Service Learning - Thoughts and Feelings

Lately, as the festival for the students is coming closer, I've been thinking about what impact our festival will actually have on our students. I know we are going to put our whole heart into this event, but I'm worried that the students will not enjoy it very much. Or, due to their range of skills, some of them will enjoy it and others will not. Will they see the point in knocking down bottles for candy as fun? Will they see a day of arts and craft as fun? Or will some of the students, especially the older ones who have been around for a long time, think its just silly? Will the nurses there think its silly in comparison to something like...buying new computers for the computer room? That's one of my biggest fears. Will planning for this event for a month and half lead to successful results? I know, for us, it seems really exciting, but I wonder how much they will get out of it and if there's anything that we can do that is more long-lasting.

For instance, the idea of beautifying their courtyard sounds really great because that is something that will physically remain there for many years. However, putting on a festival, is that legit? I'm not too sure. But it makes me question what we consider sustainable and not sustainable. Are good memories and feelings just as legit as something like repainting their courtyard equipment? Because our festival is only for about 3 hours in the morning but it has the potential to provide really great memories for the students. This may be something they just need in terms of getting through the loneliness that creeps in from living in Thanh Xuan. It can also influence other volunteers to do similar projects in the future. It's always hard though because its one of those projects where we will not be able to see the long-term results of our work (unless we do some crazy follow-up, of course).

So, will providing "happy feelings and memories" for these students be enough? I hope so because that's what we're really aiming for. Maybe, we can even modify some of our booth games to be more educational. That way, they are actually learning something as well. Or if all else fails, we can say we tried and that our students know we tried. We also have a beautiful painted wall that the kids will always remember, too. So who knows.