By Volunteer Alfiya Khan, FHI Pune
Being a medical student I have been under constant pressure of academics and tremendous stress. So when I came across Fly Higher India NGO – FHI last month, I really wanted to join it because something apart from the regular is always better. I read about FHI and the activities they do to instill life skills in the underprivileged children. This entire idea was very appealing to me.
My first FHI event was in May with the theme Mind-Body-Soul. I am not sure what I was expecting from the event, but I really looked forward to it. The event started with friendly volunteers and open and welcoming children.
40 children, all of different age groups and different talents bringing them together to perform an activity was itself a task. These kids though mischievous were so energetic and enthusiastic about doing something new. Throughout the event the kids were laughing, teasing each other, talking to volunteers and asking for help.
While we were in the middle of performing an activity, a kid came to me and asked “ Didi aaj khaane me kya milega?” (”Didi, what will we eat today?”) That was when I realized that some innocent souls were completing the activity only in the hope of some delicious snack in the end. Right when we were about to wrap up with the event a little boy asked me “Aap fir se kab aaoge?” (”When are you coming back?”) He was so happy after the coloring activity that we did, that he was expecting us to be a little early next month.
It’s rightly said,
“Smiling is contagious; you catch it like the flu,
When someone smiles at me today, I’ll start smiling too!”
My first event of FHI didn’t bring in a lot of changes in me, but it has definitely left me on a happier note and I look forward to many such events in the upcoming days.
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