Day 7

May 27, 2016

Today was our last day of service and our stay in Indy is quickly coming to a close. Like yesterday, our service today was at Hollis Adams Foundation and it was sad to say some last goodbyes to the new friends we have made. We were glad that the sun decided to come out; it was so much fun spending a good chunk of our day outside blowing bubbles and squirting each other with water guns. While we were outside, I had one standout interaction with a participant who is deaf. It was difficult to communicate with him, but one of the first things he signed to me was his name. He asked me what my name is and it eventually lead to him giving me a name in sign language.

Everyone at Hollis Adams was so unique, but also so dear. I could go on about all of the special interactions I had with all the participants, but this blog post will become a novel.
Reflecting on our service this week, it seems like all we did was hang out with people with disabilities, and it all clicked for me as to why that was so important during reflection tonight. Someone brought up that our AB experience is unique because it's not about bringing a mass amount of change to a social issue, but it's more about changing other people's perspectives-- getting them to understand this community and to accept them. It's so easy for us to look at people with disabilities and see them as less or feel sorry for them, but a lot of them are actually so content with where they are. They are people, so that qualifies them to the same level of worth of people without disabilities possess and from what I observed, a lot of them seem to be living more fulfilling lives than many people I know back home. The individuals without disabilities usually cannot advocate for themselves or are not empowered enough to advocate for themselves, so it is our role as active citizens to continue to advocate for them and to empower them to advocate for themselves.

I think I've grown vastly in such a short time frame. Before this trip, I sincerely believed in equality for all people despite their inherent differences. Believing is one thing, but putting
your beliefs into practice is an entirely different matter. The skills I've learned and experience I've gained have been invaluable. And I intend to put this knowledge to good use.

Our team with the participants from Hollis Adams. They made us a banner!

It's been real,

Caroline & Tunji