Seeing for You. In August 2020, our 1212 train of compassion...

2019-08-28

In the summer of 2019, our team volunteered for the third consecutive year helping Tibetan blind children in Lhasa. Our Tibet activity initiated with student volunteers hailing primarily from one US private school ten years ago; we have expanded to include mainland Chinese and international students studying in the United States. This year technology played a big role in our volunteer trip.

This year, our team included students from Indian Spring School, Xiamen International School, American Heritage School, and a couple of college students from Berkeley, Pennsylvania State University, Carnegie Mellon University, and NYU.

As able-bodied sighted people, we take for granted many things we never considered before. First and foremost, the autonomy we enjoy without a second thought. We call whom we want. We pick out our clothes, food, and entertainment. For our blind sisters and brothers, they considered it a rarity to be able to go enjoy a movie. We resolved to give these kids a gift: autonomy. Short of restoring their sight, giving them some independence was well within our power. Therefore, for this year's event, we invited all 35 blind Tibetan children to watch a movie at the cinema. The proposal seemed a bit weird. Although blind children could not see the film, they could still listen to it. We could explain to them what was happening as they watched the film. For this program, we established even stronger connections with the children. Through this years' service, everyone gained a deeper understanding of the meaning of dedication.

One of our students, Chloe, had mentioned how much she had learned through this year's activity. She remembered when the blind children followed our teammates into the cinema, with one hands on each other's shoulders, so they wouldn't trip. Norbu was hesitant and at first only held the corners of Chloe's shirt, so she firmly grabbed his hand and put it in the right position reassuring Norbu that there was nothing to be scared of. Chloe said she had explained the movie in the funniest way possible to help the children "see" the pictures. Norbu and Dawa laughed with Chloe like old friends. Dolma, one of the Tibetan children, claimed that this was one of her best experiences ever.

When it was time to say goodbye, the children clustered around our volunteers while imprinting their handprint on our T-shirt as a sign of gratitude. Each and every year, we stay committed to our vision and goals. Each act of kindness, no matter how small, makes a difference in the world and affects us, too.