As a part of my CAS Trip, I visited Mokhamal, Dang. Throughout this journey, I learnt a lot of new things through activities I never even thought I would do and places I never thought I would visit. One of my most memorable experiences was visiting the little kids in their local school to understand the way they were given access to education, and the places they face struggle in. Socialising with the kids, and understanding more about how different their lives were truly made me realise the rights and wrongs of the way my life back home was.
Other than talking and socialising with the kids, I also did somethings that made me truly step out of my comfort zone. Doing these things, that I had never done before paved way for me to see myself do things I never thought I would. One of the things the things I did was help cut the vegetables, to prepare them further for the dinner we were going to serve the kids of another school.
Except for helping, I also engaged myself with things that the locals were quite fond of, such as warli painting. On a local’s home itself, I drew what I had seen around in the village and learnt about their way of living using warli art itself.
Learning Outcomes
This trip connected with ‘LO1: Recognize own strengths and work on areas for development’. I discovered that I am good at building connections with people and adapting quickly to new situations, which helped me interact with the children and locals comfortably. At the same time, I noticed that I need to work on being more confident in unfamiliar tasks, like cooking, where I relied heavily on guidance.
Moreover, this also connected with ‘LO2: Show that challenges have been attempted, acquiring new skills’, since engaged in activities I had never done before such as cooking for a large group, practicing Warli painting, and immersing myself in an entirely different lifestyle. These challenges helped me acquire practical and cultural skills while pushing me beyond my usual boundaries.
Other than LO2, I could also relate this with ‘LO4 : Show perseverance and commitment in CAS experience’. This is because during the enitre trip, there were a lot of times when I wanted to go back back home since this required me to step out of my comfort zone, once and again. Not only that, but being someone attatched to their room all day, it was difficult being outside of it continuosly for 7 days without any contact to my home.
This also tied with ‘LO5: Demonstrate skills and benefits of working collaboratively’, because many of the activities, such as preparing food for the children and engaging in cultural practices like Warli painting, required me to work with both my peers and the local community. By coordinating tasks and sharing responsibilities, I learned how collaboration can make service more impactful and enjoyable.
I could connect this trip strongly with ‘LO6: Demonstrate engagement with issues of global significance’, since it exposed me to the challenges of education inequality, especially in rural areas. By visiting local government schools, I was able to see firsthand how children in under-resourced communities struggle with limited facilities and opportunities compared to what I have access to back home. This is why we even got them extra supplies and donated lots of books and clothes. This made me more aware of the global issue of unequal access to quality education, which is a concern faced by many developing regions worldwide.
It also links to ‘LO7: Recognize and consider the ethics of choices and actions’, since my interactions and actions during the trip made me thing more carefully about the ethical responsibility we carry when engaging with local communities. Helping prepare food for the children and learning their cultural practices, such as Warli painting, made me realize the importance of respecting local traditions while contributing in ways that are meaningful rather than superficial. It made me reflect on my actions, whether in how I interact and what I say, have an imapct on others.
