Reflecting back on my fellowship journey, I feel I haven’t done enough. But I am not done yet.
As we go on with life, we go through different experiences. Most of them have been fulfilling for me, but some have been disheartening as well. I joined the fellowship to take a pause and be at peace with life. To reflect and learn from bad episodes and cherish good ones. And in the journey, to grow myself and explore different dimensions of life.
Thanks to iVolunteer, the fellowship gives the liberty to access the needs of the community, design your own project, and implement it. We have the luxury to fail and start again. It’s a social research opportunity. I used it fully to experiment not only with the project but with my personality as well.
I started with excitement and hesitation in September 2023. I was asked to go back and work in my own state, Uttar Pradesh, in the first month. Teachers said students at Ashram Shala are very naughty and don’t pay much attention to them. The school administration said to start the Digital Literacy Project in some other school. And there were hardly any good celebrations of national days.
During trainings, fellows learnt about Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) activities, Logical Framework Analysis (LFA), systems thinking, and design thinking etc. Spending time with diverse co-fellows belonging to different states of India was insightful.
Working at the grassroots level, I learnt that people still have selfish interests while being in the noble services. It would be nice to have people who don’t keep a sectarian mindset. It would be nice to have people with a humanistic approach – one with the values of socialism, secularism, and democratic values.
As I leave, Ashram Shala students get to enjoy fun-filled functions. Teachers drafted a plan to continue the digital literacy project after I leave. Teachers stepped forward to integrate my self-development project with their subject material. And lastly, people said not to leave Mumbai – if possible, find a job here.
Personally, I got a good time to read a lot of books. Writing blogs helped me to refine my thoughts. Now, I have a better understanding about different geographies and societies. I go as a better human being.
To the new explorers, I would urge you to go with a clean slate…
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