Candidate Centre: PK204

Candidate Name: Moosa Amjad Farooq

Reflective Paper

Evaluating The Project Outcome:

I am extremely pleased with the results our Outcome produced. This was done using
the brochure we handed out, it was printed in the national language of Pakistan, Urdu.
This was to increase the amount of people we could communicate with. It was written in
our brochure “ ‫”تعلیم مہنگی ہے اور لوگ تعلیم حاصل کرنے کے قابل نہیں ہیں۔‬, which translates to
“education is expensive and people aren't able to gain education.” This made our
outcome easier to understand. Our decision of making the brochure felt right when we
communicated our project to the locals, they only understood urdu and could only read
urdu. This we made sure by asking them how literate they were. This decision allowed
us to communicate with them more clearly. We also had written contact details of NGO
in urdu on the brochure and when we went back to assess the differences we had
made, we heard that people contacted NGOs and they had come to help people, one
person had been operated on and the trash had been collected.

However, what affected our outcome negatively was the number of people we reached
out to. We only managed to spread our message to one poor area, this was due to less
time. This meant our project was only communicated to a small number of people and
we failed to make other communities aware of their poverty situation. We could have
acted quickly in the earlier stages of our outcome so we could have visited multiple
areas. We also failed to make use of the social platforms, this would have increased the
number of people we reached out to and asked them to help and spread the message
to the poor around them. This would have increased our reach.

Evaluating Own Work Processes:

I was highly satisfied with my own work processes, I used various authentic sources
which I would find by looking at what sources they had used, the year they had been
released in and their reviews which they had gotten on their previous articles. This
helped me figure out if these sources were authentic, these helped me formulate a valid
and an authentic conclusion. This also improved my knowledge of the topic which
proved useful when executing the outcome and explaining it to the people. I could
communicate clearly with them and help them understand our outcome.

However, I did not work to my strengths and could have done better when gaining and
collecting info. I refrained from going to poor areas and visually learning which is my
strong suit, this impacted our outcome somewhat as my knowledge of the topic could
have further increased which would have made the project more efficient and
streamlined. This could be seen as I sometimes was clueless in discussions my group
members were taking part in. I should have gone to poor areas and taken notes and
observed things.

Performance as a Team Member

I completed my tasks on time and attended the meetings. This pushed our group further
and increased the momentum as it encouraged other team members to also work to the
deadline. For example, I was the first one to research poverty. As soon as I told my
teammates I had started research, all other members also started doing research and
submitted their research the next day. This helped us achieve major things in a small
amount of time.

However, I normally would only want my point to be accepted and disregarded other
members' points which caused unnecessary arguments in the group. I should have
improved in listening to my teammates' perspectives and avoiding rigid stances in
arguments. This would have resulted in quicker decision-making and would have
minimized conflicts. For example, I insisted on visiting and helping a rural area near me,
however, it was not feasible for others, causing disagreement and halting progress.

Team Work
Our team worked to each member's skillset. This made our group act efficient and get
things done quickly. For example, as someone who learns visually, I gathered some
information on poverty by capturing images, which I shared with my teammates. This
relaxed my teammates and allowed them to work freely on the survey they were
making.

However, we lacked communication, this meant that once some progress was made, no
follow up work was done. This consumed valuable time and prevented us from
executing outcomes in more areas. For example, some members missed scheduled
meetings without informing others. We had to reschedule meetings and adjust our
timelines to ensure timely completion of tasks and participation from everyone. Two
team members were also a part of the BDC O’Level Football team which affected their
attendance in our group meetings and we had to reschedule our meetings to
incorporate their training times.

Evaluating Learning

As I myself belonged from a poor background, I was aware of the root causes and the
consequences of poverty as a whole, especially in Pakistan.

I realized how a large percentage of the population was not aware that they were living
in poverty, nearly 41% of the population is living in poverty[1] which makes the poor
person think that they aren’t living in poverty as nearly everyone around them is facing
the same circumstances. This was visually seen as all the poor people were living in the
same part of the city and they did not know life outside it. Nearly 12.7% of the American
population also lives in poverty[2] but their life is extremely different to the Pakistani
poverty due to the benefits of the government. This made me realize how government
policies can reduce the consequence of poverty and allow people to live above the
poverty line.
Overall, my ability to communicate with others improved. Before, I couldn't talk to
strangers without stuttering and feeling some type of pressure but while executing the
outcome, I managed to overcome this fear and feel comfortable in talking to people
without stuttering and my legs shaking.