‘Learning resilience through travel’ is what Dungar expresses after his amazing trip.

The Akanksha alumni travelled to four cities for a period of twenty-one days, meeting new people, understanding different cultures, solving environmental problems in remote villages and garnering life-lessons on the go. Dungar shares his experience about the trip.

“The trip of leadership collective 2018, organized by 360 plus, focused on resilience. The trip taught the participants about cultural resilience, environmental resilience, and emotional resilience by putting them into all new conditions and environments. The candidates were from around the globe and hence made up a diverse group of teenagers.

There were candidates from America, Nepal, South Africa, and India. We visited four destinations over the period of 21 days, from Hyderabad to Bangalore, then to Dharamshala with Delhi being our final stop.

As a pre-work for the trip, we undertook assignments on Google classroom that was related to the places and people we were going to visit. This acted as research and even helped me garner a better understanding of the geography and demographics.

During the trip, we had different tasks and activities to do, each task designed to make us a better team. We experienced the culture of every place by interacting with the locals and even dining at their homes in Hyderabad. We visited a village called Kuppam where we collaborated with students of secondary school. We had to come with a prototype or a campaign that would solve the environmental problem of the village and understand environmental resilience. In Dharamshala, we learned about the cultural resilience of the Tibetans who are exiled from Tibet and are still keeping their culture alive. We also stayed at a home in a village near Dharamshala.

As a group of 30 teenagers all in a new environment and out of our comfort zone, we had to support each other and keep our differences aside. We could put forward our thoughts freely, ensuring we are together as a team. We called ourselves a family and we actually became a family in those 21 days. We also had great group leaders who took great care of us and made sure everything went smoothly.

My experience as an individual on this trip was very fulfilling and I had a lot to take away from it. First of all, as a person, I saw a lot of changes in myself, from being a shy and quiet boy to being able to talk to people easily. I got to see the world outside my daily day in Mumbai and hear stories of people from different backgrounds. It is amazing when you understand that you are just living in a small place on this earth which is your world but traveling teaches you that there are a lot of places you can go and a lot of people you can know. The trip has helped me make some wonderful friends and I am still in contact with them. The most memorable moment from the trip would be living at the hostel in Delhi because it was the first time ever I lived in a dorm. We would have daily reflections for the day in the evening and this made me reflect more upon myself and keep myself on task. Since I had to stay away from home, I had to take care of my own things and be responsible.

This was a once in a lifetime opportunity for me to travel and explore. I am glad that I got this opportunity. .”