My experience at Savda Ghevra was
one that has affected me very deeply. As we were told of this activity, it
seemed a fun prospect to paint the walls of somebody’s home given that we had
never done it before but as I went through with the trip,
experienced and
interacted with the people whose house we were painting, I realized how
fortunate I was to get the opportunity to connect with them and to be
privileged enough to have a place I can call home. We live in a city where we
are comfortable in our own bubbles of life, it’s realities and luxuries; but
this trip made me step out of that bubble and experience firsthand, a new
reality, a different reality, one which made me feel and realize how much of
the world, my country and my city, I was missing out on. A house might just be
a building but it is a place of comfort, safety and togetherness of the family.
For Habitat for Humanity to be taking such initiatives to give people like Ms
Seema a home, a place of safety, comfort and love, it is absolutely commendable
and inspirational. I am inspired, motivated and touched by Habitat for
Humanity’s efforts to support the millions that live, deficient of a place to
call home and will definitely encourage and participate in their endeavors in
the future.
The day trip to Savda Ghevda
organized by Habitat for Humanity has been one of the most memorable, hands-on
field work experiences. Out of the very few that I have done till date, this
activity was the first one which I didn’t perform in personal interest. Of
course CAS is required for the ‘Diploma’ in IB, but when one does the
activities willfully, you actually end up enjoying doing it.
The activity was to paint the
inner walls of a two story house, for those who could neither afford to get it
nor do it themselves. The splashing of paint on the walls, climbing on highly
unstable ladders and watching some falling into septic tank all was seeming to
be fun but throughout the activity I kept on asking myself that why am I doing
this? What is the reason CAS is done? Is it really needed?
Well, by at the end of this
activity I pretty much got my answer. When we met the people for whom we
painted the houses the very happiness on their faces and the warmth with which
they welcomed us was a lot more than just enough to answer all doubts…
Our jobs were made much easier by
the people who got the paint, mixed it, filled the heavy buckets and arranged
for the equipment, else would have been pretty tough for us
Thanks to the people of Savda and
Habitat India we could also see the Water ATM and learn how to use it.
Surely it was an experience to
remember forever.
On the 29th of August, Grade 11
was taken to small village called Savda Ghevra where the famous organization,
Habitat for
Humanity India, organized a much awaited activity, which was to
paint houses for the small community inhabiting the village. Even as we were
walking towards the small homes that were to be painted, we tiptoed our way,
trying to avoid the rain water that had clogged the drains and filled up the
potholes. This served as proof of the hardships that the community was going
through other than most of them being handicapped or disabled.
Next, five
groups of students were allotted houses which had to be painted white from the
inside. The interior of the little houses seemed dull and dark, to show this we
took pictures before we started doing our job to compare and contrast the
difference a little white paint could make. We took a step back to admire our
work and suddenly the houses looked brighter and more habitable. I was
satisfied and happy to see the outcome as the children who visited us during
the activity were contented to see their ‘new homes’. Additionally, we learnt
that the villagers are only provided with one bucket of water in four days so,
I was glad of the fact that they had atleast one thing to check off their list
of basic needs; a home.
