The ball hosted by 4 GCs located in India and Pakistan was an upcoming event that we were all looking forward to – it was the event where we would established our GC, raise funds, and spread awareness on our cause. Unfortunately, the ball was cancelled, due to various reasons.
One of our biggest problems in the process of planning the ball was the lack of communication between the GCs and the service office. Each GC was assigned specific tasks, yet it was unclear what we were expected to do, and to what extent. Ladakh GC was in charge of multiple tasks but we were only aware of a few, as was the case with the other GCs, which is why the ball could not be organised in time and had to be cancelled. Communicating with the service office was difficult, as they had other priorities and could not always attend our group meetings. We were unable to sell enough tickets to break even, and the advertising was ineffective, as the majority of students in the school were unaware of the event. Overall, the communication was poor and there was not much awareness as to what other groups were doing and what the overall timeline was. It was a disappointment when we were told that the ball was to be cancelled and all our hard work would go to waste.
When learning of the cancellation, one of our concerns was of the Ladakh schools themselves – we had planned to use our raised funds to sponsor a child through their education program. We had begun the process of familiarising ourselves with the sponsorship process, and had begun to communicate with the schools about our plans. When the ball was cancelled, we were worried that a child would have already been informed about the potential scholarship, which we were no longer able to provide. This would have been a serious problem, but Ladakh informed us that the scholarship was still in the planning stage, and we could have as much time as necessary to raise the funds. We are now looking to use our funds from the Family Festival and the GC Fair to fund the scholarship.
The process of planning the ball was a rich learning experience – we had to collaborate with other groups, and we were also tasked with things we had never done before, such as looking for companies for sponsorships and funding. It was a very difficult process, and as it was the first year that we were attempting such a large scale event, we lacked the experience needed to successfully carry it out. It was disappointing, but it was a good learning experience and hopefully, we will be able to plan and execute the ball next year.
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