Written by Nanami and Harsh
It was just another regular
morning. With most of us awake at 6:30 for a cup of tea and cake, there were
the usual few latecomers. At 7:00, we
started our warm ups, climbing up a slightly inclined hill and starting our stretches.
It was similar to what we did before, but there were a few differences. While
stretching, we saw a daycare center that was ready to be modified by us later
in the day. The center was made up of concrete, about the size of two cars that
had to fit nearly twenty children. The chamber had a very dull and sluggish look
to it, and was surely required to be refreshed.
We came back to the Borderlands
campsite to eat our breakfast. It was
toast, sausages and eggs, and fruits. We also tried to drink a lot of water to
keep hydrated. After half an hour, we
got onto a truck that took us to a rubber factory. Once we reached the rubber
factory, we learned how the rubber that we saw collected the previous day was
processed and eventually used into our everyday materials. We learned that the
factory was made during the British rule of Sri Lanka, and all the machines were
antiques. We were surprised how the century-old machines used clean energy to
operate. It used a simple turning of a wheel and a current of a stream to move
the machines and process the rubber. Once done admiring the factory’s processes,
we saw the people who collected rubber from 200 different trees, just to earn 4
dollars a day. We all realized how financially privileged we were and how we
should be happy with the things we already have.
We then came back to Borderlands
for lunch, to prepare ourselves for the job we had ahead of us. We were about
to help a daycare center enjoy their day as we recolored the dull building that
we had seen earlier in the day. When we reached there, many children came to
welcome us and started to play and interact. We were divided into groups to do
different jobs; painting the murals, and playing with the kids. The painters in
the group were instructed to first dust off the walls, and then brighten them
up with colors. It was a slow and hectic process, but the end piece of work
looked fabulous. The daycare center looked completely changed, and we were sure
about the fact that the children would look forward to staying in the building
that was brightened for them. While some of us were painting, others were
interacting with the children. Since there was a language barrier, at first it
was very hard to communicate with each other, but as we started to play games
and sing, we formed an understanding of each other with just gestures and facial
expressions. The little children would sing and dance with us, while the bigger
children would play cricket. We hope they had a fantastic time with us, just
like we had a marvelous time with them.
At the end of the day, we all
gathered after being refreshed by our river baths/showers. We put together our
ideas and learning of the day. We thought that the laborers that worked for the
rubber factory definitely worked way too much for what they were earning, and
that we should be happy with what we already have. We also learned that doing
simple things can change people’s day, as we did at the small daycare center. Although
we did not do hard physical activities like we did the previous days, we felt
accomplished for the services we did to the local community.\.
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