Service Action Proposal Reflection
When developing this proposal, it had a special meaning for me because I have disabled relatives that have done amazing things in their lives yet people choose to put them down. One of my cousins is a Paralympic swimmer and has won a bronze medal at the Paralympics. These big things such as obtaining an Olympic medal are undermined by their disabilities. I have volunteered at events held by the Anuraag foundation before and it’s almost like a big family. They all share a common purpose and work hard to give back to these people that have been pushed away by society. Their mission is my mission as well and it’s important that these kids get the attention that they deserve.
When going through the thought process of deciding what I wanted to do, I didn’t think it definitely struck a chord in me. As stated previously, I have been volunteering with this foundation for so long and I know that their mission is pure. They truly do believe in giving back to society. The drive to help these kids is palpable and contagious amongst the volunteers. This is why the Anuraag Foundation has been successful and should receive more attention and I know that a service action like mine will do so.
I always have felt that disabled kids should receive a good education because it’s important that they try to live as normal of a life as possible. These are human beings and I think my views have been influenced by how I see my cousins succeed as well as seeing how happy parents are with their child. Even though they are different they shouldn’t be alienated by society and parents shouldn’t have to feel helpless when thinking about their child’s future. Talking with Mr. Sagili also gave me a new perspective on what kids deal within India and how life for those that have the means should be about helping those that don’t have anything.
I think that I used my communication skills the most through this process. I had to be able to get as much information out of Mr. Sagili to understand his mission and to also understand what it takes to set up all of these events. When giving my input in that conversation I was able to gain more out of his perspective by engaging with his views with my clear and concise thoughts.
My strength theme of adaptability was challenged because when coming up with this proposal I wasn’t sure what event I wanted to hold. The main area of concern for the Anuraag foundation is the funds. I needed to create a proposal that provided the funds for this foundation but also create an event that was new and included a bigger audience. In the end, I was able to come up with the talent show and all the different sales that the foundation can hold within it, but the process was tough.
The root causes of this issue are the lack of funding and attention. This problem never seems to be addressed here in America or in India, which is why this foundation is here today. People choose to put these disabled individuals to the side rather than trying to help create a better life for them.
Projects like mine are only successfully run by people that are truly passionate about the issue. It’s easy to tell when someone is not passionate about a topic by how they interact with others and how they conduct themselves at these events. These are the type of people that hinder the success of these events more than anything. The attention can be fixed by uploading more content online and by handing out flyers at popular grocery stores, but if a group of volunteers doesn’t have a drive the event will not be successful.
Through this process, I have learned about many issues that we have in this community. When interacting with other villagers and talking about their problems I was shocked about the lack of awareness. All of these issues need to be addressed because no one should ever feel left out when our society continues to grow and learn to be more accepting. I think I can bring this to the village through more conversations about what is important to everyone and seeing what individuals in society can do to help them.