CAS Reflection – X D

On the bustling morning of August 1st, 2014, students of X C and D were bubbling with excitement about our visit to Little Sister Home for the aged. This trip was organized in lieu of CAS – Creativity, Action, Service and our eyes opened to the lives of our elderly! Our bus journey commenced at 10.30 am and we reached our destination within an hour. A sign informed us that we were in the correct place and the beautiful sight of a garden courtyard that greeted us heightened our excitement! Students of both sections made donations at the front office. The items donated were soap bars, noodle packets, biscuits and other miscellaneous things. Our Chaperones, Ms Chandana and Ms. Suchismita met with the founder of the commodity, Sister. She was an incredible sweet and polite woman who told us a little about the center. Then, our tour of the well-kept facility began! One of the helpers volunteered to be our guide and our first stop was the woman’s ward. We couldn’t help but feel a little remorse for the elderly women we saw, bedridden with backache or confined to wheelchairs, but the fact that they were being taken care of so well gave us a sense of reassurance!  The lunch hall was surprisingly very neat and seemed to provide the women with whatever they needed or desired. We noticed that the women were very friendly to one another, and it warmed my heart to see them treat each other like family. We struck up lively conversations with some of the ladies. We learnt their names, their interests and told them a little about ourselves as well. They were very, interested, in our school lives! 

Then it was time to visit the men’s ward. We waved a hearty yet solemn  goodbye to the women we had become fond of in such short time. Upon first entering the men’s ward we ran into a cheerful gentleman. He shook our hands and asked us our names with such enthusiasm! We bade farewell to our new friend and made our way to the Television and recreation room. We saw elderly men relaxing with books or newspapers or watching the television. They were happy to talk about their favorite books and TV shows. The dining hall in this ward was equally as neat as the one we had seen before. We spoke to many people and learnt many things.

In all, our visit to the Little Sister Home for the age was an enlightening experience. We learnt about how to cope with difficulties and search for that cloud with a silver lining. I will never forget all of the endearing people we met, and this CAS trip has embedded into my mind forever!    Pia and friends