Our global reputation at UWCSEA is built on our five elements – of which our Service component is perhaps most distinctive. But it’s not always well understood and I think there is a rather seductive and entirely understandable view – “we have to raise funds to help the needy” – that I’d like to explore. I want to refine this view, and offer a slightly different focus.
In writing, I am drawing on the wisdom of the ancients captured in the Chinese Proverb: Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime. This highlights the fact that we know, from years of aid, that giving money does not always lead to good long-term outcomes, but that developing the skills of the needy is a sustainable long-term strategy. Furthermore, as a school, we can go one step further; because we have the young people who might go on to be able not just to teach people to fish, to stick with the metaphor, but perhaps become or even support teachers of fishing. This means that we have to teach our students about what we know is the best, most effective way to help the needy. And in that case the funds are a means to an end, but not the end in itself.
A starting point for Service can always be moral outrage at the thought of HIV-infected orphans being denied medicine, or of 8 year olds foraging on rubbish tips to feed their younger siblings; but we need to set up projects so that our students do not see the needy as simply needing money and resources, that is, as disempowered victims for whom we can simply open our wallets. That is, Service is about educating our students; it’s about development – both of our own students, and of the people we serve. This is a College wide approach, not just an East one, and we are delighted to build on the massive Dover experience over the last 40 years.
Let me give you two powerful examples; firstly the partnership with the Sharanalayam orphanage for HIV+ children in South India. Seven students visited in March 2013; they befriended the children, played with them and cleaned the kitchens. One student wrote I feel I have really progressed as a person, increased my ability to plan and initiate activities as well as work collaboratively as a group (especially during the planning process) and I also got to see a totally different side of the world and the way that its inhabitants live. I wouldn’t change the experience I had for anything; another writes that these kids…they were so happy. Just entirely jubilant by the slightest of things…there was pure, unadulterated comradeship and they each seemed to have [such a] sense of responsibility… They were very young children, but all of them were incredibly independent and had astrong sense of personal responsibility—they picked up after themselves, they helped with the infants, etc. It was not only impressive but also very humbling.
As well as the clear personal growth, in terms of self-knowledge and knowledge of the world, students saw their fundraising going toward renovation of the kitchen – away from a smoky wood fuel to a more sustainable and healthy fuel source. So they were providing not funds, but a chance for their staff to build a healthier environment for the children.
The second example is the East Because I am a Girl service group. Partnering with the Ladli home for abandoned children and orphans in Jaipur, India,our students met the Ladli girls, got to know them and worked for three days making jewellery together. It should go without saying that the Ladli girls had a great deal to teach ours. The project was a wonderful thing to watch – put 40 13 – 17 year old girls in a room and it doesn’t take long for them to connect, realise how much they have in common and to get to work on making jewellery. Now, having forged friendships and created some beautiful pieces, our students are learning about supporting the Ladli girls’ business by giving them access to the Singapore markets – so it’s about helping them to help themselves, not about charity handouts; and both sides are the richer for it.
And nothing shows that this extends far beyond the dollars than these comments from our girls: …after this trip, the meaning of service evolved and took a different form for me. Service is not about helping others or making a difference, it is about engaging with others, establishing personal and meaningful connections, and also witnessing how underprivileged children like the Ladli girls can make a difference to your life. I learnt how there are so many things we complain about in life that are insignificant in comparison to the problems they are going through and that we should appreciate whatever we have: family, friends, teachers, staff, a brilliant school…the service aspect was incredibly humbling. I learnt so much about myself from them, like how small my troubles are in comparison, which made me appreciate every aspect of my life more. Even though we were the ones that were there on a service trip, I felt like they, with their generosity and open minds, were the ones doing a service to us. This is what we mean by transformative Service. See this poster for information and a few powerful images of what happened on that trip.
To return to the fundraising idea; we know from development work that funds put into AIDS work and into female empowerment give enormous return on investment in pure economic terms for the recipients. What I hope I’ve shown you is that the benefit is far greater, and potentially far longer-lasting than simply a return on investment; in supporting these projects we are supporting the development of our students;
this is an investment that will last many, many decades into the future.
This has been a long, but heart-felt message. The way students carry out and learn from Service really is one way we are different to many other schools. And our take away message is this: service is less about redistribution of wealth than it is about the development and empowerment of the donors and of the recipients of service. So please come and support our students and the people they partner by attending these events
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