Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Blogging day 2

Our First Day at Operation Breakthrough-03/14/2011 Our day started rather precariously. We all got up on time and were immediately introduced to the shower situation we had strived to prevent the night before. Our plan did not go very well. Each person that was supposed to take a shower in the morning was supposed to wake up the next person designated to take a shower. Somewhere in the chain, something went wrong, but we adapted to this situation and were pretty much on schedule. While preparing our breakfast, the group joining us from Eastern Illinois left before us, while we were finishing our preparations of our lunches, and we received a call while making our departure. The other group informed us we were not needed at the site until 9:00 a.m. We had originally planned to arrive at Operation Breakthrough (OB) at a little after 8:00 a.m. The gap in time was spent playing an ice breaker and getting to know each other a bit better. Finally, after a slight delay, we walked down the street to the headquarters of OB Kansas City. OB is a non-profit organization serving as a safe and secure sanctuary for lower income children. Most of the 600 children attending each day have come from families in poverty and have been displaced. Some of children experience routine gang activity and some of the children come from various foster homes. OB seeks to look after these children while caregivers are busy tending to other important aspects of their lives. When we arrived at the center, we were informed that many of the children were school age children on spring break. Our group was surprised at the number of volunteers who had come to help in OB in their care for the children of Kansas City. (There were students from Montana, Virginia, Minnesota, Missouri, and Wisconsin--7 service groups in all) We were debriefed in our mission at OB and were immediately separated into two separate groups. Twenty four of the volunteers who had come from the various states would be asked to teach classes and conduct activities with school age children, while the rest of the volunteers would help to care for children under the age of five. The group of teachers were given short lessons plans in subjects such as art, home education, computer, writing, and free play games. The lesson plans were not extensive, but the teachers found other activities in addition to those provided to engage the different group of students. Although some experiences were difficult to maneuver and even slightly frustrating, many teachers had inspirational experiences as well. Kerstin, Sam P, and Cailin gained insights into the lives of the students through the construction of creative stories. Melissa helped students read through published stories in groups and acted out situations dealing with life issues with a group of 6th-8th grade students. Jared helped students create art projects and delve into their own creative minds. Rachel helped students make homemade butter. Maranda and Laura brought out student’s playful side by teaching and engaging in various games and activities with the students. The rest of the volunteers were working with infants and children under five. Sarah and Sam N. received a tour of the entire facility. They then volunteered to care for a group of infants: feeding the children, playing with them, and rocking them to sleep. They also helped the young children with walking, crawling, and fine motor skills. We concluded our day by traveling to Kansas to do some grocery shopping and reflected on our daily experiences through a reflection period after dinner. During reflection many helpful comments were provided, and we even had a few laughs at an icebreaker requiring us to spell our middle names with our butt. Although we are all exhausted from our first day experiences, we are all looking forward to continuing our experiences at OB tomorrow.

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