Ann Foundation is fortunate enough to work with a global family of inspiring and talented volunteers.
This is Mahima’s story:
I started working with Ann Foundation in 2012. Teaching disadvantaged students is a most rewarding form of volunteering. These students come from resource poor backgrounds. Ann Foundation gives them necessary tools and provides the kind of assistance unavailable to them in their home country. Being able to take these classes for free, and to connect with people who could help them with their career goals is very motivating for these students unlike privileged students in the U.S. they never skip a class.
Seeing them begin with some very basic English, with very few words, to being able to put two or three sentences together represents real progress, and the experience of helping them heartens me. I was also happy when the students said they found the classes very useful and were able to implement some of the language skills they had learned outside of class.
I bonded with the children I was teaching. One of my students, named Samrat, was applying for a job and he asked me to help him with his application and a cover letter. To be able to help them beyond just teaching Basic English, and to impact their lives in a larger way – answering their questions, engaging in discussions, encouraging their interest over a range of topics was deeply satisfying.
Besides teaching English, communicating with these students remotely helped them learn basic computer skills and aided with their personal development.
The classes we provide may simply reinforce students’ existing knowledge, and give them confidence in what they have already learned in their community schools. The purpose of our classes is to supplement and expand their education. In addition to providing academic learning, these classes furnish the support that these students need to be self-assured and successful in reaching their life and career goals.
The help that these students receive allow them to learn about the possibilities that exist in a world larger than the one they know. I personally feel that Ann Foundation, in providing access to resources unavailable to the students in their daily lives, is accomplishing a great service.
“Education opens up opportunities and offers the means for moving on in life.”
If you like what you’ve read about Mahima’s experience, be sure to read other volunteers’ stories. While you’re on our website, be sure to explore ways in which you can contribute.