An Enthralling Experience

On the 8th October 2016, our class, 4B went for our Social Service Visit to the ‘B.J. Home for Children’ in Matunga. We were accompanied by a few teachers, including our class teacher. We went in our school bus and had lots of fun relishing our snacks. It was a short drive of 20 minutes. A towering banyan tree caught my eye as soon as I entered the gate.

 

As we reached there, we were divided into two groups and were taken on a tour of the orphanage. We observed the girls’ and boys’ dormitories, lockers, activity room, kitchen, study area, etc. I noticed that they did all their chores themselves. The rooms were hygienic and well maintained. Their clothes were neatly arranged on the drying line. After that, we saw a lovely playground, which looked fun to play in. I could hear the children having fun, from above. I too wanted to be there and partake in the fun. It looked quite a nice place to live in. However the place was different from what I had imagined. I imagined a sleep-over every night, playing with your friends when you wished, sharing secrets and food with your friends and many other fun activities. However. Their matron told us that they were bound by a rigid time-table; that included work, study, play and fun activities.

 

After that we headed straight for their multi-purpose hall, which they used for various activities. Four children from our class and a couple of children from the orphanage, made groups and sat together to carry out an art and craft activity, which was organized by our school art teacher. We gave them two different coloured pieces of plasticine and helped them make ‘diyas’ in their own creative way, for the upcoming festive season. We had lots of fun guiding them with the activity and seeing the creative side of the children, which only goes to show that “Creativity is a contagious passion.” We had carried along all the craft material with us, including glitter powder and sequins.

 

After that, my fellow friends and I performed a few songs for them, like ‘Sare Jahan Se Acha’, ‘Aa chal Ke Tujhe’, ‘Happy’ and other tunes. The kids joined us, merrily singing along and dancing. Later few gymnasts of our class performed for everyone. The children from the orphanage stared in awe. And now it was their turn. The kids from the orphanage made pyramid formations that were awesome, followed by dances on Marathi Folk Songs. The atmosphere was one of revelry. It was an enthralling experience and sadly we had exhausted the two hours which were assigned for our visit. We ended our day by doing ‘Garba’ dance in one large group. Surprisingly our teachers joined in too. As a friendly gesture, a few kids from the orphanage presented us with roses. We were touched by their beautiful cards wishing us ‘Happy Dussehra’.

 

 

I think this visit taught us that we should be grateful for what we have and always be happy to share our resources with the ones who need it more than us. While leaving we were all in tears and promised each other, that we would soon meet again.

 

 

Sara Wadhawan
4B