Final Blog|Nibras Karim

As the semester is coming to it’s close, I have realized that this class and trip has impacted my life a lot more than I expected. As a senior getting ready to graduate, I felt like I had my fair share of life changing collegiate experiences and that there was not a lot of change left to make in my life at this point. During the class time before the trip, I felt pretty set in what my values were and my views of the homeless and hungry populations were. What I mean by that is that I already felt compassion and understanding towards them so I did not think that that was going to change. It wasn’t until later that I realized how crucial the lessons and activities were to understanding purpose and meaning in service. Through the readings and class discussions, I was able to learn that service learning is a lot more intentional than just volunteering. I learned that you need to take the focus off of yourself when you go to volunteer, but not necessarily take yourself completely out of the equation. Service learning is not about how you feel after volunteering, it is about what you have learned about the society, the community you served, and about what your world view says about you.

It is interested looking back because before the trip, I took what I learned and thought “well of course that is what service learning is about” and that this was such an obvious thing to know. However, while I was in D.C. serving, I realized how learning these things allows you to be hyper aware of intent. While doing service in D.C., I was more intentional about being compassionate and understanding toward those that I served, especially when it came to those quick judgements you make when you first see someone. I was also more intentional about learning about the people we were serving as well as the populations. I wanted to learn about the individuals that we were serving as well as the communities as a whole so that I could understand the unique situations and see them as individuals but also be able to see what impacts the community as a whole to understand the source of the problem.

One thing that I distinctly remember over the trip was when the director of HUD, Marvin Turner, said that the homeless population in D.C. was smart. I was reminded of this quote later in the trip when other volunteers described the people they were serving as adorable and cute.  It was then that I became aware of how us as volunteers might unintentionally belittle those that we serve in seeming harmless ways. Then I became intentional about my own ego and how my privilege is not necessarily a constant or guarantee just like for those that are homeless and/or hungry.

Another distinct memory was that of Day 2 during the trip when we went to Drew Elementary School and after we had tutored the student, we did a reflection and talked about how the community had gotten so impoverished. What the people from D.C. had talked about was gentrification, which I only vaguely knew about. After discussing it more, I realized that Wichita is going through the same things. Although it seems like no one really has a solution for gentrification, the discussion or reflection did allow me to see Wichita differently and more critically. I am glad that I was able to go on this trip because now I feel like I am more (not fully but more) prepared for whatever is to become of Wichita and I feel like I am that much closer to helping it with it’s future.

Post-trip thoughts | Nibras Karim

After coming back from D.C., I have a lot of mixed feelings.

Half of me wants to go back and continue the work that we were doing there. Doing service in D.C. felt impactful. Compared to Wichita, D.C. nonprofits were more developed and well connected. I work at a nonprofit and here in Wichita funding is such an issue that programs are more competitive than collaborative, which causes the service to be less effective and efficient.  Also, in D.C. there seemed to be a stronger culture of understanding and open-mindedness where they were able to be more accepting of the community and circumstances.

The other half of me knows that there needs to be work done in Wichita. This half of me is ready to take on the challenge of helping the Wichita community to progress. I know that seeing the organizations in D.C. that have developed and improved over many years makes it seem like that there is less work to do. Having it nicely packaged like that is tempting, but I can’t just be lazy like that or else nothing would change. I know that I don’t have to end hunger and homelessness by myself or even at all, but I really want things to change and for me it’s a challenge that I cannot ignore.

So I guess I am encouraged but scared….

ASB Day 4 | Nibras Karim

On the fourth day of service, my group went to the Central Union Mission. The Central Union Mission is a faith-based nonprofit organization. In addition to its family ministries, the Mission operates an emergency shelter program, a rehabilitation program for men with life-controlling issues, a food, clothing and furniture distribution center, a retreat and recreation center with a camp for underprivileged children, programs for isolated seniors, computer and job training and transitional and low-cost housing. The facility we went to had a cafeteria where we were able to serve lunch, almost 200 beds for men struggling with homelessness, and classrooms, where they teach about the bible amongst other things. First, we helped out with putting fresh sheets on the beds. We were also able to get a tour from one of the staff members. He told us how once was struggling with homelessness and was one of the men living in this very shelter. He was able to go through one of their programs for men and it turned his life around. He talked about how it was a struggle but now he is on the other side and now teaches some classes himself. Many of the staff members were once homeless and going through one of their programs. I think that it is important for the men living in the shelter to see these successful examples because it can give them hope if they are really struggling. Also, I think it is important that the staff can truly understand what the men are going through. When going through struggles, it is nice to have people who can truly empathize with you so you don’t have to feel alone in your struggle. This can evoke a stronger sense of hope. The atmosphere of the whole building was very positive. Almost everyone expressed gratitude for us being there. Most of the people there not only welcomed us, they also tried to accommodate for us as much as possible and they engaged in conversations as well. When serving the lunch to the men, everyone was very thankful. I really enjoyed this site.

ASB Day 3 | Nibras Karim

The third day felt a bit shorter. We went to Food & Friends, which is an organization that provides meals, groceries and nutrition counseling to people living with life-challenging illnesses that often lead to dietary restrictions. We set up an assembly line, packaging meals for specific restrictions. The work reminded me of the same type of work we do at our Food Bank in Kansas with the Food4Kids program, where we package food bags for the weekend for kids with food insecurity. We were able to package hundreds of meals and we were working so fast that the supervisor was surprised every time we needed a new job. Although I felt very productive, I realized that I missed the human interaction we had from the previous days. I think that working actively with other people the solve problems is what gives me energy to continue working.

ASB Day 2 | Nibras Karim

Day two was just full of good feelings.

Sometimes service can be depressing because you are constantly being reminded that there is a need simply because the world is unfair and sometimes cruel. We have to remember that the work needs to be done and we aren’t always here for our own selves. Today, however, I did not need to remind myself of this because of the wonderful people I worked with who gave me hope.

Our first service was at Drew Elementary, where we tutored kindergarteners and 1st graders through a program called Reading Partners. Reading Partners is a children’s literacy nonprofit with programs in over 40 school districts. It is a one-on-one system where students who are falling behind in literacy are able to catch up at their own pace. We had two sessions of one-on-ones and then we were able to have a reflection session with the staff and volunteer. We were able to compare the programs in schools in Wichita ti D.C. We learned that D.C. might be different for many reasons. For one, a majority of the students who need services are in the same schools, therefore there is not as much stigma around receiving them. Also, a majority of the teachers in D.C. are representative of their students. In D.C., there is a large black middle class. In Wichita, most of the teachers in public school are white women from small towns causing a stronger need for cultural competency. At Drew, we also learned about there after school program, Life Pieces to Masterpieces, which is for young boys and men to build their leadership and academic skills, advance their social and emotional development, and build their confidence through creative expression. The pieces that I saw were absolutely beautiful!

After a wonderful experience at Drew, we continued service by participating in YSOP’s Service Meal Party where we were able to prepare a meal for the community, serve them, and eat and play games with them as well. The meal is directed towards people who are homeless and/or hungry, but it is open to everyone. The unique part of this meal was that we got to sit down and eat with our guest just like a dinner party. Not only did this offer a stronger connection with the community, it also added a stronger meaning to the service. After chopping up onions for sloppy Joe’s, I was able to serve Jerry, Manuel, and Joe and we played Uno. Even though the purpose of service is not to make yourself feel better, I felt even more inspired after our dinner.

Today was incredibly energizing 🙂

ASB Day 1 | Nibras Karin

Today was an amazing start to what I am assuming will be a memorable week. We started of the morning early with a discussion about service in D.C. with another group from Wisconsin. I realized that in a room of over 30 volunteers, only 3 were male. It made me think about how service is gendered. Although there may be theories for why most non-profits are run by women, the question and answer keep going in a circle. Kind of like the chicken and the egg theory. It also made me think about what service might look like if the roles were switched or at least even.

The first site that we went to was Martha’s Table. Martha’s Table is an amazing, multifaceted non-profit organization. They provide pop-up grocery markets, where people in food deserts can get fresh produce for FREE. They also provide early childhood education and after school programs. There emergency support services include a mobile food truck, a 4pm daily meal service, and clothing services through Martha’s Outfitters and Martha’s Outlet, which is where we volunteered. The clothing services only provided high quality or dignity quality clothing as well as some home goods to anyone who needed it.

Ari, Sandra, and I had a special task of sort metro cards that were donated after the Women’s March in D.C. There were 10s of 1,000s of cards that were donated and many of them were loaded with quite a bit of money. This card would go out to community members who might not be able to afford to pay for the metro as apposed to the bus which is cheaper but slower. They had already donated about 300 cards and many are going to young interns.

During the discussion after volunteering, we talked about why homeless populations exist, especially in such affluent cities and areas. We also had a very good discussion about dignity and how when we serve the community, yes it’s good to be kind but in order to truly see everyone as equals we need to make sure that the service we provide allows them to maintain their dignity.

And to top it all off, we were able to have a discussion with the field office director of Housing and Urban Development in D.C., Marvin Turner. We discussed more of the policy side of things. A lot of his work has to do with differ parts of the community in order to get things done.

Today was a great day 🙂

Pre-Trip meditation | Nibras Karim

I am incredibly excited for this trip. I know that in the days leading up to this trip, I would repeatedly go through what to pack and try to plan out the week, even though we don’t get our itinerary until we get there. I have even struggled to fall asleep because I’m so excited.  I do have to remind myself why we are going to D.C. First and foremost, it is to learn. Externally, by learning about the world around us. And internally, by learning more about what our role is in the world. Second but equally as important, we are here to serve. This is our chance to practice wholehearted self -giving for a whole week. I’m excited to see what I will learn!

What is the significance of Reflection? | Nibras Karim

Whenever I hear the word reflection, I automatically think of the song from my favorite animated movie. The song was about the common struggle to find one’s identity, but doing so by looking at how others see us versus how we see ourselves.

A key component of reflection is comparison. We compare our current worldview with something new we have learnt or something we recently become aware of. With service learning, the purpose is to provide a service to the community while also learning more about service, the community, or even ourselves.

We can always provide a service without thinking twice about it. However, if we wanted to actually figure out why the service was needed and intervene in a way that was more proactive than reactive, reflection would be absolutely necessary. With reflection, we can evaluate how effective our service is and how we could improve how we are providing our service. Through reflection, we can see where the need is coming from and what options we have to address it. After that, we can continuously try to fix the source of the problem while also helping the immediate.

Reflection can also help us see the community in different ways. Service learning is about engaging in the community in ways that we might not do on a daily basis. This is important because being critical of the relationship with the community allows us to engage in a way that benefits ourselves and the community. This also develops a stronger connection to the community.

Another important aspect of reflection is the personal growth. By reflecting on the service that we provide, we can understand the world around us and what our role is in this world. This can also help us find what our purpose is. Reflection can also help us reevaluate what we think of ourselves and what we think what we are supposed to be doing with our lives. This is an important part of growing up and improving ourselves.

“Since everything is a reflection of our minds,
Everything can be changed by our minds” -Buddha