A day well spent

August 12th was the day of my Community Team Work (CTW) this year.
70 Children + Teachers + 20 volunteers = A Big group to handle and a lot responsibility. It took a lot of effort from my co-team captain (my good friend and namesake) and my side to plan, organize and execute the project. It helped us discover that we were brilliant together :D jokes apart it made us aware of our great planning and organization skills.

Our Planets - Was the project. We were to take the children from the slum school to the planetarium. More details here...
2 months before the project we had made calls to enquire show time/ticket price/availability only to be told that the Planetarium would be closed on that particular day. That gave us enough time to reach out to all the parties involved (volunteers, project manager, charity) and re-schedule the project.
The show at the planetarium show was for an hour. Next round planning of revolved around what activities we could have for the children after the show. We wanted to make it fun and also a learning experience. Based on the age groups, we had planned for a quiz, painting and street play activities. Street play - was a request from the charity. The older girls being very talented did not get a chance to perform and be appreciated so this was an opportunity for them.

4 days before the actual project, swine flu panic spread like crazy. Volunteers were now worried. We faced a lot of questions on what precautions we were taking, if the children would be checked for illness before they were sent with us etc. Contacting the internal wellness centre, we understood that it would be best to cut short the project. Having the many children in an enclosed space for a long time would only increase the risk. We spoke to the charity and expressed the concern and told them to ensure that any child with even the slightest sign of cold/cough should not be sent on the trip.
Again, change in plans - meeting held, everyone made aware that the project was being cut short. Not all the volunteers were happy with this. Cutting short the project meant spending lesser time with the children, but we had no choice :(

August 12th: We left from office after breakfast in 2 buses. We had to pick-up points for the children and teachers. We made most use of the time we had in the bus to interact with the children and ensure they had a good time.
T planetarium was a real hit with the children. They had never witnessed anything like that before. When initially the lights went out and the tiny stars started peeping out, they were so thrilled that they started clapping and hooting :) Every new picture displayed was followed by a WOOOOW. Was such good fun being a part of this :)
After the planetarium show we spent time with them in the playground outside, as they ran around and screamed their heads out :D
We then headed back to the YWCA centre where all of us had lunch together. One group here (from one bus) lost its way and took time to reach, by the time we'd served lunch to the younger kids. Less space, well managed... thanks to lost directions? :D
The children were thrilled with the trip, the teachers were happy, the YWCA members were glad that the children had such a good time ~ most of all it was a satisfying experience for all of us.
Though just for a day, however small it may have been... we had made a difference.