Volunesia Diaries – Apples, Balloons, Cakes And Dance – The ABCD Of Happiness!
This time, Harshita, a first-time Volunesian, shares how her experience at Volunesia, which she attended without having slept properly the night before, turned into something she is glad she did not miss.
I woke up in the morning not knowing my day was going to be filled with this overwhelming dose of positive energy. I saw and felt something so pure and mystical, that it has already begun to reflect in my life. They say happiness lies within, I’d rather quote ‘Happiness lies in all the beautiful small things that exist amidst us with nothing but absolute chastity’.
The Feeling Of Belongingness
It was my first day with this wonderful gathering at Volunesia. The moment I reached the place- Brindavan Tent School, I could hear the noisy enthusiastic kids all set to begin another one of their Saturdays with the volunteers they love spending time with. When I entered the tent, I was welcomed by fellow volunteers and the kids as though I was already a part of the family. Pranita, the co-founder of KnowYourStar introduced me to the idea behind this project. Her narration itself portrayed how close these children were to her! Ketki, a fellow volunteer told me about her days spent at Volunesia every Saturday and how happy she feels to meet these cheerful faces every weekend. The children had a glow on their faces that screamed their excitement more than their voices. How simply amazing these tiny human beings are, aren’t they?
Diving Into The Day’s Planned Activities
The activity that was planned for the day started with cheers and laughter echoing amidst the four walls but the impact was in a larger scale on each of us present there. In the first activity, kids were taught to measure their height using the height decal stuck on the wall. Students came in pairs of two and took each other’s heights. We taught them what the marks on their 15-cm scale meant, and soon we could see them measuring their fingers, each other’s head and what not! Talk about implementing theory in practical life!
The second activity was to blow the balloons we had for them and drawing on them. They had a blast in this activity in the most literal way possible. We could see the older kids effortlessly blowing and typing up the balloons, and then going around helping the younger kids to the same. They came up with the most fun decorations to do on the balloons with sketch pens and markers, and were not satisfied till they got a stamp of approval from each one of the volunteers!
Post that, we encouraged all the students, who were exhausted from all the balloon blowing activity, to settle down, and come up to the front one by one to display a skill. Some of them came up to sing, while some others danced. It was lovely to watch.
What Comes After Balloons? Cakes Of Course!
The final part of the day was the scrumptious massive 3-in-1 cake that was cut to celebrate Jaideep’s birthday.
Words won’t even begin to describe the emotions that flowed through me when I saw the kids jump with joy when they saw the treat in front of them nor the longest two minutes of silence they maintained knowing they had to be obedient to get the treat. When the piece of cake was finally theirs to savor, their joy knew no bounds. They cherished each bite of it with utmost delight, their eyes sparkling and dispersing ecstasy in their own way. That was the moment I’ll treasure for a lifetime!
The Closing Circle And The Close Shares
The day ended with the closing circle of volunteers, where we shared our experiences. I was amazed by how we all connected so well within these couple of hours that we spent together. I, being a newbie, was welcomed and treated with utmost closeness and kindness.
Manu, another Volunesian, quoted that this day for him was best described in two words- “blunt happiness”. He mentioned how whatever troubles and problems we have in our lives, when you come here you forget everything and just be happy, which is why coming to Volunesia is blunt happiness for him. Being happy when you’re with these kids comes easy! In a way, these two words summarized the day for us all.
I was also told about the other projects Team KYS is currently working on by Nandini, whose passion was infectious. Shashank, who was visiting the school for the first time, told us all how joyous this day had been to him and how just being amongst the kids made him happy. He was looking forward to see how he can contribute better the next time. Everyone had the same level of zest to bring about a change and it was well portrayed by them all through words inside the circle and actions outside of it!
Observing The Little Lessons From The Little Ones
The inquisitive nature of the kids is all it takes to make every day meaningful. There is so much potential in them that is struggling to come out and shine. All they need is a little push in the right direction. Encouragement, love, support and affection is what they need to discover the flair they have within. And Volunesia is doing its best to achieve this through dedication and passion. The children wanting to learn more and the volunteers willing to teach more; I must say this amalgam can do wonders, to an extent that volunteers who come to teach end up learning so much more!
Somehow, these miniature marvels became a part of me when I stepped out of the tent. Their gullible smiles and translucent laughter brightened my day. These small packets of joy can enlighten anyone’s life with the positive vibes they give out. I am not sure whether my intention to attend Volunesia will be to help the kids out or to help myself understand the meaning of life. Either way it’s a great feeling to give away love to these purest souls and be loved back unconditionally. I’m amazed by the work the volunteers at Volunesia have achieved so far. The volunteer group includes such high-spirited folks and it’s the team effort that has made the journey fruitful!
For me it’s always been about the little things. When I close my eyes and revisit the day, I see one of the students holding my hand when posing for a photograph. That bonding makes me realize it really is about the little things that sum up our life and makes it worth relishing! 🙂
Before Volunesia started this Saturday, some volunteers from the nearby residences came down with apples for all the kids, which they loved biting into, after washing their hands and the apple!
Enjoyed reading about this? Then you might like to read Lanternship Program – To Create And Nurture Servant Leaders. Registrations Open!
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