Planning:
Our Women in Technology (WiT) group though fond of building projects and products, opted to build “Hope” this time.
A whole new assignment to our Women in Tech (WIT) team – to provide school kids from two shelters, with hope to realize their dreams.
When we (the WiT team) checked the needs from the shelters, it surprised us. They didn’t want any food or clothing, they wanted goal guidance, talk-time, a vent from their routine schedule.
Some of our male colleagues also volunteered to join this activity.
We planned to meet the kids on a Saturday and fixed the venue as one of their shelters with school. 10 – 12 WiT volunteers gathered at the venue. Guess what? – the kids were already at the venue decked up in their best smiles, eager to talk to us, curious to know about our work, wanting to share their thoughts and queries with us.
We grouped the 57 kids in 10s and allotted 2 volunteers as mentors to each group. We started talking to them about their life, studies, and lifegoals and we shared details about our life. The mentors were asked to jot down the goals and draw an achievement path for every kid.
Implementation:
After the icebreakers with cookies, milkshakes and games, we came to know more about their goals.
There was an aspiring language teacher who had already started reading classic prose and poems from her school library.
There was a budding artist who could draw and paint as per the scenario given to her.
There was a promising choreographer who could shake her legs to all the new song numbers.
There was a potential photographer, who had already started checking out to assist candid wedding photographers.
A patriotic soldier, a bold police officer, a reformative government administrative officer, a philanthropic medical practitioner, a passionate singer, a unique musician, a stand-up comedian, an enthusiastic application developer – we could see them all in the kids group.
Delivery:
We shared our nudges (yes…that was all they needed) to make them better prepared to achieve their goals in small steps. Some of the volunteers accepted to meet them regularly, some accepted to extra coach them in languages and math, some accepted to direct them to art institutes and academies.
Most of all, we could see the hope gleaming in the eyes of the kids, as we departed from the venue.
Our hope was to meet those kids someday after realizing their dreams and achieving their goals.
The day ended fulfilled and purposeful for every one of us.
Impacts and Feedbacks:
The WiT team had a quick meet the next working day to retrospect the activity.
Everyone of the volunteers felt proud of their well-spent time. They were over-whelmed and were staunch in keeping up their promises to the kids. Everyone started appreciating the little things they had taken for granted till then.
They had collected additional information to be shared to the kids meticulously, which was passed on to the kids sincerely.
Just then the WiT team received a call from the shelter coordinator, stating that the kids felt immensely happy about our visit and they felt so hopeful of realizing their lifegoals through the path we had laid for them.
The WiT team stood convinced to have delivered HOPE extremely well and their clients – the kids had appreciated their good efforts.
Help leads the way, Hope goes a l….o….n….g way!
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