Saying yes is the beginning

Hello guys!

My name is Pramila Limbu and I am currently studying International business.  As part of my student-led project I coordinated the Garden makeover for Age Concern on 4^th of November 2013.

Why I said yes?

I always had a passion of helping others and improving the community. Even though my degree is international business which is not directly related to what this project is about. Volunteering has always been a hobby of mine since I was in school. In school there were various fund raisers I was involved in. I remember particularly when I was in the choir. We raised money for St. Helena hospice by doing a mini concert for the local community. I also volunteered for sense charity shop on Saturdays for 4 years. When I was in college I volunteered for conservation for areas like Abberton reserve, Fringringhoe and Bradwell on sea.
There was also another reason that I had never led a project so, this was an opportunity for me to experience the excitement and hard work that goes into leading a volunteering project.

Project day!

On the day I was nervous but I didn't have to be as Sarah (volunteering coordinator) was also with me which was good.  I was most afraid about the turnout of people but I had more than enough people to volunteer for the project. So, I was very happy. The weather was great and sunny which was a plus. After that we got on with it and finished the job. Below are pictures of the event as pictures speak a thousand words!

Volunteers on the day: Adeeba, Ayan, Fadame, Nazya, Sarah (KUSU Projects Volunteer Coordinator), Selvia, and Sofie.

Results!

This experience made me very proud of myself as I know that I made a change in the age concern garden. I am now inspired to start a project myself if I want to and not just volunteer when there is a project. If you have an idea make it happen and don't wait for others to come up with the Idea and regret it later. So, this experience was very eye opening for me. There were lots of documents to fill in, various meetings to discuss at and visiting the site several times. But, it was all worth it at the end. The feels you get is amazing and gives you a different kind of buzz. Lastly this would have been possible without the lovely volunteers. Thank you very much once again!

If you are interested in setting up and running your own volunteering project, then contact KUSU Volunteering at S.Dutton@kingston.ac.uk.