My service experiences this semester consisted of refugee family visits, going to the Ukrainian Museum, and fundraising for the Darfur Dream Team through events with speakers of the refugee community and helping with our class’s event in CFSU to encourage people to share their dreams on a poster and donate to our sister school in Chad. Going to the Ukrainian museum was an initial step to learn about a topic I never explored before. This action impacted the community in gaining more knowledge about events that lead to people being displaced from their homes. Next, my most frequent service experience was refugee family visits. This impacted the community in helping the children in schoolwork and encouraging the mother of the family to be confident in her English. We helped the family in simple tasks like answering survey questions and also built a strong connection with the kids, successfully befriending them. Working events for our Darfur Dream Team not only raised money for the school but also encouraged people to take time and think about the cause.
Through learning in my service experience I have also observed ways I can improve my actions for future service. Introducing my cell phone to the kids distracted them from interacting without technology and I know to avoid bring out my phone. Being friendly when you can but assertive when necessary is an important distinction. My plan involves continued engagement with the refugee community and tutoring children. I agree and hope to embody the Ignation pedagogy based on the belief that knowledge should lead to action. Our knowledge from this class should not sit idly without any action. The actions I think might be inspired by the new knowledge gained from this course are more consciously listening to the news and researching current events on refugees. I do not want to be ignorant of the situations of refugees around the world because many reside next to us as neighbors. With this new knowledge comes the responsibility to continue service that does justice. We have the power to create change through our actions and words that influence others.