By Harihara S. Chockalingam, MBA Class of 2013
Growing up back in my hometown, I have always noticed that not all children from that part of the world are as privileged as I was during my childhood. About a mile away from my home is ‘The school for the blind’. It was distressing to see these children struggle with their day-to-day lives since they cannot see the world as we do. Standing outside the fenced perimeter of the school and watching those children engage in games that develop their ability to manage their lives without being overly dependent on others, I used to feel thankful for the life that I have and realized that I take a lot of good things in my life for granted.
I have also seen children, as young as eight or 10 years old, work at nearby small businesses and struggle to pay for their education. Although I have always wanted to help these children in whatever way I can, I used to be one of those sympathizing beholders who are so busy with their own lives that they do not take serious enough initiatives that would turn sympathy into action. However, things changed when I was talking about my upcoming service immersion to a longtime friend of mine. He helped me secure a volunteering position with one of the schools for under-privileged children.
During March 2013, I spent a week with such children at ‘Balar School’ teaching them Mathematics and Chemistry. While I am not good at studies myself, my Engineering background came handy in making practical explanations to the theoretical stuff that is always found on high school level books which helped the children in grasping the concepts quickly and apply them to their day-to-day lives. They also built some models that explain the electronic structure of atoms and how they interact to form molecules. These models will be used to teach the future students by showing a physical structure rather than bulky text on paper which the kids always find difficult to visualize.
It was also fun to be with the children, for they have a knack of turning the adults around them into kids. I will definitely go back to see these kids whenever I visit India. It would be nice to see them grow up as responsible citizens.