The first meeting with the community is a day
which marks the true beginning of every SIFE, now Enactus member's journey.
Recollecting mine, I was looking forward
to it with the nerves of a frightened kitten (I fervently hoped that I didn’t
squeak!). The D-day finally dawned and my project, being Life on Wheels, there
wasn’t any long journey to calm myself with.
The rickshaw pullers were supposed
to be in the college campus by 4:00pm and to my amazement the parking area was
almost full by 4:10pm, the turnout was very encouraging. They were initially
addressed by our Seniors, who introduced us, the oh-so-innocent Freshers……….
And then we were on our own. It was SHOWTIME!
My nervousness heightened, what was I even
going to say?
I finally gathered the courage to take a peek and was greeted by a
group of smiling faces, looking at us with trustful eyes. Then it struck me,
these were real people with real problems, not a school project which could be
finished and forgotten. And what was more overwhelming was that we were doing
real work, which would have a positive impact on their lives and families.
There was an instant feeling of ‘rightness’, this was where I always wanted to
be.
The rickshaw bhaiyas, as people were fun and
cheerful and put us at ease instantly. We got
the opportunity to interact with all of them individually. They were highly
amused by our lack of knowledge in Hindi numbers, to our extreme embarrassment
(NOTE: a tute needs to be arranged ASAP for us illiterates). And we were
surprised by their open and friendly nature, their simple approach to life. It
was a very refreshing experience and there was so much to learn too.
Three hours later, we were left with completed targets and an experience which changed our lives. The very
thought that we could help make a difference in anyone’s life was very
stimulating. The initial anxiety was replaced by a pleasant sense of
my-ness…. and from that day on, I have worked with new-found enthusiasm for my community, for my society.
- Akanksha Sinha
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