards some of society’s pressing issues, and would not care to help anyone voluntarily.
Therefore, community service is a habit that must be inculcated in a very young age, because the small contributions that we make when we are young, will make us more sympathetic and helpful towards society. Let us do things just to see someone smile. Because when we do it, they will do the same to others. Community service is not something we do out of force, and should not be done in that way. It is something that comes from within; it is the deep and heartfelt desire to make a change.
I can relate very well with the concept of ‘all good habits begin at home’. I was not an aesthetically pleasing teacher candidate when I decided to take up this work, but I promised myself to become the best teacher I can be. This was due to the work ethic instilled in me by my grandfather, also a teacher and a pastor. And, as I started exploring this profession, I started seeing how teaching involves serving the community by educating its children, our next generation. It is not limited to academics, but encompasses role modeling and providing opportunities to children to be true to oneself and to do the right thing at all times.
This to me is ‘success’ and I have often used real-life experiences (especially my own) to help children think about this important value system and to include it in their lives too. To conclude, service has helped expand my worldview, develop empathy and leadership skills, and realize how actions can have a positive impact. I would like to continue to be that candle that will light up many other candles and this has no end but will live on forever, even after me.
By Ms. Asha Doris, Academic Coordinator, Ekya BTM
Deep Dives with Shriram
Who Am I? #introduction
M.V. Shriram is my name;
I play football which is my favourite game.
I am very tidy and clean;
please don’t think to others I am mean.
I love games a lot,
Always stay happy is my thought.
I talk with people gently,
I am also strong mentally.
With a sandwich I like sauce,
with my friends, I don’t act like a boss.
I love my family and friends;
I know learning is the only thing that never ends.
Football – #Coolgame
Football is my favourite game,
because in football I can gain a big name.
In future if I become a footballer I would like to play for Barcelona,
I want to be a great footballer like Maradona.
My favourite footballers are Christiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi,
for a good vacation I would like to visit New Jersey.
In football it doesn’t matter if you are very rich and wealthy,
it matters about you being healthy.
I would first try to get selected in the Indian team,
and then I would like to go for other schemes.
When I become a famous footballer others would look at me and say “M V SHRIRAM PRAJWAL is his name,”
and “football is his passion and favourite game.”
Nature – #OurFuture
I want everybody to not destroy nature;
instead I want the world to be full of greenery in future.
I would like small children to not only play with toys and play stations,
but also plant trees and increase afforestation.
I want the Earth to be the best place in the whole space,
decreasing the amount of greenhouse gasses from destroying nature is a big case.
We should not only spend all of our time in playing and studies;
we should also spend time with nature who is our permanent buddy.
Due to pollution there is a large amount of greenhouse gasses releasing,
there are lot of people in the world who are coughing and sneezing.
The nature is getting destroyed like strong wind blowing,
so we all should contribute to save the world from polluting.
Friends for life - #Bestfriends
Best friends are those who always stick till the end;
they are like a straight line which will never bend.
Best friends are those who play with you from the heart,
they can never be drawn apart.
True friends are not those who are from your religion or caste,
true friends are those who will stay with you till the last.
Friends aren’t those who help you move a cart,
Friends are like the different colours which blend and form a beautiful art.
India - #Beautifulsubcontinent
India is a land full of greenery;
there are many beaches here which have very good scenery.
India is a home to many rivers;
it is a great land which is cultivated by farmers.
As I come from the land of spices,
Indians are particularly good at handling crisis.
The protectors of India are the Indian Army, Navy and Air Force;
the borders of our country, they constantly reinforce.
India is a country which is independent,
for Asia, India is like a very expensive pendent.
Narendra Modi Ji is India’s prime minister;
India is a country which is well governed and administered.
In Hindi, we call the Indian Flag as Tiranga;
from the Himalayas flows the holy river Ganga.
You can see the Almighty being worshipped by all
either in temple, mosque, church or gurudwara.
Superstitions are not uncommon in this location;
you don’t want to break the laws of the Indian constitution!
A land filled with various beliefs, cultures and languages spoken,
to my country and to my people, I pledge my devotion.
News flash – #COVID 19
Covid 19 is a virus that kills people’s immunity;
we can beat this virus by staying at home and increase unity,
if the virus has affected you make sure you don’t go in the community.
Everyone is suffering from this virus,
Wearing a mask should be your only focus.
We need to stay at home and make ourselves immune,
small children will be happy as they can sit at home and watch cartoon.
We should be thankful to the doctors and nurses for their treatment;
they can’t live in their own house, neither on the floors nor in the basement.
All doctors and scientists are trying to find the vaccine;
all elders can sit at home and read a newspaper or magazine.We shouldn’t go out in public places even if we are very brave,
so I request all of you to stay home and stay safe.
By, Sriram Prajwal M.V, Grade 5, EJPN
Palate Dairies
It is 3 a.m. and there is the sound of the mixer running and the whistle of the cooker, and I’m sure Manjula aunty (my next house neighbor since my childhood) will surely ask my mom tomorrow, and perhaps gossip with others too!
The rumbling in the stomach increases as the smell of the spicy chilies and asafetida enters the nose lining. Yes, it’s me hungry at this unusual hour of the night as I did not have my dinner owing to my anger. You ask me why the anger? I had to attend a seminar along with my friend and after the event, we decided to sum up the result of the seminar before reaching home. I reached a little above my prescribed time of return and had to hear an earful from my mother. I was angry and as usual, showed it up on the food.
Lesson learned: Do Not Show Your Anger on Food, you are the one who will end up starving and you pretty well know you cannot stay in this condition even an hour more than your prescribed lunch or dinner time!
Talking about lunch or meals at school reminds me and takes me back to a time when we used to enjoy these short breaks outside the classrooms, chit-chatting, discussing what our moms cook the best, the pot lucks, and sharing or exchanging of lunch boxes. Lunchtime also teaches children the love for food, the appreciation of food, and the hard work that goes on in the preparation of food. Though as children we do not express our gratitude towards food in such direct ways, when we finish our lunch and reach home with empty boxes, our mothers know “we loved the food.
Here is an incident I like to share:
Sharing lunch was a usual practice and if ever my lunch box was packed with Akki poori then I for sure had to exchange it with Shreya, my best buddy from school. So one afternoon on this ‘lunch exchange day’ without thinking twice I opened Shreya’s box and started eating. And she went, “Madhuri! No…no …..stop eating …...it is chicken fried rice”. “Aiyooooooooooooo …. what should I do now?” This is how I shrieked!!
There was a great sense of guilt as I reached home but somehow I gathered the courage to confess it to mom. “Amma you know by my mistake I ate chicken today.” Fireworks.. dum dum dum dum .. started bursting all over the house and every nook and corner witnessed my mother’s anger. She even made it a point to keep me out of the house for several hours.
Now, Amma loves it when we complete our lunch and feels extremely happy about it. But, she is also particular in reminding us what she expects us to eat from time to time. That’s my Amma!
Ha! Ha! Ha! all of these memories seem so nice to date. Food has and will always be an integral aspect of my conversations. I have observed that food is also a topic that nobody refuses to talk about. My friends and I spend quality time every Saturday at breakfast huddles. For this to happen, we make sure to complete the assigned work within the breakfast hour and sit peacefully to discuss the various recipes, our choice of food, and what our family members, esp. our husbands and children like having. This, in turn, has helped us in bonding better and also in understanding each other in a food way :)
I conclude by saying that eating with the family, friends or loved ones brings us together. Through this, we can share our culture and heritage and give each other nourishment too! Coming together and sharing a meal is the most secular and harmonious thing in almost every place in the world. It unites and strengthens community bonds and maintains a common identity among a group of people.
There ends my diary for the day!
Happy Eating!!
By, Madhuri.V. Iyer, CCA Coordinator, Ekya BTM
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