I spent my Diwali at the shelter home in Surat. We provided food to the people there and celebrated by lighting diyas and making rangoli. The purpose of this experience was to bring joy to the people at the shelter home on Diwali. The LO’s I achieved through this experience were LO 3, LO 5, LO 6, and LO 7.

LO 3: Demonstrate how to initiate and plan a CAS experience

I planned and organized this experience all by myself. I contacted Ms. Janki, who works at the Shelter home. I talked to her about the needs of the people there and accordingly decided the timings and things to be provided to them.

LO 5: Demonstrate the skills and recognize the benefits of working collaboratively

There are already a few volunteers from the government working at the shelter home, and I also asked my younger sisters to volunteer with me. We divided our work and this made it easier and smooth to function.

LO 6: Demonstrate engagement with issues of global significance

Diwali is the biggest festival in India and is celebrated across the world. However, there are so many people who are unable to experience the joy of it due to their lack of resources and necessities. Through this experience, we were able to help these people celebrate the festival and also worked on reducing hunger.

LO 7: Recognize and consider the ethics of choices and actions

When you think about Diwali, the first thing that comes to your mind is firecrackers. I did think at first to bring them with me and burst them with the children there, but I canceled that plan because of its harmful effects on the environment. And instead told the people there why we should not burst crackers. So, this is how I achieved LO 7 by recognizing and considering the ethics of my choices and actions.

Evidence: