Brushes for a cause! A small school on the outskirts of Bangalore became the setting for a Scilife for Good initiative shaped by color, care, and a shared sense of purpose.
EMEA Office
Louizalaan 489
1050 Brussels
Belgium
The journey began at 9:00 AM. By 10:00 AM, the team had arrived at Government Lower Primary School, Gavikuntahalli, a small school on the outskirts of Bangalore. It is, far enough from the usual routes to be easily missed and close enough to remind everyone that overlooked places are often not very far away.
The school had been chosen because of its remote location and the limited attention it receives compared with schools in more urban areas. For Scilife, this made the opportunity feel even more meaningful.
The goal was not only to paint a wall. It was to help create a learning space that felt cared for.
The visit was arranged through Youth for Seva, a volunteer movement that creates meaningful opportunities for people to serve their communities The purpose was simple: to help revitalize the school environment through murals that would bring more color, warmth, and inspiration to the children who learn there every day.
The school corridor was white when the Scilife team arrived. Pale morning light. Doorways opening into classrooms. Pencil outlines waiting quietly on the plaster.
There was a committed group of Scilifers there that day. Some wore caps. Some wore aprons. Some stood close to the wall, brush in hand, with the unexpected seriousness of people entrusted with something small but important: a line, a color, a shape slowly coming to life.
It did not matter who considered themselves an artist. That was never really the point.
What mattered was the willingness to begin. To stand in front of a blank wall and see it as a canvas waiting to be used. To take an ordinary school corridor and imagine what it might feel like for the children who would walk through it the next morning.
On a small table, the colors began to gather. Pink. Yellow. Orange. Mauve. Deep blue. Bowls of paint, open lids, brushes rinsed and passed from one person to another. The kind of ordinary materials that do not look like much at first, until a group of people decides to make something with them.
On the wall, the outlines were already waiting: a big heart, colored pencils. Elsewhere, a flowering plant climbing toward the ceiling. Planets in their orbits. The vocabulary of a science classroom, rendered in paint.
Some mixed paint. Some traced lines. Some stepped back, tilted their head, and moved forward again.
Slowly, the wall began to change. Not dramatically. Not all at once. Just the way most meaningful things change: layer by layer, hand by hand, with care accumulating in plain sight.
The most beautiful part of the day was not only watching the murals come to life.
It was watching the children become part of the story.
At first, they were curious. Then they came closer. Then they started helping, painting alongside the team with excitement, focus, and the kind of joy that needs very little explanation.
There was a language barrier. But it never really felt like one.
Some things are fluent without words: laughter, color, a shared brush, a small hand reaching for paint, a smile that says I understand why you are here.
The distance between visitor and host, volunteer and observer, adult and child became softer, less important. The corridor turned into a shared workspace, and then, almost without anyone planning it, into something like a celebration.
There was dancing too.
Because joy, when it is allowed into a place, rarely stands still.
The murals stayed at the school. But the feeling of the day travelled back with the team.
For some, it was the joy of seeing children celebrate their newly painted school. For others, it was the reminder that small contributions can become powerful when people make them together. And for many, it was the simple act of creating something by hand, in a place where it truly mattered.
“Painting the school mural was such a joyful experience. It gave me the opportunity to give something back to the community and bring happiness to children, who were filled with energy and excitement as they celebrated their newly painted school.”
Jyotsana Verma, Senior Software Test Engineer
“Being part of the mural activity made me realize how impactful small contributions can be when done together as a team. It was a fun, positive, and memorable experience that reflected the collaborative spirit of Scilife.”
“Watching the kids’ faces light up as the murals came to life was something I won’t forget. It’s easy to get heads down in work, but creating something together, with your hands, in a place that needed it, reminds you why showing up for the community around you actually matters.”
“Painting the mural felt like bringing back a part of childhood, just painting freely, being creative, and enjoying the moment together. Seeing how excited the children were to help made the whole experience even more meaningful. One of my favorite parts of the day was seeing how excited the children were to help. They came forward on their own, asked to participate, and enjoyed every little part of the activity with so much happiness and energy.”
It was about the road to a school that does not always receive the attention it deserves.
It was about a corridor that, by the end of the day, felt different.
The people who chose to keep going.
The beauty of doing something meaningful and seeing the eyes of another person light up as a result.
That is what Scilife for Good is meant to hold: not just the idea of giving back, but the human moments that happen when people show up with care, presence, and a willingness to be useful.
The murals stayed behind in Gavikuntahalli. But the memory travelled back with everyone who had been there.
A wall. A brush. A group of people. A few children dancing in a school corridor.
And one of those moments when giving back feels exactly as it should: simple, human, and full of color.
A heartfelt thank you to Youth for Seva for helping make this experience possible and for connecting Scilife with a school community where our team could contribute in a meaningful way. We are especially grateful to Santosh Singh, Corporate Volunteering Manager, and Rohit J Bellani, Corporate Volunteering Associate Manager, for their guidance, coordination, and support throughout the activity. Their work behind the scenes helped turn a simple idea into a day full of color, care, and connection.
Through Scilife for Good, we create opportunities for our teams to give back to the communities around them. Not always through big gestures. Sometimes, through smaller ones that carry just as much meaning: time, attention, creativity, and a group of Scilifers willing to show up with both hands and heart.
EMEA Office
Louizalaan 489
1050 Brussels
Belgium
US Office
Scilife Inc.
228 E 45th St. RM 9E
New York, NY 10017
