Honor Baslim - Week 2

Hi friends,

So this may mean nothing to most people but I lunged my first horse EVER - which was a really freaking cool experience. Lunging is when you stand in the middle of a circle with a lunge line attached to the horses bridle (the leather straps on their head) and you use queue's - typically clucks, kisses, as well as words "trot", "whoa", "easy", etc. - to get the horse to do what you want - be it walk, trot, canter, stop, etc. So again, I stood in the middle of a circle with a thousand pound animal attached to a rope I was holding, running circles around me.

IT. WAS. AWESOME.

Now on a more service oriented note - one of our clients, we'll call him Tom, came in in quite the mood...

Tom

Spurs

Like pretty much EXACTLY like Donald above. I would figure Tom is probably about 4 or 5 years old, and he probably has some issues (like we all do) his are just a little more...lets say, loud, than the rest of ours. So we get him on Spurs (the horse) and he immediately tries to throw all 40 pounds he's got on to the ground. Therefore Tom needs two Sidewalkers to keep him firmly planted on the horse. For the first ten minutes of the lesson Tom screamed, cried, and tried to remove his helmet. Then something cool happened - while he was laying back on Spurs I asked him to sit up, he promptly said no, so I asked him for a high-five but told him he had to sit up to give it to me. I was genuinely surprised when he looked at me, and sat up and slapped my hand with his own sticky snot covered one. The rest of the lesson had a few more hiccups but for the most part he was actually engaged and I helped to keep him that way. It twas cool.

Will write again soon.


Bonner Love,
Honor

Rehoboth Children's Home

Week 1

With my first week at Rehoboth coming to a close in what seemed like the blink of an eye, I figured I should probably start writing down some of the things that have happened so far while they’re still fresh in my mind.

lol I'm not funny.

First off, a little bit of background: The Rehoboth Children’s home is one of three “branches” of an organization founded by Victor and Chici Barbella. In addition to the home, the Barbellas founded a Drug & Alcohol Rehabilitation Center for men and a Christian Church. The Barbellas have known me since I was born and have remained good family friends throughout the years. Because of this relationship, I was able to visit Rehoboth during my Junior year in High School. This trip lasted only 10 days but the impact that the kids at the home made on me would ensure my return.

Fast forward a couple years and I found myself with the perfect opportunity to reconnect with the Barbellas and the kids at the home: Bonner SoS! After contacting Chici, she confirmed that my help was needed as a mentor in the girls’ home. Currently there are only two girls at the home: Maria & Fernanda. They are both 14 and OBSESSED with learning how  to waltz (Quinceañera is coming up). 

Initially, I moved into the girls’ home and was sharing a room with the house mom (who is awesome) but she pretty much had everything under control so on Wednesday I moved into the boys’ home.

This first week we have been figuring out my schedule… I wake up @ 7 when the kids leave for school. After I shower, make my bed and have breakfast, I start on some office work. This week we are preparing for a group that is coming from FL (hollaaaa) to spend time with the kids and take them shopping. I’ve also been working on a new website, translating the kids’ letters to their sponsors, showing the staff how to use the Microsoft Suite etc. Around noon I help prepare the dining hall for lunch. The kids come back around 12:30 and the rest of the day is spent serving meals, helping with clean up, doing homework, playing soccer, reading, playing games……..drinking lots of coffee…….overseeing chores and bath time and just generally having a blast with the little ones because they are sooooo cute.

 

My favorite activity so far is homework time because I feel like I’ve been able to make some real progress with some of the kids. It’s interesting to see the difference between the kids in Guatemala and the kids at Chisholm because they are refreshingly eager to learn. When I assign the kids multiplication or division practice they run off to do it and come back for more… I know I for one was definitely not that eager for homework as a kid….lololol but it’s something I definitely admire in them.

Anyway this is becoming perilously long but it’s just so hard to condense an entire week into a tiny blog post so bear with me :P

Until later Goonies,

Bella

Honor Baslim - Week 1

Hey everyone!

I hope everyone's Summer of Service are off to a great start - for those of you that I haven't already told I am doing my SoS with the Helen Woodward Animal Center in San Diego. I started last Wednesday and I got to be honest it is hard work, I'm doing the same sort of thing that I did with my former service site Hope Reins with the therapeutic riding for disabled adults and children.

At this site though I have a lot more hands on experience then I did at my former site. This last week I spent a lot of time getting to know the therapy horses and fellow volunteers, as well as the different clients. My time is split between caring for the horses (tacking up for lessons, grooming, mucking stalls, feeding, etc.) and working with clients (side walking, leading, teaching tack, etc.).

I am looking forward to learning more and becoming more of a leader for this organization.

I'll write again soon!


Bonner Love,
Honor


PS - I'm acquiring a wicked farmers/sunglasses tan

Week 2: Love & Respect

Another lesson that was further instilled in me from this successive week of service... always make everyone feel equally cared for and respected. This doesn't mean that there aren't moments when one has to be firm, but things always go more smoothly when the situation is approached in a pleasant and respectful manner. 

I mention these lessons as things that I have noticed throughout my learning process, that is life, as well as during my service at IRMC. These are qualities that I have seen in other volunteers whom I serve beside and qualities that I have grown to strengthen in myself. 

In the hospital, we often see patients who are, assumably, not financially stable, do not have their own transportation, have mental and/or emotional instabilities, and/or are not capable of fully caring for themselves, as they once were. These unfortunate factors are mainly due to age, financial status, or a combination of both. Nonetheless, these individuals are human beings who need extra care, rather than diminished care, and that is where the volunteers, in excess of the staff, come into play. 

Other volunteers and I have spent much extra time and energy with patients and visitors, making sure that they get the answers that they are looking for and get where they need to be on time. I greatly commend these individuals for fighting through whatever circumstances in which they may be, extending responsibility and emotional strength in order to carry on. The tasks to service these individuals are rarely ever too great - all it takes is a warm greeting to each person who walks in and out of the front entrance, an extra couple of phone calls to get the right information that will convenience and reassure the visitors from further stress, a respectful addressing to each individual so that they may feel equal as a human being, or an optimistic note to a disheartened perspective to give them an extra boost of care and encouragement. I have seen the impact that these simple actions have on the individuals around us. It gives people a sense of hope and love. And nothing is stronger than those.

Problems with the Blogs

Hey Everyone!

I haven't realized the complexity of the problem you all were having until today. I've had emails and comments about how the orange button that's suppose to let you add to the blog is gone in a lot of your dashboards.

I'll try to solve this problem for now please just write your prompts on a journal or a Microsoft word page.

Sorry for the inconvenience.

 

How to Guide to Blogging

Hello my beautiful Bonners!

Aniarka here to provide a step by step of...

(Drum roll please)



"How to write and post your blog post to REFLECTIONS!"

 

Please. Please. Hold your applause.

Step 1: The easiest way to start blogging is to have a gmail account. So I'll wait here for you until you finish making yourself an email with google. Your back? Awesome! Now on the right hand corner you will see a blue button that says Join this Site. Click on it and join in.

Step 2: Welcome you are now a member! The next page will be where you can now contribute to the blog. Click on the orange button with the pencil (or pen) on it and get ready to write! If your wondering what you need to write go to this link: http://stetsonbonner.pbworks.com/w/page/18250388/Summer%20of%20Service
Read the selections under the Summer Blog link.

Step 3: Once your done writing your experiences and feelings press the Publish button on the right corner of the screen.

Step 4: This step is only if you want to spice up your blog. First make a Photobucket account and write out your blog. If you want to add gifs or photos, Photobucket would be the best place to upload them and paste them to your post. There are a lot of gif dedicated websites filled with thousands of reactions you need to just find them.

If you need anymore help just reply to this post or email me.

Until then.

SoS 2014 Week 1: A New Level of Engagement

How exciting is it that my second and final Summer of Service is now in progress?! It is for me, at least. Just within the past week of returning to my service at Indian River Medical Center, I have seen growth in my performance and fervor for assisting those who come into the hospital. Though I did enjoy and appreciate the experience of working in various hospitality (waiting) rooms last summer, I feel at home working predominantly with the other volunteers in the auxiliary this year. The main activities us volunteers perform are responding to calls for patient discharges, greeting and escorting visitors, delivering lab specimens and flowers, and manning the reception desks at both entrances. Amongst these tasks, we face other responsibilities, and must always maintain a courteous, professional, and positive attitude, in addition to abiding by HIPPA confidentiality standards. Some of the responsibilities include dealing with unique situations, which can at times be sensitive and must be handled with composure and strategy. For instance, this past week alone, one of the volunteers had to call a code blue and a team for immediate action because a staff member was experiencing chest pains. Another volunteer called the proper department to clean up broken glass in an elevator from a flower vase that had fallen. These and other events occur unexpectedly and it is important that we all look out for one another to prevent misfortunes. This, in itself, is a life lesson. Overall, working in the auxiliary is more direct in assisting and serving alongside countless individuals, thus, providing opportunity for more relationships to develop, more good to be done, and a more valuable experience to be absorbed.

Nonetheless, it is lucky for me that serving in the auxiliary is not all that I do at IRMC. I additionally work as a data collection agent for Infectious Control, observing and recording the sanitation practices and techniques of staff in the hospital. This data is extremely important in determining whether the spreading of illnesses between patients in the hospital is a prevalent issue and whether sanitation practices can entirely prevent this transmission. The data will eventually be released to expose accurate sanitation behaviors and further promote universal sanitation as a precaution against the transference of illness. 

As if all of this isn't exciting enough for you devoted readers, I have also worked in the administration office this week. I was on what I call "iPad duty," which entailed me cleaning, updating, and charging all of the iPads that are used during committee meetings. Simultaneously, I answered incoming phone calls for the administration receptionist, who was absent. 

As you can imagine, my collective service at IRMC is beneficial to the hospital, those with whom I come into contact, and myself. I find myself full of effortless pleasure and energy to perform tasks each day for up to ten straight hours. And I cannot be more appreciative of the flexibility, welcoming nature, and vital learning experience that everyone at IRMC is proving for me already for another summer. 

All I can say to the rest of you is... Happy Service Learning! Get out there, get engaged, and put your all into it!