This was going to be my first volunteering trip. The host, Mr. Rajesh, had asked my father if I could come. I immediately agreed, excited by the prospect. Soon after, my father booked a train from where we live to Delhi. From Delhi, Mr. Rajesh would arrange a bus to take me to the resort in Uttar-khand.
I was very excited about the trip. I began packing and for the first time, I packed everything for myself with just a little help from my parents. Then the day came to leave our home. We drove to the railway station, since we were going by train. Upon arrival, we discovered our train was delayed by two working hours. That was completely insane.
We decided to wait there for two hours for the train. However, around 20 minutes later, my father proposed an idea. He suggested we drive to Delhi which would take only five hours, the same amount of time it would take for us to wait and go on our train. At first, we were reluctant. We finally caved in when our train was delayed even further by 30 minutes. My mother was the last to agree. So, we filled our car with petrol and began our journey to Delhi.
Upon reaching Delhi, we reached a hotel where my parents would stay while I would be in Uttarakhand on the volunteer trip. I was very anxious, constantly imagining what the trip would entail and how I could help the blind people.
The next day, I woke up early, got ready and my father booked a cab. My whole family accompanied me to the pickup point where the bus would pick me up. The bus was already there, with a few people on board. Some of them were volunteers, some of them were blind, either partially or fully. Once everyone was onboard, around 6:30, we departed for Uttarakhand.
During the journey, everyone was singing and introducing themselves. We stopped for lunch, then resumed our journey to the resort. Upon arrival, Mr. Rajesh paired us with our partners whom we would be assisting.
That day, we just talked, had some tea, dinner, and went to sleep. The next day, we planned on going to the hill station, which I was excited for. However, we woke up late and since it would take three hours to go to the station, we wouldn’t return at a reasonable hour.
Instead, Mr. Rajesh decided that we do activities in the resort itself. In the morning, at around 11, everyone started doing ziplining. Some were reluctant, as it was their first time, but Dharmishta Ma’am persuaded them and they ended up enjoying it.
After everyone had their turn, we returned to our rooms to freshen up before lunch. It was then I saw that the person I was volunteering for, a blind man named Aruni Sir, had adapted to the stairs. He was even faster than me. The way that they adapt so easily surprised me.
He stairs to their room and back without any problem at all. I had technically become a participant of the trip rather than a volunteer, as my partner could fully navigate the stairs and even make it to the lunchroom himself. After that, we ate a delicious lunch and then returned to our rooms.
We stayed there for a while before participating in another activity. This activity was sort of like parkour, where we traversed through ropes and obstacles. While waiting, I played badminton with a fellow volunteer named Dhruv. I had so much fun until it was my turn to do the parkour. I was completely terrified, my hands and legs shaking the entire time, but I did pretty well for my first attempt.
Next, we returned to our rooms to freshen up before dinner. Every day after dinner, everyone would hang around in the garden, chatting, drinking tea, and singing. I found this very enjoyable and was impressed by the singing talents of the blind participants.
On the third day, we visited a hill station. It took us three hours to get there. Once there, we went to a viewpoint, looked at the mountains, and took some photographs. This simple activity took a significant amount of time due to the photo-taking. Afterwards, some of my fellow volunteers and some of the blind participants enjoyed juices before we moved on to the next activity, a boat ride.
The boat ride was the most fun activity of all, as I was able to pedal and steer the boat instead of it being motorized. At the end of the ride, we embarked on our three-hour trip back to the resort.
Back at the resort, I realized that I was having more fun than actually volunteering and helping the blind participants. The entire trip felt more like a vacation than a volunteer opportunity. After we returned, we had tea in the garden, where everyone was hanging out and singing. I even got to play my guitar.
Dinner was served late. Despite eating around 9, everyone was energetic and eager to return to the garden. They sang songs, talked with each other, and even danced. By the time I got to sleep, it was 1:45, as I also had to pack since it was our last day.
On the last day, I finished packing. We took some group photographs after breakfast and said our goodbyes. Some people were already leaving. We hitched a ride on the jeeps to the bus, which took us back to the drop point where we were picked up on the first day.
Overall, the trip was very fun. I learned that all the participants were remarkably independent, and it didn’t even seem like they had a disability. They were good sports and adapted quickly. Most of the time, I was enjoying myself rather than actually helping them, which showed their incredible independence. I had so much fun and learned a lot from them.