Community Service
Community Service
IN
COMMUNITY SERVICE
"You make a living by what you get, but you make a life by what you give." Anonymous
Community service is donated service or activity that is performed by someone or a group of people for the benefit of the public or its institutions. Performing community service is not the same as volunteering, since it is not always done voluntarily. It may be done for a variety of reasons: 1. governments may require it as a part of citizenship requirements, typically in lieu of military service; 2. courts may demand it in lieu of, or in addition to, other criminal justice sanctions; 3. School may mandate it to meet the requirements of a class, such as in the case of service-learning or to meet the requirements of graduation. When someone performs an action which benefits his or her community, it is known as community service. Some people associate community service with punishment, since it is often offered to small-time offenders as an alternative to fines or jail time. However, community service can also be altruistic, and it is a vital part of many small communities. Getting involved in your community makes it healthier and livelier, and numerous organizations around the world support community service activities. Things which could be considered community service include tutoring children, building homes in low income areas with Habitat for Humanity, assisting the elderly, socializing animals at animal shelters, being a museum
docent, performing habitat restoration, contributing to the operations of volunteer fire departments and emergency services, or helping with civic beautification. In all cases, community service work is performed by volunteers who are not paid for their time. In some instances, the work would not be accomplished without the work of such volunteers, and many small organizations rely on people with community spirit to survive. Community service is also known as Social Work & Social Service.
Develop capacity to meet emergencies and natural disasters and practice national integration and social harmony.
HISTORY
The concept of charity goes back to ancient times, and the practice of providing for the poor has roots in many major ancient civilizations and world religions. Community service has its roots in the social and economic upheaval wrought by the Industrial Revolution, in particular the struggle of society to deal with poverty and its resultant problems. Because dealing with poverty was the main focus of early social work, it is intricately linked with the idea of charity work, but it must now be understood in much broader terms. For instance, it is not uncommon for modern social workers to find themselves dealing with the consequences arising from many other "social problems" such as racism, sexism, homophobia, and discrimination based on age or on physical or mental ability. Modern social workers can be found helping to deal with the consequences of these and many other social maladies in all areas of the human services professions and in many other fields besides. Whereas social work started on a more scientific footing aimed at controlling
& reforming individuals (at one stage supporting the notion that poverty was a disease), it has in more recent times adopted a more critical and holistic approach to understanding and intervening in social problems. This has led, for example, to the reconceptualisation of poverty as more a problem of the haves versus the have-nots rather than its former status as a disease, illness, or moral defect in need of treatment. This also points to another historical development in the evolution of social work: once a profession engaged more in social control, it has become one more directed at social and personal empowerment. That is not to say that modern social workers do not engage in social control (consider, for example, child protection workers), and many, if not most, social workers would likely agree that this is an ongoing tension and debate in the profession.
handicapped of the society. The social services cover for children includes integrated development of children, care and protection to abandoned, neglected, unwanted, destitute children, setting up crches for working and ailing mothers children, nutrition programmes etc. A National Childrens Fund was constituted by the Government during the International Year of the Child in 1979. India has also been associated with United Nations International Childrens Emergency Fund (UNICEF) since 1949. Programmers are being implemented for the early detection and treatment, education, training and rehabilitation of disabled persons, namely, the blind, the deaf, the orthopedically handicapped, the mentally retarded, spastics and the leprosy cured persons. Social welfare measures at the Government level touch only a fringe of the problem. It is not possible for the Government to reach out to every person who needs help. Therefore, voluntary organizations can and should supplement the Governments efforts in a big way in this noble task. In view of the illiteracy, ignorance, superstitions and social evils prevalent in our country, the need for social/ community service has assumed a certain urgency. Of course, community service cannot be a whole time activity. It is indeed enough if people with missionary zeal devote 2 or 3 hours a day for social service. Students can take to community service during their summer vacations. Similarly, retired persons can be of great help. Housewives are normally free from their days work by 12 P.M. They too can volunteer for community service. There are a number of areas in which community service is called for on a mass scale. First of all, groups of educated people can go out to villages and educate the illiterate. In India about 35% of the people are illiterate. Even our modest efforts can contribute to the removal of illiteracy from our country. Our villages lack sanitation. Social workers can meet the villagers and educate them about the need for sanitation and cleanliness. Nearly 72.22 per cent of Indias population lives in villages. If our villages look neat and clean, our country will acquire a new look.
The death rate is much higher in villages because of the lack of medical facilities. Villagers need to be enlightened and encouraged to protect their children from deadly diseases by having them inoculated. Inoculations give immunity from diseases like typhoid, whooping cough, diphtheria, leprosy, T.B., polio etc. When Government officials approach villagers, the villagers distrust their claims. Social workers can create a better psychological effect on villagers and explain to them the advantages of inoculations. Indias population is growing at an alarming rate. It has already crossed the 1,027 million mark and India has become the second- most populous country in the world. Social workers can do great service by putting across to villagers the message of family planning. In cities and towns, slums are coming up due to large scale migration of people from villages to cities. These slums lack sanitation. There are no civic amenities at all. Life in slums is miserable. People living in the slums indulge in distillation of illicit liquor, sale of narcotic drugs and other criminal or antisocial activities. There is a dire need to launch cleanliness drives in these slums. Special programmes should also be undertaken in these areas so that people who have gone astray can be brought back to the right track. In our country, Mother Teresa rendered great social service by serving thousands of poor, needy and destitute people. She set an example of what social service can do for the suffering humanity. Voluntary organizations like the Bharat Sewak Samaj, Sadhu Sewak Samaj, Servants of the People Society, Ramakrishna Mission, Arya Samaj Amar Jyoti charitable Trust and many other social welfare and voluntary organizations are doing a lot of good work for people in different spheres of life. As a part of the Participation in Societal Development programme, the B. Ed students were to do dedicated service to the community for 20 hours, at least 2 hours per day. I was given an opportunity to do my share of community service in the Amar Jyoti Research & Rehabilitation Centre, Karkardooma.
Institute of Physiotherapy School for Inclusive Education Teachers Training Centre for Special Education Orthotic and Prosthetic Workshop Vocational Training Centre Child Guidance Centre Medical Care Centre The Mission & Vision of this organization is to provide equal opportunities and full participation to persons with disabilities.
from nursery to class VIII. Starting with an integrated group of 30 children under a tree, the school now has about 450 children in Delhi and 275 in its branch at Gwalior. School has Special Sections for developmentally delayed children, hearing & visually impaired as well as those with multiple disability. Equal opportunities are given for other activities like sports, cultural programmes, vocational training etc. The school also has language, computer and science labs. With the object of having inclusivity and providing comprehensive services, under the guidance of professionals at the Child Guidance Clinic and special educators, children are provided opportunities of social, recreational and vocational integration along with academic remediation as per need. The school in Delhi is supported by the Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment and in Gwalior by Ministry of Human Resource Development. Here is a day by day account of our experiences in Amar Jyoti Research & Rehabilitation Centre, Karkardooma. Day 1 - March 22, 2013 We arrived at the centre at 9:00 am & after a short while, were asked to reach the small auditorium where we were formally introduced to the Amar Jyoti Research & Rehabilitation Centre by Mr. Dua & Dr. Uma Tuli. After a small yet comprehensive introduction we were divided into 3 small groups & my group with Ms Ayushi (associated with Amar Jyoti) left the auditorium for a trip of this wonderful place. We visited almost all the important sections of the building including the inclusive education school, physiotherapy centre, medical care section, child guidance clinic, vocational training centre, abilympics room, occupational therapy department, orthotics & prosthetics section etc. Coming back to the conference room after the trip we were welcomed by Dr. Tuli who showed us the reading material available for the teaching of children with special needs. We were also shown a documentary named Soaring on the Wings of Inclusion.
Day 2 March 25, 2013 Today I was assigned to work in class Special G where I saw only one student named Ketan sitting all alone with his class teacher. After taking the permission of his class teacher I spoke to Ketan about his general interests and after that we first did a little bit of Origami & later on I helped him with his studies. Ketan is a very intelligent boy who grasped information very quickly so I taught him mathematics from the upcoming chapters of his book. Day 3 March 28, 2013 Today I was asked to be in a different class by my group incharge who advised me to go to the Hearing Impaired Section. The students were young enough to be in Kindergarten. The class teacher asked me to sit with any one of the children present in the class & I selected Kanishk as he seemed really eager & excited to sit with me. Kanisk once again just like Ketan is a intelligent boy. Whatever questions I gave him from Hindi, English or Mathematics he solved in no time. I decided to go forward with the paper folding activity which he loved immensely. Day 4 March 30, 2013 I once again got an opportunity to work in the same class (Hearing Impaired). The class teacher asked me to sit near a really cute and adorable young boy named Owais. He is a very mischievous yet intelligent boy who is always eager to do something new. I helped Owais with his studies by giving him practice questions of Mathematics, English & Hindi. After an hour & a half we decided to do a fun activity called Paper Cutting which he enjoyed a lot. Day 5 April 1, 2013 Today I went back to my previous class Special G where I helped the students with their difficulties in Mathematics. The general problem that some of them faced was of carrying the value to the next number. After persistent practice & patience they were able to overcome this problem. Than
we decided to do a fun activity with coin painting which they thoroughly enjoyed. Day 6 April 2, 2013 Once again going back to my class Special G I was asked by the teacher present in the class to help the students in English subject. I first spoke to the students about what problems they faced in this subject and after carefully listening to them gave my inputs to overcome their issues. We did a number of exercises to build confidence in them and also had a small story telling session. Day 7 April 4, 2013 The students of class Special G wanted to do something less academic & more fun so we decided to do leaf painting in the class. They were asked to bring a leaf of their choice from the school compound & than with the help of water colors they were instructed how to go forward with this task. Day 8 April 5, 2013 Today was our last day here in Amar Jyoti and we arrived around 8:45 am in the premises. I was instructed to be in the (Special Hearing Impaired) class with my Incharge and 2 other fellow classmates. We did a lot of stuff today like drawing, paper folding, paper cutting and most importantly studying. We made a caterpillar of round shaped paper with counting inscribed on it by the students who had also decorated it with colors. We pasted a fresh chart on the class notice board and then pasted the caterpillars on it. As a parting gift we also distributed a pack of crayon colors to each student.
ACHIEVEMENT