An experience on Bakul’s Day of Service : A Day dedicated to Humanity

Surfing through my WhatsApp messages last night, I came across a message in my WhatsApp group : DOS – 2017 (Patia Region). It was a notification from a fellow Bakul member stating that the first Bakul Day of Service for 2018 was scheduled on March 25, 2018 (held on last Sunday of March) and anybody could volunteer. This brought back a plethora of memories from the last Day of Service that I attended in Bhubaneswar, during the Joy of Giving Week on October 2, 2017.

For a beginner’s information, the day of service (DOS) is celebrated across India and worldwide to promote the spirit of social service and provide a platform for volunteers to contribute to society. Every year, this event is conducted by Bakul Foundation. Last year, when I was in India, I got an email from Bakul, seeking for volunteers for the DOS to be conducted on October 2. Along with few of my colleagues, I immediately registered for the program. Right then, I had registered just to get an experience of volunteering for a social cause. Little did I realise that the experience would give me a new perspective of life!

The organisers from Bakul formed a WhatsApp group and we started coordinating on the plan for the event. We were supposed to reach a slum area named Nilapadiya Basti, near Damana Square for the Day of Service. The event itinerary consisted of an interactive and educational session with kids, a session on handicrafts, followed by distribution of food packets and a celebrity performance. We reached there sharp on time and the event organisers immediately took over. On reaching that venue, I realised that the kids were eagerly waiting for us. There was an air of excitement in the area and the inhabitants looked quite intrigued by our presence. The lanes and bylanes navigated and defined the heart of the slum. Walking through those narrow lanes – not more than the gaps between houses and poorly paved, we reached a common area facing the slum classroom and surrounded by houses on all sides.

Initially we had planned to assemble all the kids and get them seated inside their classroom. I took a look at the classroom then – it was a dingy little room, with hardly any windows for ventilation. I was wondering how they managed to teach those kids there, without electricity. It was almost dark inside, even during daytime. Soon, we decided to begin our sessions out in the open courtyard of the classroom. The proactiveness of the kids was worth viewing, when they were asked for a tarpaulin to be arranged which could be spread out on the ground for everybody to sit down. From nowhere, they immediately dragged a tarpaulin cloth across the ground, and settled down for the interactive session to begin. A very interactive story-telling session was then conducted by the organisers, which included beautiful narrations of stories ending with teachings on the moral of each story. There were live demonstrations on each narration, to make it easier for the children to understand. This was followed by group activities and games conducted for all the kids to participate. My favourite part was the next art and craft session where the children were taught to make paper caps – all the volunteers and organisers participated in that session and it was a wonderful experience indeed! The last leg of the event was a performance by celebrities from the Odia entertainment industry and distribution of food packets and gifts to the children.

My key takeaways from DOS – 2017 :

1. Staying in the confines of our air conditioned homes, perhaps we don’t realise the difficulties of a household without electricity. We conducted hour-long sessions that day without electricity, the classroom was dark and without any ventilation. Deplorable conditions indeed! After all, the least that people deserve in a progressive country like ours, is a 24-hour supply of electricity.
2. The kids were more bothered about the food packets and gifts distributed at the end of the event. It was no doubt an unruly crowd, but who’s exactly responsible for such an upbringing? They were mere children – proper training and education can definitely groom them for future. Don’t they deserve the same as I do? This question still bothers me a bit today.
3. In one of the group activities, I noticed a very queer behaviour of one 12-year old boy. He hesitated to hold hands of any female volunteer, during an activity where the group had to form a circle. After changing places, he even denied to stand in a group with girls of his own age group and neighbourhood. I overheard him stating that he’s not going to interact with girls in any way, because that was ethically wrong and below his standards. I was appalled at the mindset of such a young boy. That gave me a reality check on the prevalent issues of gender gap and gender discrimination in our country. What can change their thought process?
4. Even after receiving their respective gifts, there were children who resorted to lying and dishonesty to grab extra packets. Was it their need? Were they asked to do that by their elders? Were they just being children?

A lot of questions still remain unanswered!

That environment was different indeed and took an emotional toll on me that day. There’s so much to do for the upliftment of our society and for the sake of humanity. Small steps in our own ways, would definitely make a difference. I would like to urge people to come forward and do their bit for the betterment of the society. It will surely improve everyone’s quality of life. The spark in those children’s eyes, while they danced their hearts away, had a message loud and clear – “With the right guidance, every child has a promising future”. Children ARE the future, after all.

I wish the Bakul team success on this year’s Day of Service as well!