Initially I was unsure of my participation in the event as the travel workshop was happening and my return to Salem was on 09 Feb 2025. I wasn’t really willing to take up the pressure of running to the venue from the railway station. However, I couldn’t say no to the opportunity and my friend Anusha pushed me enough.
As I reached the venue, I realised most of the preparations were still pending. The food vendor cancelled at the last minute. Banana thorans (usually kept at the entrance) were not available. Many such altercations took place. But still we kept going because the pre-work was done – newspaper advertisements, YouTube promotions, Instagram influencers, WhatsApp promotions. As far as the food we had arranged for the event coordinators and volunteers, the order was given to another restaurant which does mass production of food on a usual basis.
The event began at 8.30 am. There was only one cloth banner to announce the venue. Banking on our efforts, I was introduced to eight school students. They were studying in that school itself. This school offers agriculture as a group in class 11 & 12 and these boys were from that group. After a quick introduction, they were given their tasks.
Two of them were in charge of the front gate, two others for the bike parking and two for car parking. The remaining two were at the registration desk. I took the responsibility of all over the venue to check on water, toilets, grievances, dustbins, etc., and checking on the volunteers at regular intervals. We chose to rotate ourselves to ensure everybody gets to do everything.
Post-lunch, these boys identified their strengths and stuck to the task they are best at. Throughout the event, we had 1200 vehicles that came in with a population of 5000. At any point, there was a floating population of 1000 people.
Working with these boys made me realise the importance and benefits of having a team to work with. To volunteer means taking up a task/ a responsibility without expecting anything in return and these kids were true volunteers that day. Towards the end of the day, I told them that we have to clear the garbage bins and pick the garbage thrown around in the food court and other value addition stalls. Looking slightly perplexed initially; they took the bag when I started picking the garbage. That moment made me realise the value of leading by example. After thorough cleaning, the boys gave the statistics of vehicles parked, number of people registered, number of garbage bags to be disposed of.
I thoroughly enjoyed the experience, despite my long train travel from Bhuj to Salem because of the energy these boys had. It was so infectious. I am truly grateful to my friends and family who encouraged me to take up this opportunity. I am also grateful to iVolunteer and JSW Foundation for creating such an environment where I had the freedom to explore and build networks in a very unconventional way.
iVolunteer Blog - everything about volunteering 