Over the past 2 years, the Sewa ASPIRE program has completely changed my life. I discovered my passion for teaching, combined it with my passion for coding, and made a coding curriculum for the students. It started with teaching basics like “What is an algorithm?” Soon, they started creating their own algorithms. And still, we are just scratching the surface of the capabilities of the kids. I’m so glad to be providing the kids with exposure to fields like coding at such a young age, and I’m sure that the things we teach them will change their lives. I love to think about how the lessons we teach them will inspire them. Maybe they’ll remember our bright yellow shirts a couple years from now and think to themselves: “Those were the people that taught me this skill.” This isn’t just a daycare, this is an experience, both for volunteers and students. As volunteers, we get the opportunity to introduce them to what they may aspire to be one day.

Teaching is a useful skill that you’ll gain experience with as a volunteer at the ASPIRE program. The program puts you right in front of the students. Although it may seem very challenging to engage students, it’s a great learning experience that will help you in your future aspirations. The ASPIRE program introduced the kids to many skills. Just to mention a few topics, art, robotics, dance, drama, film production, coding, chemistry, math, English, nutrition, and more. The program is very open to teaching anything that’s meaningful and inspiring to the students. And, of course, we have fun as well.

Teaching at schools in underserved communities was another aspect that Sewa gave me exposure to. It was interesting to teach the students with resources in the classroom being limited at times. In my opinion, these underserved communities have the most unused potential. Teaching at these schools through the Sewa ASPIRE program allows me to make a difference in my community.

I would highly recommend the Sewa ASPIRE program to anyone who is interested in volunteering. Volunteering at ASPIRE definitely made me put in a lot of effort in creating and teaching curriculum for the kids, but I also learned a lot during the program. It’s been a more meaningful experience than any other volunteering I’ve done.

I used to think that Sewa meant serving others, but I now understand that the act of serving itself has a very profound impact on oneself as well.

—Shaunak Jog