Introduction: During our school’s Garba Fest, our group decided to set up a lemon soda stall where we sold drinks to students and teachers. It was a fun and busy event with lots of people coming to enjoy the festival. All the money we earned from selling lemon soda was donated to the school so that it could be used for charity purposes. This activity helped us learn teamwork, money management, and the importance of helping others through simple actions.

LO1 – Identify own strengths and develop areas for growth: Through this activity, I realized that I am good at communicating with people and convincing them to buy. I enjoyed talking to different people and promoting our stall. However, I noticed that I needed to improve my organization skills, especially when things got hectic and orders started piling up. I also learned to manage time better so that customers didn’t have to wait too long. This helped me identify how I can grow in both planning and multitasking in future activities.

LO2 – Demonstrate that challenges have been undertaken, developing new skills in the process: The biggest challenge was managing the crowd during peak hours. There were times when too many people came at once (when there was a break in the middle of the event), and we had to make lemon soda quickly while keeping everything clean and organized. It was tiring but taught us how to stay calm and focused under pressure. I also developed new skills like handling money carefully, dividing work efficiently among the group, and maintaining hygiene while serving.

LO4 – Show commitment to and perseverance in CAS experiences: Even though the work was physically tiring and the weather was hot (I was wearing a kurta and there was no fan), I stayed committed throughout the fest. We started early for preparing the stall and stayed until the end to make sure we served everyone. I didn’t leave the stall even when it got exhausting because I wanted to make sure our contribution made a difference and so that we could earn as much as possible for donation. This experience reminded me that consistency and effort are important when doing any kind of service work.

LO5 – Demonstrate the skills and recognize the benefits of working collaboratively: Teamwork played a big role in this activity. Everyone had a role as some made the drinks, some handled money, and others served customers. We had to coordinate constantly so that everything ran smoothly. Working together helped us finish faster and made the work more enjoyable. I learned that collaboration helps reduce stress and increases efficiency, especially when everyone supports one another.

LO7 – Recognize and consider the ethics of choices and actions: We made sure our stall followed ethical practices. We kept our area clean, avoided wasting materials, disposed waste in different dry and wet waste bins, and priced the drinks fairly so that everyone could afford them. Most importantly, we decided to donate all the money to charity instead of keeping any profit for ourselves. This made me realize the importance of using our actions for a good cause and how even small efforts can make a positive difference.

Conclusion: The Garba Fest Lemon Soda Stall was more than just a fun school event—it was a meaningful experience that taught me responsibility, teamwork, and empathy. I learned how to handle real-life situations, communicate effectively, and stay committed to a cause. Knowing that our hard work helped raise money for charity made the entire effort feel truly rewarding.