Volunteer Autobiography

For a majority of my childhood I thought that Indiana was India and became utterly confused when someone talked about the long journey to the motherland. I knew that I was Indian and that my family was Punjabi Sikh, but beyond that I was disconnected and confused about the world and the culture that my parents and ancestors came from. When I was approached with the opportunity of volunteering as a summer camp counselor at the India Community Center, I was hesitant at first because I didn’t know how much I could contribute or get out of it, but becoming a volunteer has been one of the most enriching and fulfilling experiences I’ve ever had. At the India Community Center, there were summer camp classes offered that taught children from five to twelve years old about Indian music, dance, art, geography, and languages. One of the weeks centered around the vast varieties of food found from the different regions of India. We made chaat, pani puri, and mango lassi while learning about the cultural significance of each cuisine. The kids also learned the Indian national anthem and a Bollywood dance that was then performed for the parents at the end of the week. As we sang, cooked, and danced, we gained a better understanding of ourselves,our racial identity, and how beautiful and interesting our culture is. Each kid learned
new information about themselves that they didn’t know before, boosting self-confidence and decreasing marginalization. After my first summer of volunteering, I became so interested in my culture that I started reading more about it like the Partition of India in 1947, the 1984 anti-Sikh riots and the thousands of different languages spoken in India.
For the next three summers, I continued volunteering at the camp, helping the local South Asian youth become more interested in their culture. After seeing the positive impact I had by volunteering at these summer camps, I want to continue my involvement in the South Asian community during college. Through similar classes and creative conferences, I can help them explore and understand their
culture.