Creating bonds through sports
On 18 November, the Aga Khan Academy Hyderabad hosted 90 students from the Mahatma Jyothiba Phule Telangana Backward Classes Welfare Residential School for a fun day filled with sports.
As part of their service learning initiative, Grade 9-10 students from AKA Hyderabad sought to collaborate with the students from the Mahatma Jyothiba Phule Telangana Backward Classes Welfare Residential School to share their knowledge and skills in sports. AKA Hyderabad students divided themselves into groups based on the sport(s) they are the most knowledgeable about and created strategies on how to teach the students the sports without letting any language differences come in the way. Various sports were on offer for the students, such as table tennis, football and much more.
“I was a member of the team teaching roughly 11 kids to play table tennis,” said Grade 10 student Mihika Das Gupta.“I was astounded by how rapidly they picked up the skill! In about 10 minutes, they mastered a new sport. Since we wanted them to enjoy themselves while using the equipment to play the sport, we taught them the fundamentals of it. What ensued was an hour of spirited play and lots of shared laughter with newly found peers. The varied backgrounds we all came from faded away in the face of the joy of learning and playing together.”
Service learning is an essential element of the International Baccalaureate's Middle Years Programme that resonates with the Aga Khan Academies’ mission and vision of developing ethical leaders of tomorrow who will positively contribute to their local communities. Students across the Academies are encouraged to partner with local organisations and groups, which helps them gain a sense of the interconnectedness of their education with the world around them. At AKA Hyderabad, students have participated in various community service initiatives, such as procuring and distributing sanitary napkin kits during the COVID-19 pandemic, volunteering at animal shelters and more.
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