I remember how volunteering with Dream a Dream started out: Having tons of free time as a college going seventeen-year-old and wanting to do ‘something’ in terms of giving back to the community. I had no idea what to do or how to go about it.
Enters Dream a Dream. Not only was it full of young people I shared wavelength with, but they had a plan for what “giving back” looked like. The format of weekend and day outings with children from local communities, who looked up to us as elder sisters and brothers, was effective and most importantly, immense fun for everyone involved. We went on treks, visited an ice cream factory, went boat riding on a lake, organised a talent show, and did all the simple, good things that make life fun.
The volunteers at Dream a Dream became a tight knit group. Many of them are still my close friends, twenty years later. When I think back, I am astounded by how much learning and connectedness a weekly outing with kids can foster. The volunteers and the kids were from different social strata, spoke different languages and came from varied family backgrounds. This very difference became a fountainhead of learning.
As a teenager fluent in both English and Tamil, even a simple story reading session with the kids, where an English story was read out and translated into Tamil, became a channel to discuss social issues, model empathetic behavior, build confidence in a reticent participant and as a side bonus, have the kids pick up English!
I remember some of the small boys on the outings felt shy talking to an older girl (me) wearing trousers. They usually saw girls in traditional salwar kameez or saree. Once they interacted with me, they found I was just as annoying as any of their cousins but just dressed differently and was fluent in English. I found them just as naughty and intolerable as my nephews. This pleasant discovery benefited us both.
We are taught that our differences as human beings are superficial only. But when does this academic statement become a lived experience? Can we really feel the ‘same’ as ‘different’ people unless we have tested it out for ourselves? Dream a Dream gave us all this platform. One that invited us to test prejudices we never knew we had, and to celebrate feeling real belonging, beyond social strata, cultural constraints and gender.
Being part of Dream a Dream is one of my most important life events. At the time, we felt we were ‘volunteering’, but the children gave us so much more, that in retrospect it feels like they were volunteering to make our lives better. Experiencing this kind of synergy and connectedness with the people around you is life changing. The skills I picked up through volunteering, the connections with like-minded people that I have made, the prejudices in myself that I have been able to recognise and hopefully overcome, these gains are not quantifiable.
I am so proud that Dream a Dream continues to shine bright and give a platform to young people to learn socially and culturally. Our schools teach us academics, but rarely do we get a chance to find out something we don’t know, speak to someone we fear, ask a dumb question, speak up for someone else?
Young people need exposure to platforms, activities and interactions that help us internalise what is not taught in schools. Only then, by knowing how to work across all kinds of social differences, can we be a successful society in every sense of the term. Thank you, Dream a Dream, for the immeasurable joy and learnings you gave me, that I use to this day.
About the Author:
Srivalli Velan is a lawyer, dancer and mom. In her spare time, she likes planning her free time, trying to keep up with exercise, and sometimes just sitting down and staring at a wall.