Tuesday, 16th April 2019

FINAL REFLECTION

Since my adventure with the kids in Lighthouse motor skills is over, I would like to reflect and draw conclusions on the experience. I can definitely say that this 8 months in the service changed me a lot, not only because I started being more informed about global issues of which I was not aware of, but also because of the happiness and the excitement the kids where bringing to every session made every Tuesday more joyful.

I had the opportunity to learn and practice my sign language and, in some cases, even the kids were teaching me some words. The bond created is really strong and I am really sad not to be able to continue my service experience until the end.

Every game we played and every moment we spent together impacted the children a lot. Because of their disabilities, most of them are not willing to open up with new people, especially because they are not used to have new people around them. Being able to communicate and create meaningful bonds with new people is a big challenge for them and the fact that, in the end, they overcame their initial difficulties made me super happy and proud of the work my group and I have done.

Also, I really appreciated the teamwork that I and the others were able to pursue throughout the all year. Even though just two were the people in charge of each session, the others were always there to support and help when needed. In addition, our communication was always efficient and we never came unprepared to the sessions.

To sum up, I can definitely say that the experience in Lighthouse has been eye-opening. I will definitely miss the kids and I will always remember their smile in my heart.

Gilda