Community Service
By Mishaal Khan, class 11.
Community service has always been a vital aspect of Links’ curriculum for classes 9 to 11. Every student is given an opportunity to complete fifteen hours of community work, per term. The first step is to choose a suitable organization to work with, get the school’s approval and then begin working, as required by the organization.
Although some may think that this is a chore; something that students unwillingly go through, only to ensure that all is in order with their report cards, this is clearly not the case. All students at Links enjoy working with their chosen organization as this gives them the chance to give back, to help others and undergo a feeling of self-satisfaction and fulfillment that is solely possible by helping others.
Community work broadens a person’s horizon. It instills in a student the value of hard work and is a constant reminder of how any individual has the ability to make a positive difference in the lives of other people.
I’ve completed over a 100 hours of community service, in total and I must say that I haven’t had any better experience in learning and exploring new environments such, like at a school for orphans or that of a hospital. My days as a volunteer teacher, at Bilquis Edhi School for orphaned girls, have had an extremely powerful impact on my life.
Firstly, I got to teach young girls, all of whom were from different backgrounds, with different stories. One thing that they all had in common was the fact that they didn’t have parents. Either their biological family was dead or they’d been abandoned by them (their family) while they were still babies.
Secondly, the girls were able to teach me as well. Through their actions; their willingness to learn and smile even when life is tough, they taught me that we’re supposed to make the best of what we have. We’re supposed to find happiness with whatever we have and instead of mourning over what we could’ve had, we need to look forward to what the future holds for us.
I was reminded that I shouldn’t overlook small things in life. Before this, I didn’t give a second thought to the fact that I have a surname, unlike many others who have no clue as to who they are, who their families are and where they’re from. Maybe my parents and I have our disagreements time to time but that doesn’t mean they’ll ever stop loving me nor will I stop loving them.
I thought about a lot while I was a teacher. I thought about people’s grueling circumstances that force them to give up their children. I shudder at the idea of being in a parent's shoes; unable to afford to keep one’s own child, with the only plausible alternative appearing in the form of an orphanage.
Thirdly, it was rather painful to hear these girls’ stories from their house-mother, Miss Haleema. They were abandoned. Cast away. They were left all alone in this world with no one to care for them until Mr. Abdul Sattar Edhi and his family chose to bestow their kindness upon them.
I immensely enjoyed teaching but one thing that I realised after my first day of work was that it’s a difficult job and that I really ought to appreciate my teachers a lot more than I do already. Who said that planning lessons, supervising tests, preparing worksheets, arranging activities and making sure that the students have understood all concepts, is an easy task? It clearly isn’t!
However, regardless of it all, I loved it and even though I wasn’t there for that long, it felt wonderful to know that the girls liked my presence and according to their usual, full-time teachers, they always eagerly awaited my arrival every week.
By Mishaal Khan, class 11.
Community service has always been a vital aspect of Links’ curriculum for classes 9 to 11. Every student is given an opportunity to complete fifteen hours of community work, per term. The first step is to choose a suitable organization to work with, get the school’s approval and then begin working, as required by the organization.
Although some may think that this is a chore; something that students unwillingly go through, only to ensure that all is in order with their report cards, this is clearly not the case. All students at Links enjoy working with their chosen organization as this gives them the chance to give back, to help others and undergo a feeling of self-satisfaction and fulfillment that is solely possible by helping others.
Community work broadens a person’s horizon. It instills in a student the value of hard work and is a constant reminder of how any individual has the ability to make a positive difference in the lives of other people.
I’ve completed over a 100 hours of community service, in total and I must say that I haven’t had any better experience in learning and exploring new environments such, like at a school for orphans or that of a hospital. My days as a volunteer teacher, at Bilquis Edhi School for orphaned girls, have had an extremely powerful impact on my life.
Firstly, I got to teach young girls, all of whom were from different backgrounds, with different stories. One thing that they all had in common was the fact that they didn’t have parents. Either their biological family was dead or they’d been abandoned by them (their family) while they were still babies.
Secondly, the girls were able to teach me as well. Through their actions; their willingness to learn and smile even when life is tough, they taught me that we’re supposed to make the best of what we have. We’re supposed to find happiness with whatever we have and instead of mourning over what we could’ve had, we need to look forward to what the future holds for us.
I was reminded that I shouldn’t overlook small things in life. Before this, I didn’t give a second thought to the fact that I have a surname, unlike many others who have no clue as to who they are, who their families are and where they’re from. Maybe my parents and I have our disagreements time to time but that doesn’t mean they’ll ever stop loving me nor will I stop loving them.
I thought about a lot while I was a teacher. I thought about people’s grueling circumstances that force them to give up their children. I shudder at the idea of being in a parent's shoes; unable to afford to keep one’s own child, with the only plausible alternative appearing in the form of an orphanage.
Thirdly, it was rather painful to hear these girls’ stories from their house-mother, Miss Haleema. They were abandoned. Cast away. They were left all alone in this world with no one to care for them until Mr. Abdul Sattar Edhi and his family chose to bestow their kindness upon them.
I immensely enjoyed teaching but one thing that I realised after my first day of work was that it’s a difficult job and that I really ought to appreciate my teachers a lot more than I do already. Who said that planning lessons, supervising tests, preparing worksheets, arranging activities and making sure that the students have understood all concepts, is an easy task? It clearly isn’t!
However, regardless of it all, I loved it and even though I wasn’t there for that long, it felt wonderful to know that the girls liked my presence and according to their usual, full-time teachers, they always eagerly awaited my arrival every week.