I am an animal lover and I feel deeply responsible for their well being. Hence, given an opportunity, I always make it my priority to do everything I can to ensure their safety. I also am an outdoor person and I like to build big, constructive structures and see it fulfill its purpose and hence I selected this CAS activity.

Our location where we had to make the well cover was surrounded by approximately 1,100 wells which were yet to be covered. Unfortunately these wells cause an average of 12-15 animals to fall into them and most of them are lions as the vicinity is a Wildlife Sanctuary for Asiatic Lions who have a dwindling population. Looking at the severe situation, its best to work quickly to prevent the population from going down.

The CAS trip was a completely new exposure for all us as it was something we had never even thought of doing. We were actually surprised to see what awaited us. We went there like complete strangers to the place and ended up learning things to remember for a lifetime. The trip was kind of a slap on my face actually as I realized how things are done in REAL. When we were going for the trip, we all were kind of confident for all the work we thought we would have to do over there. However, when the work began and our friends showed difficulty using the equipment and machines, we were mocking and giggling at them thinking why were they acting like cat on a hot brick? Soon as our turn came to work, we all cluttered up as well and some of us paid severe price for being a little negligent and not taking precautions like not wearing protection while wielding. The work we were expected to do was very demanding contrasting to how it looked. We thought it was a piece of cake to weld an edge or smooth down the surfaces but it wasn’t when we did it on our own.

When I realised that I wasn’t able to do the work which we were required to do, I decided to learn it from the experts over there and try to improve as much as I could. Another challenge we faced there was the unavoidable issue, the power cut. We didn’t have electricity for a day over there and so the next day, we had to buckle up to work under the hot sun no matter how baked the atmosphere was. We had the determination and the enthusiasm to get it done which helped us to work through the harsh conditions.

One advantageous thing about working with friends is that, when we were worn out and ready to give up, we saw our friends working and we immediately got inspired and got a push up to give in all the energy that we had. An interesting thing about working with our classmates is that we know each other and we can assign work according to our strengths and weaknesses. The efforts were divided amongst us and we kept up with the work we were assigned.

Another challenge came when we had to go at the site where we had to cover the well. The place was located deep inside the forest and we had to walk all the way there to see our work coming to life. It was a long and tiring walk but we kept walking with the feeling of achievement in ourselves that we have built something to help the animals. It took only 10 mins for us to put the cover in place but the struggle of getting there and coming back out of the forest was inimitable. However, it was part of the learning process and again having colleagues who push you to keep going are the main asset of having to do work in groups.

This CAS trip has surely been an awakening call to all of us as we understood what all hard work we have to undergo in making a simple well cover. Also the diminishing number of Asiatic lions and how important is it to save them was something new that we learned about and we will make it a point to always appreciate the species around us and spread the awareness about the same.