Every single day

Memories O Memories
Collection of moments and stories

Those special moments
Connected to our sentiments

Remember the conversations (with strangers)
And the hesitation (before the conversation)

That special journey
Didn’t have an itenary

The feeling of finding myself when I was lost
Those miles were covered with minimal cost

The freedom of choosing
And now all that I can say

Is that I miss those moments

Every single day

Every single day

What else can i ask for :)

I miss the things that I did a year back . It ws so different. Every day I used to tell myself that I am here to learn something new and that used to instantly give me a kick to jump out of my Bed and get ready. Things have changed from thereon and I realise that I cannot do the same thing again again. I simply think that my journey wil not be complete until and unless I witness the other side and now I am on the other side. I see myself facilitating the journeys of some other people. Its interesting to know them. They are so much similar yet so different. At times that make me feel nostalgic and remember the times that i had spent with fellow interns/volunteers. They make me realise wht i was a year back and make me realise that there has been a certain degree of change and it has been postive. Now obviously I have some responsibilities as well and I think I am doing pretty well.

The things to come seem interesting. I will start with another journey and this time I will not be travelling physically. I will travel through the experiences of other volunteers and it seems exciting.It will be quite an experience to witness this journey. This makes me tense as well but thats not something new. I am generally apprensive before every journey and that has not changed even after a year, But the fact of the matter is that very journey has given me precious learnings. What else can i ask for

Special people in a special process .. complete a year

They are very special people, explored through a special process, inspired and mentored by special people and the outcome is special which not a surprise is either. I met them a year back and the date was 3rd of June 2009. They went through the extensive process of interning in a grass root Ngo and came back with loads of learning and most importantly with loads of energy. They went through the wonderful process of Orientation camp and approached their internship with a lot of energy and enthusiasm.

During the process of Rural Internship they constantly made an attempt to get out of their comfort zone and challenged their preconceived notions at every point of time. During the process they realized the importance of questioning their own notions and that as their step towards active citizenship and I am proud to say that they are haven’t looked back since then. They finally came back and gave it a lot of though on how they will like to use their learning’s. They brainstormed, reflected, at times planned it out and at times came up with ideas spontaneously and finally traversed their learning in form of action projects.

During the action projects they Co facilitated movie screening and I was privileged to see them grow during the process. Their approach was very different. One of them liked to plan it out and the other liked to take up spontaneously. It was during the process that it was primarily a difference in which they approach their work and none of the methods were right or wrong. The very fact that they were able to understand the cause of this difference tells a lot about their openness to learn and their frame of mind which is hell bent on looking at solutions and not problems.
And as we approach a year now that is tomorrow – 3rd of June they will be on the other side of the process. They have completed one full circle of the process and have emerged as strong and mature individuals . They will emerge as facilitators for the orientation camp along with others who have been an indispensable part of the process. It has been such an inspiration to see them. Frankly speaking this is what I wanted to do but somehow I took up a different role. But the very fact that I am really happy to see them achieve them the feat tells a lot about the process. This has been our transformation (Smilers). These people that I have referred to in this blog post are my friends, co smilers, my inspiration and if I can say so another family. They are Sonal and Neeru. It has been such an inspiration to witness yours self transformational journeys. I am pretty sure that you both will do a wonderful job and emerge as a winner through your determination which is the essence of you.

Thank a ton for inspiring me and teaching me the lesson life. I am not that a great writer to be able to express the kind of impact you have had on me and to sum it I will use following lines, hope you get the context

Ek Geet tere naam ka hai shava
Apne Sonal aur Neeru ko to dekho hai shava
Zinga Lika Chumbha


Every day i wake up with tremendous energy and vigour. I enjoy what i do during the day and finally when the time comes to back home i feel helpless. Dont feel like going back and face the 4 walls of my room that will not respond and not react. It doesnt matter what i say, what i do and how i feel. So i generally prefer taking a long walk.and get so tired that i dont have any time to face those 4 walls.

I realise why has this happened. This is not how I had planned things for myself. The fact is dont even have a place to go when i feel like hell.My analysis of myself also says that I am not that bad a person. so why is it really happenning.

Well I dont have an answer. I know it for sure that I will have to face it today again and I really am not looking forward to it. Surprisingly I am down but not out. There is something within me which still says things will change. Where is this positivity coming for. Is it beacause of the adversity that I have seen in the last 10 months.

Remember me sometimes if not always :)

10 months back all I could think was Outcome/Result. Confining ourselves to results binds us and suffocates us. Today I realise the relevance of a journey and Journey is the real fun which needs to be lived to the fullest so that when you reach your destination you can taste the sweetness of the success without forgeting the memories and experiences. Remember the smile of the stranger that that made you comfortable with urself, the innocence of the child that made you realise that simplicity is the best virtue and pat on the back when you were not sure whether you are heading in the right direction. Remember that yesterday made your today.

Volunteering/Wall Interning

The expression “getting out of the comfort zone and the term volunteering are synonymous. To begin with explaining the rationale behind volunteering to our loved ones is a great challenge and the volunteers self belief and determination is the only weapon that a volunteer can use. Once the initial stutter had been countered its time to pack your bags and get ready for a journey which cannot be predicted. And then finally you board the plane/Train with your luggage, attitude and aspirations and get ready for the most unforgettable journey of ones life and then you land up in place, willing to unravel an experience of lifetime

The Volunteers are more or less oriented to get them accustomed to a life which is unique but the real challenge begins when you are right there. The initial bit is always the difficult part and Self Motivation is the key to success, but that’s not all. Gradually the volunteers find their mark and unwind themselves, take initiatives, learn more and contribute the Organization/ movement in which they are Interning.

One thing that cannot be counted out is that volunteers have and need to have a strong bond within them because a Volunteer can easily comprehend what a fellow volunteer goes though and during adversities it can be one of their strongest support system.


Relevance
There is a need for information on volunteering to be disseminated so that more and more people are encouraged to do it and this type of engagement gains acceptance. Volunteering is undoubtedly one the strongest means of cross earning and need to popularized keeping in mind that change always come from within and if we want to bring about a change almost every person on this planet should volunteer once in his/her lifetime.

Objective
I am one of those privileged people to have experienced this experience and I am continuing to do so. I strongly think that the experiences of the volunteers need to be disseminated and I and with co operation of all the volunteers across the globe we can prepare an Action Research Project capable of motivating everyone to volunteer and contribute to the society, especially keeping in view the fact that the Endeavor of Millennium Development Goals are just around the corner and it can only be achieved through joint sustained efforts.

Methodology
In today’s world the easiest method of disseminating the information is Blogging but we can also make it ambitious based on the concreteness of the Research. Initially we can frame the research through individual interactions, sharing of experiences through email and finally shape up the Research. W can also get the research Copyrighted and Published.

Doest interest you?

In case it does please reply

We can start the Research though creative ways

· Sharing the experiences on a Blog and there can be one common user name and password that can b shared by all the volunteers

· In confidentiality is a concern initially a Google group can be created on Gmail so that emails we can just compose one email and send it to all the volunteers

I will look forward to you response for the Action Research Project Volunteer and Wall intern (Removing the wall of the stereotypes by giving an insight on what and how a volunteer works)

My own Space

We all want to be at that place
where we can live at our own pace
far away from this mad race
with dignity and grace
that will be indeed ....
my own space