After months of (somewhat) meticulous planning, we were ready to embark on our journey. All of us met at the airport at 9:15 am and soon went to our flight. We landed in Jaipur after 12 hours of travel and went straight to our hotel.

The next day, we went to the I-India office. We met with our local contact, Charu, who suggested we start working with the boys’ shelter close by. When we reached, we decided to split up into smaller groups of 3 in order to make it easier to manage the children. We started teaching the students alphabets and numbers. At this point, I realised how important this issue really is. I-India helps children from all backgrounds that are orphaned, abused, or abandoned. Their main aim is to provide education to these children in order for them to have the same change as anyone else. Throughout the 4 days, we visited more projects and learned about the various ways I-India is helping the community.

The ethical challenge we faced was an emotional attachment to the kids and vice versa.  We tried our best to keep a level of separation; however, we knew that it was inevitable. Towards the end of the service, the children were sad to see us go and we were sad to leave. However, this made me want to come back again, perhaps after IB.

After service, we decided to go for an art workshop. However, we found that the organisation we had booked was actually a rebrand of another organisation that has had very bad reviews. Our hotel staff informed us about this and we shifted our plans. We found an art centre where we learned to paint. I personally found painting very hard as I’m not very artistic. However, I was committed and showed perseverance throughout the process. I was very proud of the end result.

As we reached the end, we were sad to leave; however, we were proud to have volunteered and have an impact.

Learning Outcomes Demonstrated:

• Learning outcome 3: Demonstrate how to initiate and plan a CAS experience
• Learning outcome 4: Show commitment to and perseverance in CAS experiences
• Learning outcome 5: Demonstrate the skills and recognise the benefits of working collaboratively
• Learning outcome 6: Demonstrate engagement with issues of global significance
• Learning outcome 7: Recognise and consider the ethics of choices and action