COMMUNITY_SERVICE_ISSUE_27

Community Service

High School Christmas

Service Day Visit from School for the Blind

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n the 12th of December, 20 blind students and 6 chaperones visited our school. We first met them during a trip to Pattaya, where the students showed their school with us being blindfolded. Now, it was our turn to introduce them to our school. I was helping at the special Ping Pong station that day. They used a ball that generates a sound when hit, and they play by hitting the ball along with the table with the regular racket. Their exceptional sense of hearing finds the point of the ball and they hit back with confidence. We played with the students and had a really special time. With our eyes covered, we could not even hit the ball. We did not even beat them when we had our eyes open!

One of the blind kids told me with a shy grin that “today was a really fun day�. This short sentence, shows the power of caring. Through this experience, I feel the importance of doing service and how much we, as students, can do for our community. Even though their physical attributes may not be perfect, they still have their minds and heart as we do. They feel the our compassion towards to them, and that is what makes them smile. Even though their eyes may be blind, they are definitely not blind in friendship and love.

Hui Hui, Grade 9

The Phrapradaeng Organization for People with Disabilities

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he service day visit to the home for people with disabilities was a very memorable trip full of laughter and joy for both the Concordian students and the residents. We went there and mainly did two activities with them: drawing and singing Christmas carols. A couple of them knew how to draw better than us and used some interesting techniques. It was amazing to see how much they enjoyed our small performance of Christmas carols. I am glad that there is a service day where we can attend such an interesting service activity like this one.

I have many personal experiences with to people with disabilities. Getting to know them better helps us to be more accepting of these individuals with great hearts.

Two of the most important values that I gained from this trip are understanding and compassion. Even though the visit was only a couple of hours, I still learned a lot from the trip and I hope that my peers who joined me learned a lot as well.

Ang Ang, Grade 10

CONCORDIAN IMPACT - ISSUE 27

66

Community Service

The Elderly Home in Nakhon Pathon

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he latest trip to the Elderly Home was during a time of festivities. We had visited this place two times before the Christmas break to celebrate with the elderly home residents in Nakhon Pathon. We really enjoyed our experience there as we were able to spread the holiday spirit, decorate their common area and spend quality time with all of them. Exchanging gifts with the elderly people and watching them smile and laugh about their presents made us feel glad to be there to enjoy this precious moment, and to be part of the team behind organizing this event. We also served lunch and homemade cookies that we had baked the day before this amazing trip. We all felt very grateful to have had another opportunity to celebrate the holiday with these people, and be a part of the residents' community.

After a week of stress due to exams, it was the best way to end up this semester by embracing our school mission. It also was sort of a reward to all the hard-work that went into organizing this Christmas Service day. We are going to start plannig our next visit. Stay tuned :) Prim, Grade 10

Orphanage Visit

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he service trip to Rangsit Orphanage was truly a unique and fun experience. I think that this trip in particular was very memorable. I believe that this is because we were there as a smaller group and we actually got to play and interact with the kids. Prior to the trip, we got together and collected some Christmas presents for them such as: toys, books and blankets.The group of kids that we visited were from four to six years old, and they were eager to meet us.

First, we danced with them as they ate their snacks. Later on, we split up into four groups to host different activities and games. My group was responsible for singing Christmas carols to the kids but we later on changed to just playing with them.

Kamlai, Grade 9

67 CONCORDIAN IMPACT - ISSUE 27

I mostly read Thai storybooks to the kids. I found it very calming to be around them and surprising enough, many of the kids liked to hear me read rather than go play with the others. When lunch time rolled around, we helped the staff prepare the meals, which was a really gratifying. Shortly after, we got ready to leave and said goodbye to all of them. Many kids kept asking me if we were going to come back to which we replied “Of course!�. We really enjoyed our time spent there and we definitely are looking forward to our next visit to Rangsit Orphanage.