Pitroipa Soukeyna Djahira, Grade 11
UWC Costa Rica
It is not in one moment or event you are going to realise what UWC is about. It is a process full of mini-events that are going to shape and transform you throughout your UWC experience. The significance and the meaning of your experience at UWC depend on how you shape your journey. What made me realise this was when I started doing CAS ( Creativity, Activity and Service) activities outside of the campus. When you are on campus, between school activities, meetings, and IB work, you can feel in a social bubble. But, if you burst this bubble, you discover Costa Rican communities from a different angle, and you appreciate the change you can make.
During February, I joined a community service activity called “Niño y la bola” (children and the ball). It was a volunteering activity in collaboration with the non-profit organisation ‘’El niño y la Bola’’ which provides kids from fringe areas, basic care, and educational support. One of their goals is to impact teenagers and kids’ lives continuously, to give them the tools to have better prospects of growth. Our group of UWC students would work with the organisation in several projects of English tutorship, empowerment, skills for life, sports, and mentorships. I like kids, and I appreciate working with them, and I find this so refreshing to have an impact in the life of a future adult. However, I had never taught children before; I did not have the experience of a teacher, nor did I take any pedagogic classes. I was afraid that if I made any mistakes, I would confuse or frustrate these children. However, I knew I had to take the risk, get out of my comfort zone, and embrace any insecurities.
As we arrived in the community, the difference in the environment was large. I spent most of my time in Santa Ana or San Jose, then coming to this area was witnessing a different part of Costa Rica. The houses were not well built with cement, and people were walking more than driving. Usually, what we see on YouTube about Costa Rica are beaches, wild forests, and diverse species, but we don’t see the people. Before coming to UWC Costa Rica, I did not know anything about the country nor its traditions or its population and history. What we see on the media is only the Costa Rican beauty and tourism, and we don’t see the people that live in these places. It is as if the internet is only showing paradise but not the angels that are living there.
During the activity, I got to know a little bit better about the people living in this neighbourhood. The children may have been living in a necessitous environment, but they are dynamic, full of energy, and willing to learn. I had a good time helping little girls finishing their Spanish homework; somewhat, it helped me practice my Spanish. Practising a different language with children is less intimidating because they have this patience that no adult has. I could not help but notice that the youth of the organisation was having an impact on my UWC co-years and me. We were more patient, attentive and even beginners in Spanish tried to speak with the children. My interaction with these girls made me learn how to act with younger selves. I remember how one of them was super active and talkative. She always wanted to do things on her own like a grown girl, acting like a diva, giving orders and moving all around. In the end, she folded herself to the activities and was very smart; she just needed to stick her energy on the paper.
After tutoring, we visited families of some students, and it was a way to get to learn the background of each person we interacted with. Then, the girls I tutored were not just individuals; I could put a family behind the background of each person. We stopped by each house giving candies and discussing with parents about their stories in this neighbourhood and relationship with the organisation‘’ El niño y la bola’’. They would tell us all these success stories of boys and girls whose lives were changed thanks to this organisation. For a moment, it seemed as if teenagers like us could also drastically change someone’s life even though we did this volunteering activity for one day (COVID-19 stopped our trips to the place sadly).
By volunteering in this activity, I learned a different face of Costa Rica, with fewer beaches and wild trips, full of humans. This experience has deconstructed the first impression I had about this country. CAS activities are about giving back to the community that hosted you, about impacting the people around you, and about learning from the communities, we are living with. It is about being aware of the realities of others and making a change in their realities. It is a learning process where you get more knowledge about improving the conditions of the individuals. I was sad that we stopped temporarily volunteering for the organisation because of the COVID-19 outbreak. I hope to continue this initiative next year.
This is what UWC is about: giving back and impacting communities for a better future. It is about others, but one of the important things to do in your UWC journey is to interact with the communities you are surrounded by. This interaction will change you as a person, and it would teach you the meaning of giving back to a community. It would help you realise what making a change means, and you would go out of your comfort zone to make your community more comfortable for one and another. Therefore, do not be afraid to burst the bubble of your routine at UWC and do something for your campus or for the region you are in. Any impact you can have on the generations of your UWC campus or the neighbourhood you are living in can change lives and futures.
During February, I joined a community service activity called “Niño y la bola” (children and the ball). It was a volunteering activity in collaboration with the non-profit organisation ‘’El niño y la Bola’’ which provides kids from fringe areas, basic care, and educational support. One of their goals is to impact teenagers and kids’ lives continuously, to give them the tools to have better prospects of growth. Our group of UWC students would work with the organisation in several projects of English tutorship, empowerment, skills for life, sports, and mentorships. I like kids, and I appreciate working with them, and I find this so refreshing to have an impact in the life of a future adult. However, I had never taught children before; I did not have the experience of a teacher, nor did I take any pedagogic classes. I was afraid that if I made any mistakes, I would confuse or frustrate these children. However, I knew I had to take the risk, get out of my comfort zone, and embrace any insecurities.
As we arrived in the community, the difference in the environment was large. I spent most of my time in Santa Ana or San Jose, then coming to this area was witnessing a different part of Costa Rica. The houses were not well built with cement, and people were walking more than driving. Usually, what we see on YouTube about Costa Rica are beaches, wild forests, and diverse species, but we don’t see the people. Before coming to UWC Costa Rica, I did not know anything about the country nor its traditions or its population and history. What we see on the media is only the Costa Rican beauty and tourism, and we don’t see the people that live in these places. It is as if the internet is only showing paradise but not the angels that are living there.
During the activity, I got to know a little bit better about the people living in this neighbourhood. The children may have been living in a necessitous environment, but they are dynamic, full of energy, and willing to learn. I had a good time helping little girls finishing their Spanish homework; somewhat, it helped me practice my Spanish. Practising a different language with children is less intimidating because they have this patience that no adult has. I could not help but notice that the youth of the organisation was having an impact on my UWC co-years and me. We were more patient, attentive and even beginners in Spanish tried to speak with the children. My interaction with these girls made me learn how to act with younger selves. I remember how one of them was super active and talkative. She always wanted to do things on her own like a grown girl, acting like a diva, giving orders and moving all around. In the end, she folded herself to the activities and was very smart; she just needed to stick her energy on the paper.
After tutoring, we visited families of some students, and it was a way to get to learn the background of each person we interacted with. Then, the girls I tutored were not just individuals; I could put a family behind the background of each person. We stopped by each house giving candies and discussing with parents about their stories in this neighbourhood and relationship with the organisation‘’ El niño y la bola’’. They would tell us all these success stories of boys and girls whose lives were changed thanks to this organisation. For a moment, it seemed as if teenagers like us could also drastically change someone’s life even though we did this volunteering activity for one day (COVID-19 stopped our trips to the place sadly).
By volunteering in this activity, I learned a different face of Costa Rica, with fewer beaches and wild trips, full of humans. This experience has deconstructed the first impression I had about this country. CAS activities are about giving back to the community that hosted you, about impacting the people around you, and about learning from the communities, we are living with. It is about being aware of the realities of others and making a change in their realities. It is a learning process where you get more knowledge about improving the conditions of the individuals. I was sad that we stopped temporarily volunteering for the organisation because of the COVID-19 outbreak. I hope to continue this initiative next year.
This is what UWC is about: giving back and impacting communities for a better future. It is about others, but one of the important things to do in your UWC journey is to interact with the communities you are surrounded by. This interaction will change you as a person, and it would teach you the meaning of giving back to a community. It would help you realise what making a change means, and you would go out of your comfort zone to make your community more comfortable for one and another. Therefore, do not be afraid to burst the bubble of your routine at UWC and do something for your campus or for the region you are in. Any impact you can have on the generations of your UWC campus or the neighbourhood you are living in can change lives and futures.
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