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Connais-Tu Mon Beau Village?

12/19/2022

6 Comments

 
Écrit par CorpsAfrica/Senegal Volontaire Amy Mbacké

En plein cœur des paysages agraires, Médina Yéra est un paisible village qui s’étend sur des hectares à travers des surfaces agricoles. Créé en 1948 par 6 personnes (Mamadou Diatta, Yéra Diatta, Sountou Diatta, Dionkounda Diatta, Carfala Keïta et Sara Ndao) qui après un entretien décidèrent de quitter le village d’à côté (Sitawlin Manding) pour s’installer à Médina Yéra. Gardant son caractère rural et sa propre identité, Médina Yéra doit son nom à la ville Sainte du Prophète Seydina Mouhamed (PSL) qui est Médinatoul Mounawra et Yéra le nom du chef de village à cette époque. Le village compte 182 habitants, la population est constituée de la plupart des socés et de 2 familles peuls et possède une situation géographique privilégiée. Seulement 15km le sépare de la ville de Tambacounda et il fait partie du département de Nétéboulou, se situant sur la route national qui mène à Kolda et de nombreux villages se trouvent dans un rayon de moins de 4km:
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  • à l’ Est par le village de Néma Moussa
  • à l’Ouest par Sitawling Manding
  • au Sud par Touba darou Salam
  • au Sud-est par Héra Makoulon
  • au Nord par Sara Sidi

Le village est façonné par les hommes et leurs activités agricoles. Tout au long de l’année, la communauté ne s’anime que pendant la saison des pluies grâce à l’agriculture pluviale qui devient incontournable pour ces habitants. Les spéculations qu’ils cultivent sont : le maïs, l’arachide, le mil et le coton. Et pour ces activités, la communauté est encadrée par des partenaires comme la SODEFITEX qui les fournit à crédit des intrants pour la culture du coton et la SONACOS pour la culture d’arachide et pour le maïs ils font de l’agriculture bio. Après la récolte, les cultures sont divisés en 3 parties:
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  • la première pour la consommation familiale 
  • la deuxième destinée au commerce 
  • et la troisième pour les apports des projets et les frais des familles

Comme infrastructures, Médina Yéra a bénéficié d’un puits qui date de 1954 par un français du nom de Mr Dominic et dont la mise en eau 💦 a été financée par le CARITAS en 1991.En Août de cette même année, le village a créé la Banque Céréalière  de Médina Yéra financée par ce même projet. Cette banque a comme objectif d’acheter du mil et le donner aux familles à crédit pour après recevoir des intérêt. Par exemple pour 10kg de mil prêté il faut 1 kg de plus pour le remboursement. 

En 2019 PAM (Programme Alimentaire Mondiale)  est venu renforcer la banque avec un don de 10 tonnes de Maïs blanc. En Octobre 1997, le village a sa première école élémentaire constituée de deux classes. En 2020 ils ont bénéficié d’un deuxième puits qui est l’œuvre de l’association « Amana Projects Sénégal ». Mais toujours, la population montre leur besoin crucial en eau potable car le constat général est qu’après les cultures pluviales ,les jeunes migrent vers d’autres régions par manque d’activités comme le maraîchage.

Le village est bâti sur un passé historique des plus remarquables nous dit Mr Mouhamadou Soucouta Diatta qui est le cinquième et l’actuel chef de village depuis Avril 2000.Ce dernier est le premier enfant né dans ce village ce qui a fait le nom de Soucouta qui signifie « nouvelle maison » et à cette époque ils attendaient le jour où tu vas t’inscrire à l’école coranique pour te donner un prénom, ce qui fait que son prénom Mouhamedou fait référence à son premier jour à l’école coranique qui est un lundi.il s’y ajoute qu’à chaque fois qu’on prend comme chef de village le plus âgé qu’on appelle l’aîné du village.

Oooh bénit soit Médina Yéra, cette terre paisible avec pleines de quiétudes. La nuit dans ce village montre toute sa splendeur, nous nous réunissons autour du feu 🔥,discutant, décortiquant les coques d’arachides je me réjouis de ces moments forts pour contempler le ciel étoilé et la fraîcheur nocturne.

Inimbara
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Integrate with a CorpsAfrica Volunteer

12/14/2022

1 Comment

 
Written by CorpsAfrica/Malawi Volunteer Ms. Wongani Mwasinga
    
When I first heard that I had been deployed in Balaka district, I was anxious especially when people let me in on how hot Balaka is, but I was still curious enough to know how hot it can really get. After I got to my site, I was warmly welcomed by my host family who up to date have been helpful in my integration period. 

The first two weeks of integration were quite challenging for me as everything and everyone around me was new leaving me puzzled about how best I can fit in and blend in with the community. I felt like everyone's eyes were on me, observing how I talk, walk, dress and carry myself around the community just waiting for me to mess up, so  I refrained myself from walking around the community aimlessly.

My community holds a lot of meetings and to my advantage, I was given a chance to attend the meetings during the first three weeks of integration. it was during the meetings that I was introduced to the community members as well as other groups such as the Community Based Organization, Village Development Committee, and Youth club just to mention a few.

in order to integrate into the community better, I decided to volunteer at Mpumulo Primary School (not its actual name), where I was privileged to teach Standard three learners. This has given me ample time to interact with the tears who have shared stories about my community, the people, the culture, and the beliefs.

Apart from volunteering at the primary school, I still couldn't find something that excited me enough to integrate well. This was until my host mother asked me to attend their business group meeting. The group focuses on the production of peanut butter, tomato sauce, and chilli by the community women. Having a degree in Food Science and Technology helped me gain passion in the food production sector by using available resources to initiate value addition of food products. These women's business is on a small scale but their hope and dedication inspired me enough that I found a motivation to carry on with my integration. I join these women in every production.

My integration has helped me understand and learn that in order to carry out your service as a CorpsAfrica Volunteer, you need to learn how to turn the challenges you face into an opportunity that will work to the best of your advantage.
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Life As A CorpsAfrica Volunteer

12/14/2022

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Written by CorpsAfrica/Malawi Claudia Njoloma
Dear Reader,
“Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world”. – Harriet Tubman
After the swearing in ceremony, I was so scared of the journey. I knew the dream had now come to reality. For some moment I felt like giving up, being the first time that I was going to stay away from home for such a long period of time. After getting a little encouragement from a previous volunteer, I said to myself, if Sharon (not her real name) survived, then why not me? And for the fact that I had a site mate, I was going to share a site with Amy, an exchange volunteer from Senegal. Truly this was the biggest motivation and I said to myself, let’s go do this!

Deployment day arrived. This was the first time I was going to see and stay in the central region of Malawi in Dowa District. A few minutes later we got to our site, the community had our house arranged, it was one of the teacher’s houses in a primary school. When we arrived at the school, we found the head teacher, the group village head and the deputy head teacher waiting for us. They all welcomed us. We went inside to see the house that they had arranged for us, I felt like crying upon seeing the house. It was in a very bad condition, the doors, the floor, the kitchen, bathroom and toilet were not conducive. Had to say no, it was not safe for us to stay there. Yankho Banda (not his real name), the one who escorted us, talked to the Group Village Head and said that the house needs to be fixed before we move in, and they agreed. The deputy head teacher Agnes Chitowe (not her real name) offered to host us for the first two weeks as our house was being fixed. We at least smiled upon hearing that since the head teacher’s house was the only beautiful house there. 

The village head told two girls Amaka and Uche (not their real names) to be moving us around the community. Exploring the community was the funniest thing. People used to think that we are teachers. And the primary school learners used to call us ma dent meaning ‘students'. They thought we were in the village for some teaching practices/practicals. The community was convinced that we are teachers since for the very first days we got there, we stayed with the deputy head teacher at the primary school.
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After we had our first community meeting, people understood why we are in the community, and they welcomed us, and we were told to feel at home since we are now part of them. Days later we moved to another house within the community. Not so perfect but at least the house has electricity. Being in the community has greatly impacted us because we are now close to most of the members and they treat us as part of them, so welcoming people. Life as a CorpsAfrica volunteer for the first 3 months has been so amazing, people have been bringing food stuffs for us like beans, vegetables, flour for making nsima (a local staple food), Irish potatoes, even some of our students bring us onions. Life as a CorpsAfrica volunteer also made me become a primary school teacher which is improving my public speaking skills. And I am so glad to be part of this journey...
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On the day of arrival, to my left is the head teacher, then me in the blue chitenje, then our host mother, (the deputy head teacher), then Amy who is my site mate. Close to Amy is the village group head of the community.
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Pictured above is me helping one of the mothers in the garden, which is a common form of community work in Dowa.
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One of my teaching days at the community's primary school.
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Beans are one of the local foods that some of the community members have been bringing for us.
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Beauty of CorpsAfrica

12/12/2022

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Written by CorpsAfrica/Malawi Volunteer Mr. Wonderful Mudolo

“Instead of putting others in their place, put yourself in their place.” – Amnish Proverb 

The day of departure to my site had arrived. All sorts of iterations of what my site would be like ran through my mind. I was very excited and anxious simultaneously, wondering where I would spend the next 365 days of my life. I kept on asking myself, “Is it really necessary for me to live in the community I will serve?” As much as I understand the significance of community engagement for sustainable community development, I truly never recognized the importance of living in my community during my service. It has been two months now since I moved into my community, and I would love to share with you some of the amazing benefits of the CorpsAfrica model. 

During my integration period, I have mostly been facilitating community meetings to identify the challenges faced and find possible solutions to the problems. The catchment area is quite large, and I sometimes cycle for over 18 kilometers to and from the meeting places. As I travel, I get to experience the long distances that children walk to access education and other community members travel to access water and health care services among others. In meetings, I have a chance to better understand the challenges that the community is facing, as I have ample time to tackle with the community how such problems can be addressed locally.

Living and interacting with the community members has helped me to understand the people and this certainly impacts my ability to communicate with them effectively. It has also ensured that trust is established between myself and the community members as we chat and share our different experiences in life. 

Residing at my site has definitely moved me out of my comfort zone.  It is a new environment, full of new experiences and so much more to learn from. I have had the opportunity to work alongside a CorpsAfrica Alumnus on a World Connect classroom block construction project. Upon completion, the classroom block is expected to create a conducive learning and teaching environment for 120 learners at the school. The work experience is advancing my project management skills. I have found myself facilitating meetings with community leaders, managing construction procurement, executing budget analyses, writing weekly reports, and blogs, and many more. Some of which, if one required my input 3 months ago, I would honestly rather be skeptical about. 

Albert Einstein once said, “Only a life lived for others is worth living.” As I continue serving at my site, I feel there is a lot more that I can give to my community whilst learning and sharing my experiences for sustainable community development, concurrently, advancing my career prospects and growing personally. And that is the beauty of CorpsAfrica. 
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A Story to Tell

12/9/2022

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Written by CorpsAfrica/Rwanda Volunteer Mr. Yves Delphin Gasore 

Words are fact language to the actions… I won’t go beyond Margaret J. Wheatley’s saying, “There is no power for change than the community discovering what it cares about”. Mother Teresa added “I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the waters to create many ripples”.
 

I was warmhearted for receiving an alert to be a CorpsAfrica volunteer, and that was the beginning of the whole dream story. I fell fond of the training that I was provided with. They were so equipped, with knowledge, skills and reliability. That did not last long, I was sent to the site to be who I was trained to be. The mission was to become an agent of changes, live with the community, share with the community and facilitate the community. 

I remember reaching to the site; smiles were all around the host family, words and chats passing by like we’ve spent a month together. I couldn’t wait long enough to spread changes and chances got in Asset Based Community Development. Days passed by, love and courage moved everywhere in the community. Locals were the best to bring about fast and quick changes to help their locality, they got ideas, passionate and courageous to see the site change, now I was sensing something big going to change. 

I was amazed by the project proposals they had. Community member tapped in every corner of their real life. That’s general development, household’s development and even their community based development. I won’t skip the love of empowerment I saw in older community members, not letting youths, kids and disabled people. Community wouldn’t stop showing that the important thing is to be constantly moving forward. Yes the progressive realization of a predetermined goal, and that goal should never end.

Being integrated in the community and doing everything together is the most strong part of my story. It roars up when it comes to smiles and appreciations from community members. From the idea to implementation, this volunteering experience made me take a pace in ideal things, it shaped my life. Living with community indeed is the best experience ever.
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I met with challenges but I couldn’t quit. I found challenges as a sharp tool to shape success and fought hard to create a heart touching story to tell. My story is not yet done. Real things still on their way; changes and chances to exploit, meeting new people and making new experience; all aiming at shaping a life changed community member. That’s the biggest dream ever. 

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The Journey So Far

12/9/2022

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Written by CorpsAfrica/Malawi Volunteer Ms.Fanney Maseya  (a Malawian Exchange Volunteer serving in Rwanda)

Serving as an exchange volunteer was my greatest dream. Once I received the mail that I was one of the shortlisted to serve in Rwanda, I could not contain my excitement. Part of me was convinced that it was going to be tough journey this scared the hell out of me. I told myself  “You can do this, beside it is not the first time, the difference is that it will be a new country”. With that mindset, I made up my mind to go for it!

When I reached Rwanda, I had mixed feelings. Part of me was excited, the other part was nervous; partly because I did not know how the people were going to receive me. But I remembered the first time I had a conversation with the CorpsAfrica/Rwanda Country Director; she said to me, “We are happy to have you in Rwanda, and we will make sure that your experience in Rwanda is worth your stay, when it comes to empowering our communities, we are hard-working people, which I promise you! And you won’t regret your stay”. Then I convinced myself not to worry and I started enjoying much profits of staying in Rwanda.

I was hosted with a very lovely family. Their three kids were so happy to have me around and this just melted my heart.

I started attending a Local language class and met with other exchange volunteers from Senegal and Morocco. The excitement of my fellow exchange volunteer and our teacher made it easier to cope up with everyone. I couldn’t wait to learn Ikinyarwanda language, the first word that I learnt was Muraho meaning Hello. I couldn’t wait to practice it on my host family’s kids. The kids laughed at me because of how I was pronouncing the words, it was fun.

Later, I joined my fellow volunteers for a month-long training. It was an exciting moment, learning new skills and knowledge. Spending time in my Ikinyarwanda class and practicing the language, I couldn’t wait to be deployed to my community. To be honest, I was still nervous as to how I was going to communicate with my community members. Lucky enough, I was partnered with my fellow volunteer from Rwanda.

The first day in my community, I was received by my new host family. I couldn’t wait to introduce myself using the local language. When they welcomed us inside the house, my host mother greeted me,

“Muraho, amakuru? (Hello, how are you?)

 I replied “Muraho, amakuru ni meza (hello, I’m very fine)”.

The smile of pride that came out from her, melted my heart. I knew the importance of learning people's local language.

Later I started community integration and I attended meetings just to get to know my community and for them to know me. My community members thought I would not be able speak Ikinyarwanda, so I said to them, “Mvuga Ikinyarwanda buhorobuhoro (I speak Ikinyarwanda but only basic words”. And in amazement, they said to each other “Azakimenya (she will learn better with time). The smiles on their face were just unexplainable. So here is how I introduced myself “Nitwa Fanney, nturuka muri Malawi, ndi umukorerabushake wa CorpsAfrica, ndi hano gukorana namwe kandi nishimiye Kubabona (I’m Fanney, from Malawi, a volunteer from CorpsAfrica and I’m here to work with them and happy to see you”.

Just like that my community members gladly welcomed me. The fun part is that, despite them knowing I don’t really know the language, they are always eager to chat with me. This makes me happy! Indeed, home is not where your house is built, but where lovely people are.
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Development from Community Mapping

12/6/2022

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Written by CorpsAfrica/Rwanda Volunteer Mr. Essaid Meria (a Moroccan Exchange Volunteer serving in Rwanda)

Strategies and programs aimed at achieving a percentage of change in the rural communities they target are often advocated by a group of international organizations active in volunteerism, which are based on the training of young people with university degrees in various disciplines. They organize multiple meetings to identify the priorities of communities, identify their needs, and research in a participatory and consensual manner on possible and sustainable solutions to their complex local needs in various sectors, such as education, health, environment, agriculture and infrastructure. 

But the most important approaches that must be worked on for the targeted social groups are often forgotten. Then what are these approaches?


For the last sixteen months, I have been volunteering with CorpsAfrica, in Morocco as a first phase and Rwanda as a second. Beside this my experience has shown me that CorpsAfrica has a rare type of volunteering. It has often stated that CorpsAfrica is an organization that is able to an impactful and developmental work, both with volunteers and targeted village communities.

Furthermore, I want to share with you, some of the beautiful moments that I spent at the boundary of this moment with CorpsAfrica. I am drawn to this writing spirit from the daily life I lead in my site ‘’ Cyanturo village’’ where I represent CorpsAfrica/Rwanda as a Volunteer.

With CorpsAfrica/Rwanda methodology, I believe that changing the daily lives of the targeted communities will only come by changing our own behaviors and social practices as volunteers. This is what I summed up on one of the regular days when I share my experience and information with the local population. On the day that marks Independence Day in Morocco on November 18th, I was among the days when I felt nostalgic for my country and for celebrating that day with my friends and family. But I wanted to be an expatriate in Rwanda, where I am embarking on a new humanitarian and social venture.

On the 18
th in my site, there is a weekly meeting of local people, where they discuss the most important activities they've worked on in the past weeks, and they propose new ideas that always have to do with moving people and doing volunteer work on a daily basis that would at least contribute to the development of their village in terms of infrastructure and hand-to-hand assistance between families.


 In addition to them adopting a strategy that I find to be one of the most important contributing factors to their situation, which is a strategy of providing financial resources (saving money), where each member of the community places a certain amount of money in less than 1 dollar per individual village, and every week I find them saving more than 35 dollars or less depending on who is participating in this strategy.

There were only 14 people in attendance at this weekly event, the majority of whom were young women between the ages of 23 and 31. It is not as usual that the number of attendees is lower as it is today, as in most cases it is 30 to 50 people of different races and ages. This is because the rainfall prevented many of them from attending. The weather did not prevent them from attending, but came at the agreed time, filled with positive energy and a collective spirit that I have never seen before in such an atmosphere.

After their weekly trajectory of saving money  ($25 in this time) stored for their development, I noticed that it was an appropriate opportunity to organize the most important approaches that CorpsAfrica/Rwanda was working on in identifying its geographically targeted, demographically and resourced area, among others. which is Community Mapping.

The first thing I did was to define this approach and explain its stages and importance in understanding the current state of the present group, where they first started to mapping the village, organizing the infrastructure, the public and health facilities, and identifying the houses where they live, as well as the green areas where they will be available, in a collective and consensual spirit, exchanging ideas in all respects, not in terms of drawing, using the appropriate colors for the facilities. I was amazed and learned a lot from how community has discovered assets that it has and needs for sustainable development. 

In fact, community mapping approaches with people of my site, has changed a whole bunch of everyday thoughts and practices that I have been putting out my energy for with no result. Human-Centered Design and Asset Based Community Development approaches are the keys to unlocking the community’s potentials.

Finally, I think and, in my opinion, the other country where CorpsAfrica is based, have to learn from the experience of CorpsAfrica/Rwanda Volunteers, and how CorpsAfrica/Rwanda is working to frame young people and make them understand the importance of changing their attitudes and practices before thinking about changing the targeted communities. So community mapping with acting, means impressive developing. 
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A World in a New Place and a New Me

12/3/2022

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Written by CorpsAfrica/Rwanda Volunteer Ms. Hyguette Irambona

Many amongst us were raised to follow such a pattern: u grow up, go to school, study hard to get good grade and pass, get a job given your profession to get good money, and compete to get a raise or wait for years for a promotion and later get married and start a new life and retire. But a life of Volunteering is a life without that usual formula. A life without a set agenda but only to be there for your community and facilitating them find better ways forward.

A life with my community has been a real experience and it has shaped me beyond my expectations and had revealed something inside me that I didn’t know I had.  I would wake up at the sounds of birds and brooms of people swiping the floor or neighbors saying “Mwaramutse” to mean good morning or the axe against the wood and I’d know that breakfast will be served in a small while.

When they enumerated villages that we ought to be deployed in, I was the first to choose the place and was happy and anxious of going there. On the day I set to visit the place, it was an afternoon, I moved in the community and started encountering with new people, my excitement radiated to them and they started asking me if I know them that perhaps I’ve lived in the village. I laughed it off and introduced myself as their new volunteer and that I am there to live with them on a daily basis and to facilitate their steps forwards, few knew CorpsAfrica and I shared with them who we are. My first friend is a 6 years old girl, I met her on her way to fetch water and I helped her carry it back home as we chatted. I thought no one was home but I found a mother sitting on a tree trunk peeling potatoes, and four small children playing next to her. On their left side was a cow shelter with 3 cows. The girl with all smiles then  told her mother that she brought home a friend. Those statements were heart-warming from a small kid like her to accept me as her friend. Her mother was first  welcomed me into their home, many other kids nearby came to that house and we exchanged some stories. When it was getting dark they went with me till the main road.

I cherish and celebrate small victories accomplished together with my community from building houses, toilets and kitchen gardens to enjoying shared activities like playing with kids, visiting them and caring for livestocks or helping at the farm or sharing local drinks and food. I thought I’ll be alone in this place but I found a family away from my family. I’ve never known a place where community members are concerned about a stranger’s health, wellbeing and security but the truth is that I am no longer a stranger but a trusted member of my community.
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It has been months since I’ve been here but I don’t regret the choices I’ve made and the big step I’ve took to be a volunteer because this is not only the right way to give back to my country and be an agent of change but also the benefits are abundant. I Voluntarily swore to serve with humility and integrity and I believe in a better tomorrow, a changed community, and a better future that is why I choose to stand beside my people to reach that finish line with victory. ​
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My Biggest Year Yet!

12/3/2022

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Written by CorpsAfrica/Rwanda Volunteer Ms.Flora Gihozo Kwizera 

It is crucial to feel that I am making a contribution as a volunteer, and I do absolutely. I always felt I was needed and capable of providing positive assistance. The community I was deployed to is incredible and during my integration time, they came to be near and dear to me. My experience on site is amazing. Reaching at my welcoming family in Rulindo district, I was so welcomed by the home mother. She played a big role in helping me familiarize with the new community that I was going to serve. I could do door to door visits with her companion and I really liked to learn everything new each day. A fortnight at my welcoming family I attend different events like weddings and other big days of the community members that lead us to get along and I becoming a part of the community.

My next day after deployment in September 2022, I joined my community as they received passion fruits ready to be planted from the community nursery bed and I presented myself that moment. The community was crowd of mountains and it was my first time climbing, but this had nothing to do with me because volunteerism was my passion. Continuously, I got to hear all the ideas from the community members that were full of strong spirit of humor for development and my heart was like “wow, this is going to be my biggest year in volunteerism”. I couldn’t wait to facilitate my community moving on that good running pace for development. The community established a strong saving scheme where everyone has a saving book and big book for the whole group. With keen interest of having CorpsAfrica Junior, I am closely working with Ngarama Secondary school students in senior four and five to help encourage them to pursue their academic studies seriously and boost the volunteerism spirit amongst them. Moreover, with the community facilitations we were able to launch our first Early Childhood Development[ECD]home that was going to help ensure Child’s safety and protection when not with parents as it is aligned with government’s policy. Empowering the community in finding what can generate income, some families choose to start ducks rearing as they are resistant animals to different factors that hinders animal rearing in the area.

This has only taken about 3 months of my service to have this well designed impacted community that gives hope that more are to be done in this year through various facilitations hence achieving sustainable community and development that doesn’t compromise the future generations. Nelson Mandela once said “the time is always ripe to do right”, which I do believe that this is year is my ripest time to impact more to the community.
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One Thing No One Will Ever Tell You About CorpsAfrica

12/1/2022

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Written by CorpsAfrica/Malawi Volunteer Mr. Joe Nkhula 

He turned to look at a slender-bodied woman coming our way. Suddenly, there was an inexplicable twinkle in his eye as he smiled affectionately. “Look at that beautiful dark woman”, he said. She was indeed the essence of beauty. A true Bantu princess. Gracefully donning her Chitenje drapes, she made her way into the bakery. "She is my wife", he stated matter-of-factly. "She is also a member of this group, but who would know?” He quizzed. At this moment, I was confused. What does this imply and what is all this leading to? I pondered.

“Our hearts burn with so much passion in the things we do”, he continued as he became more animated with each expression. “We also visit and provide support to those who are reluctant in accessing critical health services. He then pointed to a brawny man in his mid-forties. “Look at him, now a vital member. Who would know that he initially lived in secrecy and isolation? His fear was so overwhelming that he even shunned visiting the hospital to access critical health services. During those days, he would angrily censure us for our visits.”

At this moment, I was impatiently hanging on to his every word. He could sense my undivided attention. The Chef's timer set off. “Two more minutes!” he exclaimed. Three women standing nearby began to make preparations for the removal of a new batch of scones from the oven. The sweet scent of the hot scones filled the kitchen and flooded outside into the surroundings. This slightly sweet and yeasty aroma smelled warm, like a hot cup of Mzuzu Coffee on a very cold day. 
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“Business is good”. He beamed with pride. “The bread and scones in our shop over that counter will all be finished in under five minutes. It was not so long ago when we heard that there was a CorpsAfrica Volunteer in our community. A few months down the line, we had the bakery business while she went back to her home.” “Who is now ripping the benefits?” He quizzed. “Under her facilitation, we planned every inch of this bakery and built it from the ground up, with our own sweat. We learnt so much from CorpsAfrica.” I could sense his immense gratitude. 

Realising that he had been distracted by the timer and the wave of customers, he leaned forward in his chair and looked straight into my eyes. I met his gaze squarely for what looked like an eternity. “I am HIV positive”, the Chef unequivocally stated, “and so is every member of this group. Until now, you didn't know, did you?” He quizzed as he laughed lazily. I clearly didn't. Reclining in his chair, his face lit up as the corners of his mouth turned into a full smile. “We live well. Most importantly, we are generating some income from this bakery. What could one ask for?” He ironically quizzed again. More capital injection, I silently thought to myself.
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Take It One Step at a Time

11/30/2022

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Written by CorpsAfrica/Malawi Volunteer Ms. Joana Msukwa

“Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.”- Theodore Roosevelt

I must say the idea of moving to the outskirts of the city was not as easy to digest but after going through six weeks of PST, I convinced myself that living in a totally different place far from home was not going to be so bad after all but rather a wholesome life adventure worth a shot.

After arriving at my site in Ntcheu district, I had quite zero expectations from the community after having been told to lower our expectations throughout service but what fascinated me was the warm welcome I got from some community members. I was intrigued as to how someone would welcome a total stranger they have never met before. This alone does prove the famous quote about Malawi being the warm heart of Africa. Having been dropped off, I was then told by my program coordinator that there was a bridge project at a nearby village pending implementation. I then thought to myself how is a girl like me with little knowledge in construction going to handle a whole bridge construction project? However, after some thought process, I told myself to just do it as Nike says.

During the first encounter with the village where the bridge was to be constructed, I was quite touched to see the commitment the community members have had throughout the years in trying to ease movements to the village. The community has used most of its community assets like quarry stones to put underneath the water across the river but this didn’t really help. Vehicles hardly reach the community. They have to be packed and people cross the river on foot. With the CorpsAfrica Volunteer coming into the picture, the community is more than overwhelmed seeing their story about to change. I am quite excited to be a part of this social change and help make a significant impact throughout my integration process. With a  step at a time, we are closer to finishing the project and a great story is about to be told.
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My Integration in the Province of Tata

11/28/2022

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​Written by CorpsAfrica/Maroc Volunteer Ms. Cecile Niyimenya (a Rwandan Exchange Volunteer serving in Morocco)

It all started when I knew that I was deployed to Tata.  I was so excited because it is a province that is different from all the places I have visited in Morocco so far. Everything started changing when I left Marrakech to begin the 10-hour journey to Tata. Beginning this journey was when I really felt “Oh my God” and I realized that this is another time leaving my comfort zone, like when I left my country, Rwanda. I felt in my heart that the journey was already starting to challenge me and teach me new things. Honestly, I was afraid, and I couldn’t sleep on the bus because I was so excited to see exactly where we were heading.

Before heading to my site, I spent some time with my colleagues in the small city of Tata. I was impressed by the city, which is clean but hot. I visited one of the cooperatives that grows dates and produces a lot of other products. I was impressed by how the people working in the cooperative used their own resources to produce so many things. They gave me a gift of some of their products (my second time tasting dates!) and from that moment I started feeling like people from Tata are welcoming people.

Finally the time came for me to travel to my site, Asmlil Village, where I met beautiful and caring people. Even though I couldn’t speak their local language, I still felt their warm welcome. As the days went by I learned more about the local language, but for the first few days it was difficult. Sometimes I felt so frustrated because I couldn’t communicate with them in Tashelheit, which made me so sad and caused me to begin doubting that I could do it.

One day I didn’t have a good enough network connection to use Google translate and I cried in my room. I began thinking about what to do, so I called some of my colleagues, who gave me a lot of ideas on how to face my language challenge. I started using many different strategies to communicate, and even though it is still not perfect, Alhamdulillah, it has improved. The one thing I promised myself is that I won’t give up!
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In Asmlil the community produces a lot of dates, so now I taste dates every day! They also use the leaves from the date trees to produce handicrafts. Overall I really enjoy living in this village. 
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Hello Change, I Welcome You.

11/28/2022

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Written by CorpsAfrica/Malawi Volunteer Ms. Khumbolawo Mkochi

Describe your CorpsAfrica experience in one word? I briefly stared at the survey question before I decided to respond with 'hectic'. But when I looked at the environment around me, I realized that the question was a little unfair. My time here cannot be summed up in one word. The survey question did all my experiences a disservice. I have panicked, I have been anxious, I have laughed, I have grieved with people, I have been shown intense kindness, I have seen a world different from mine, and experienced a whirlwind of emotions that cannot be summarized by a single adjective.
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Chitowe nursery school
Our Country Director once said that this experience will allow us to have an authentic Malawian experience. Truthfully, I felt a little offended and confused by that statement. I thought it disqualified my own experiences as a Malawian. Now that I started my solo journey in my site, I have realized that it is all a matter of perspective. An authentic Malawian experience for me has meant eating traditional food I would normally tell my mother no, it has meant having nsima breakfast, and walking for unbelievable hours in the excruciating sun. It has also meant walking for twenty to thirty minutes to climb a hill so that I can find a power source to charge my phone. My experiences haven't been all pretty but I welcome the new perspective.
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Spontaneously climbing up a hill after a youth meeting
The first time I climbed a hill I was convinced I was going to die or faint. The other times after that I believed I could make these trips twice a week and not feel exhausted. This journey has taught me that the limits we set for ourselves aren't limits at all. Sometimes we are unaware of our own capabilities and how moving out of our comfort zone slowly forces us to grow and change, even in the tiny details of our life. 
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-Khumbolawo Mkochi.x
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The Glory of CorpsAfrica

5/16/2022

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Written by CorpsAfrica/Malawi Volunteer Ms.Witness Chawinga
“A positive attitude may not solve all the problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort.” – Herm Albright

This is the literalness about CorpsAfrica in Malawi and other countries by trying to make a difference in bringing change to communities by placing volunteers within their own countries. These volunteers have emerged to be more tactical and have brought more impacts in the communities placed. They have grown to more fitness, adaptability, and experience and acquired all the necessities for success while at their sites.

The first weeks of my service were very unsettling; I would dread conducting meetings, how am I going to speak before people who are mostly older than me (chiefs inclusive); and make sense? But I still needed to conduct those meetings, mobilize people for different development activities and get started on my work as a volunteer in my site. This was the fear of most volunteers as I follow stories of my fellow volunteers from their different sites across the country. Yes, fear is only as deep as the mind allows but the secret of success is constancy to purpose. And so, with the skills and mindsets equipped by CorpsAfrica during the one-month training, I knew I had to strive for growth, change, success and sustain the glory of CorpsAfrica. I stood up to the obstacles, held the thought firmly, did what should be done every day, and now every sunset sees me that much nearer the goal of CorpsAfrica; promoting the professional and personal development of young Africans. 

A few meetings down the line, I was able to identify a farmer’s club for a tree planting activity. It was heart-warming to see club members committing to this exercise and uniting as a community, and also the passion they had in conserving their own environment. This first tree planting project in my community gave me hope that it is possible.

My stay at my site, I have been given an opportunity to discover other passions and skills I didn't know I have, and a platform to grow in those skills. Skills that will not only help during my service but also when I finish the service. You see, that's the beauty of being a volunteer for CorpsAfrica. CorpsAfrica has helped and continues to help many volunteers, like me, work through complex development structures and it's inspiring how CorpsAfrica is building up the youths in this country into strong young leaders.

A lot has happened and continues to happen. The impacts of different projects by volunteers in their respective sites cannot be hidden and these true value changes brought by CorpsAfrica to volunteers and the communities are lasting and consistent. 

Indeed, nothing endures but change. The glory of CorpsAfrica is, but to live on.
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No Longer an Outlander

5/9/2022

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Written by CorpsAfrica/Malawi Volunteer Mr. Kaitano Maison
In the beginning of my stay here at the site, most things were new to me because the environment itself was a bit tough for me to familiarize myself with. I am confident now that the environment has suited me in terms of social, topography and weather. I was a stranger to everyone at my site and I didn’t know where to start in a new land where I haven’t been before.

I have been trying to make relations with different groups of people like students, people in the community, vendors, police, teachers, religious groups, local leaders and health workers. My attempt has been a success through implementation of COVID-19 project and I worked with health surveillance assistants, village heads, teachers, Ligowe Community Development Organisation and Community Based Organisations. 

I am teaching at a Community Day Secondary School in Form 2, 3 and 4. This has really helped me a lot to strengthen the bond with the students. Wherever I decide to take a stroll in the community, I am frequently greeted by the students and have some chit-chat. I have also made friends with my fellow teachers at the school.

The relationship that I made with the locals in the community is just wonderful and strong, I have blended myself with them. We always exchange stories and laugh. I am just like one of them and I learnt lots of things from them. 

When I came to the site, the first people I made friends with were my host family and local leaders who were there for me whenever I needed help and up to now. The relationship has grown so strong which makes me able to work with the community easily, and at the same time enjoyable.
All these instances have strengthened the bond with different groups of people at my site and made me cease to be an outlander.
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Together We Can, Success Time!

5/7/2022

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Written by CorpsAfrica/Rwanda Volunteer Ms. Impumbya Anitha
"If you can't fly then run if you can't run then walk if you can't walk then crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward," Said Martin Luther King.

Living in someone's life, feeling how they feel, facilitating, and empowering people in different ways of life were my most dreams and were achieved when I become CorpsAfrica Volunteers. Being proudest of yourself requires sacrifice and it is what I did so as to leave my dream. Frankly speaking, I'm so proud to be one of the CorpsAfrica Volunteers in my country. Now I'm serving in the Southern part of my country in Gisagara District, Nyanza Sector in Agahehe, and Akasemabondi Villages. My community has more valuable resources that had helped them to achieve more performance for the only five months that I spent there with my community, sincerely read my story.

When I reached my site, the community welcomed me well and I felt like a lovely daughter in their families. I took time to do door to door in my community so as to familiarize myself with my new community as well as build a concrete relationship. Visiting each community member the question was repeatedly the same. Everyone gently asked me whether we can set weekly meetings with others so that I can share the discussions. I said yes! And I tried to facilitate them how to be more resilient and discover their inner potentials which led them to discover their assets and gifts and how they can be explored to change their lives for the better. That was my first achievement and was hoping for more to come.
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Weekly meetings and community works had been more and more impactful, the community has completely changed and started to develop ideas that are necessary to use for changing their life mainly based on the result found during the community mapping exercise which helped them to identify available assets they have in their villages that they will use to apply the social and economic change in their communities.
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My community meets every week and they save the money, the saving schemes has become more profitable and changed their daily life because the community solidarity initiative has come out from their own saving scheme where every family in the community buy rabbits or kitchens for their self-development from the money they weekly lend.

My community used to face the challenge of malnutrition issues due to none could afford to eat a balanced diet made of vegetables. Working with the community to make kitchen gardens, currently, I am proud of 140 community members that have kitchen gardens in their homes that help them to afford green and fresh vegetables.  Which is helping to significantly reduce malnutrition cases.

I also took part in mobilizing students in my community to go back to school by carrying out different campaigns for a mass of school dropouts that have gone back to school. I was, am, and will be working with my community to make long-lasting impacts.

For ensuring the sustainability of those activities I inspired my community members with a sense of ownership and self-reliance, with the support of CorpsAfrica, local leaders and youth volunteers have trained on the HCD and ABCD CorpsAfrica approach, and We have numerous junior CorpsAfrica whom we work together and they are there to inspire the next generations of community members.

Concluding, I am very happy that the Community believes that coming together is a beginning, staying together is progress, and working together is a success!
Community members are now harvesting numerous vegetables from the kitchen garden.
The community built nursery beds to begin growing more trees for fruit and to mitigate climate change.
The moment immediately after building a new kitchen garden with the community.
Fresh water is now available closer after we repaired the local well.
Training local leaders in Human Centered Design and Asset-Based Community Development
Working one-on-one in the fields with another community member.
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On My Mind and In My Heart

4/26/2022

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Written by CorpsAfrica/Malawi Volunteer Ms. Patricia Lily Nyirenda
The essence of hardwork is found in the freedom of celebration.  Are we celebrating anything at the moment? No and yes, we are dancing to the tunes of climate change at same time celebrating our efforts in climate action. We hope to celebrate the fruits of these efforts in the near future even if it is not us but our children, grandchildren or great grandchildren. Because women are uniquely affected by climate change they are on my mind and in my heart. My volunteering service minus women in climate action would leave a gap that can cause a lot of challenges in the society which is why I cherish the mutual efforts of these women, the entire community and myself.

Looking over to see women in my community running with me towards CorpsAfrica green initiative gave me a vision of a beautiful view and peaceful life, as our prize as we planted trees in efforts to replant trees on the hills in my site. The smiles on the faces of the women and their funny stories made the tree planting exercise easy. I know we are on the same page.  We are both seeking to make the world a better place. 

Sustainable development tags women along. How their rights, priorities and needs are affected by climate change need not to be overlooked. In the same way these rights, priorities and needs in climate action should be appreciated and uplifted. 

Theodore Roosevelt said "Believe you can and you're halfway there" 

To the women in my community and elsewhere playing a role in climate action, you are on my mind and in my heart and I know everyone passionate and playing a role in taking care of our environment is very much proud of you. I believe we can. The courage to begin is the courage to get to the finishing line. We are not celebrating for results yet but for our actions of a common good.
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How Village Savings and Loans Associations Empower Women in Chitipa

3/23/2022

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Written by CorpsAfrica/Malawi Volunteer Lucky Katundu
Twambilire (not her real name), is 29 years old, a mother of three, and a member of Mwalala Village Savings and Loans Associations (VSLAs). A Village Savings and Loans Association (VSLA) is a self-selected group of people, who pool their money into a fund, from which members can borrow.

The money is paid back with interest, causing the fund to grow. These saving and borrowing activities take place during a cycle of pre-determined length (typically 8 to 12 months), at the end of which the funds are distributed to members, in proportion to their total savings. Members are free to use the distributed lump sum as they wish, including reinvestment for another cycle. During their weekly meetings, the chairperson brief the group on the previous week's borrowing status and for members to repay the borrowed money.

Twambilire relies on the VSLA to meet her financial needs such as paying school fees for her children and medical emergencies. The group also provides a special fund for funerals that occur in the village. As such, the group has helped her avoid borrowing money in form of usury, locally known as katapila, from business persons in the community.

Currently, she dreams of a future where she will be able to meet all her household needs and purchase a solar panel for her house. However, to boost the capital in the association, they are planning to engage in an income-generating activity. This will allow members to borrow more money than they are currently borrowing. They have suggested introducing a pig farming club in the association. Twambilire says, "the group wants to buy five piglets and construct a  pigsty for them. Each member will be contributing maize bran (madeya) as food for the piglets.

Pork selling is a profitable business, not only in the community and its surrounding weekly markets but also at Chitipa Town. Thus, the group will earn more income through sales and eventually raise the capital for the association. Therefore, Twambilire's dream will come true. She believes that the initiative will not only change her family's financial situation but also transform the community as a whole.
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Members of Mwalala Village Savings and Loans Association.
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That One Good Act That You Need For Change

3/21/2022

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Written by CorpsAfrica/Malawi Volunteer Ms. Sibongile Nyirenda
When COVID-19 was discovered, it took the world by storm. I was one of the individuals that was skeptical about this new disease. I always thought it was one of those diseases that would not affect my country. Unfortunately, Malawi was not spared from the pandemic. All I could see were rising numbers of people affected by the disease but I still had doubt that it would affect people around me. My family members and friends got infected by the disease and that is when I knew, this disease is real. 

When I arrived in my community, I learnt that some community members had a similar mindset to the one I had until a health center near the community was closed due to Covid-19 and some members in the community were found positive in the previous year. Efforts have been made to make the community more aware of Covid-19 but some community members would rather not believe what outsiders are teaching them. I decided to work with individuals in my community to help sensitize fellow community members about Covid-19 prevention measures and vaccination. There were a lot of misconceptions about the vaccine and with the help of the sensitization team, these misconceptions were cleared and questions were answered. 

The sensitization meetings were engaging. The community members I worked with decided to add an element of drama acts in these meetings. I was amazed by the talent these members have. They never had the time to practice or perfect their drama scenes but managed to come up with instant scenes that were so amazing and captivating. These drama acts brought life to the sensitization meetings and they were both educating and very funny. I was mostly intrigued by two young men who were spearheading the scenes. When I asked about their acting experience and if they had acted together before, their response was that they had never acted together but had recognized each other’s talents during one of the youth initiatives that was held in the community. 
These drama acts are something that attract community members to sensitization meetings and can be used as a tool to reach both the young and old on topics about Covid-19 and other crucial issues affecting the world. It is safe to say that these individuals were an asset that was needed for the one good act needed for change. I am so excited to work with a community that is willing to influence change by using the assets within the community.
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A Life in Books

3/14/2022

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Written by CorpsAfrica/Malawi Volunteer Ms. Grace Sichinga
If you are reading this blog, I believe it is fair to assume that you have received education in some form, whether informal or formal. Books certainly played an essential role in that education. Our ability to read, write, and understand depends on our exposure to a lot of things, especially books.

One of my fondest memories growing up was when my mum would take my brother and me to a bookstore. We would be able to pick so many books filled with adventure and lessons. I remember finding my first book on crosswords and how my love for crosswords grew from then onwards. Books can become a child's best friend and life companion.
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The life of a student should revolve around books or at the very least, should have access to books. Books not only allow students to learn from them, but they also encourage students’ imagination.

Some of the benefits of reading books for students and children include; increasing the knowledge and improving their intellect. It also introduces students to the diverse societies and civilizations across the world. Books can also help students solve problems they may face from reading about different experiences. Reading about these experiences will make them more self-aware, empathetic, and compassionate. Apart from learning from experiences, books also help to improve students’ ability to think critically and analytically. 

When students/children learn something at school, books help to instill that knowledge in them as they have something to refer back to. It helps them improve their memory and visualize what they learned in class, as such they can easily remember what they learn in the future. One of the fastest ways to improve a child's vocabulary is through reading books. Books are filled with new words that help modify and increase our vocabulary. 
  
Although books are evidently immensely beneficial, not all students or children are able to access books. This is the case for some of the primary schools in my community. Through my community engagements as a CorpsAfrica Volunteer, I engaged with the leadership from two primary schools in my community that have a shared need for books, learners’ books as well as teacher’s guides. The students in the schools have limited or no access to all sorts of books, from educational (school) textbooks to fun books.  These schools lack the books to form a proper library, from which their students can easily borrow. As such, I saw that there is a need to be met. That is why I came up with this initiative to appeal to the public to donate books, school supplies, and money that can help the students from these schools. This school supply drive is currently still running till the end of the month of March 2022. The kids and I will be eternally grateful for any help you give.
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The Little Things That Make Me Smile as A CorpsAfrica Volunteer

3/12/2022

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Written by CorpsAfrica/Malawi Volunteer Ms. Sibongile Nyirenda
I must admit that it was really hard to move away from my family to a new community. The period of integration though exciting did not come easy for an introvert like me. Dear Reader, do not think I was locked up in my house all the time. No, I embraced the challenge and enjoyed the idyllic activities of rural life such as attending community meetings, chatting with the women at the community borehole, and participating in community events. My all-time favorite activity, however, was going to the community trading center to buy snacks. 

Being in a community where you need to learn a new language and interact with people you barely know, it is important to find new ways to cope and adapt. I have had tough moments where I doubted myself and felt like quitting. It was during these moments that I relied on the little things that put a smile on my face to overcome my apprehensions. 

Firstly, I am learning how to bake a chigumu (local cake) using a mbaula (local stove). This is particularly exciting for me because baking is one of my favorite hobbies and I have always used an electric stove. I am also learning to prepare local foods I have never cooked before. Secondly, I have partially adopted my neighbors’ two cats. I love pets hence the daily visits and snuggles from these furry friends puts me at ease and make me feel less homesick. Thirdly, I volunteer at my community’s health center. The sense of helpfulness I get after every shift puts a smile on my face. Thirdly, I have a personal kitchen garden. When I cultivate a variety of crops, I look at each product I get from the garden as an accomplishment. Fourthly, I am in constant communication with my fellow volunteers. The calls and chats are so therapeutic and they are definitely something to smile about. After every call and chat, I feel motivated to continue being a CorpsAfrica volunteer. Lastly but not all, a friendly greeting from a community member always lifts my spirits. I believe a greeting should never be underestimated because they are usually conversation starters and welcoming. 

These little things that make me smile might not be extravagant but they are something. As I embark on a new phase with my community of project identification, project proposal writing and all the works, I leave you with the words of Andy Rooney, “If on the other hand, happiness depends on a good breakfast, flowers in the yard, a drink or a nap, then we are more likely to live with quite a bit of happiness”.
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Sibongile during one of her shifts at the local health center.
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I am a Knight: Inside the Knight Family

3/10/2022

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Written by CorpsAfrica/Malawi Volunteer Mr. Jolex Chicco Kaundama
Everyone is able to freely share about everything. The fears, the stories, the joys, the sorrows, the new culture, the language, the food... It is good to meet again. Good to be encouraged by family members who are facing similar challenges and same experiences. Good to get applause from the success stories, projects, and any other accomplishments so far.  Family time is at times an emotional one. We experience streams of tears from the fountain top of everyone’s eyes. Of course, these are tears of joy, yes tears of laughter, and maybe tears of pride for embarking on this life-changing adventure. An adventure not to live for your own but for others as well. An adventure to serve. This is part of the family time we are having as Cohort 5 of CorpsAfrica Malawi Volunteers also known as the Knights.

Down the memory lane…

After being deployed to communities as CorpsAfrica Malawi Volunteers in November 2021, the integration process followed. Settling in a new community away from home could not be any simple and easy for anyone in our Cohort 5 team. After four months down the line of service was time for the first in-service training (IST 1). It was time to connect again with my fellow Knights and share experiences. I was prepared to share my stories and encounters from my site. I looked forward to sharing the success stories and challenges just as I wanted to hear and learn from others. 

More to the IST 1 is a bond that has been sealed amongst my fellow Volunteers and the Malawi CorpsAfrica staff. Tell me of a great hardworking and vibrant team with high work ethics and I will show you CorpsAfrica Malawi staff. The training content was well prepared and delivered. I can confidently say that I am more geared and readier to serve my community more efficiently. Our maintenance activity to wrap up the training was a trip to the most beautiful lake with fresh-water, Lake Malawi. The fun, the games, the view and of course my favorite part, the food were all amazing and refreshing.

Back to my community…

Now, I am back to my beloved site as we continue to redefine development by designing community-led projects with community-led solutions. My mind is at peace, my strength keeps getting stronger for I know I belong to a big clan of CorpsAfrica, and my family is called The Family where my safety is safe. I am a Knight!
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In the Shoes of a Girl Child

3/7/2022

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Written by CorpsAfrica Malawi Volunteer Ms. Tusekile Munkhody
Being aware of the adventure of living in a rural community, I had a lot of preconceived expectations of how life would be, the people, culture, and values that define what a traditional society is. Among the things was the plight of the education of a girl child considering many stories I have heard growing up. Arranged marriages and early marriages are common in many areas and have greatly led to school dropouts. Settling in the community, expected to find a number of such cases. Unfortunately, I never heard of any cases. I thought all was rosy that the community was free from such instances. Alas! My judgment has been poor. After weeks of blending with the community, I was introduced to the school committee. The first meeting I attended proved my expectations right, the meeting was to address school dropouts which were on a rise due to early marriages. 

With keen interest, I followed the proceedings of the meeting. It was shocking learning of the strategy the community has in marrying off young girls, that even young girls and boys have adopted. Being an area near the Malawi-Mozambican border in Mwanza, the school-going girls and boys cross the border to get married and seek refuge for fear of getting their marriage dissolved and others for fear of facing the law for marrying a young girl who is a minor. It pained me and I resolved to start Volunteering at the local school to act as a role model and interact with a few girls from my community who had dropped out of school.

I had a chat with one of the victims, Rabecca , who is currently nursing a child. She said she dropped out of school in standard 7 and got married. Her learning difficulties in class made her lose interest in school. I heard her say; ‘‘natopa ndi sukulu koma aphunzitsi adadandaula" (I got tired of school, and my teachers got disappointed with my decision). She further explained that she dropped out for no reason but most of the girls do because they have a man in their lives who promised to take care of them. Another victim also explained that her challenge was poverty and she said: ‘‘ndimati ndikalowa n'class chomwe ndimaganiza ndikuti tikadya chani kunyumba’’ (I would think of what we going to eat when I get home rather than concentrating on my studies).  

Through these stories, I made my resolve and promised to make a difference and start Volunteering as a teacher with an aim of inspiring young girls. I believe this will inspire many young girls in my area because they will be able to look up to me.
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The Untold Stories

3/6/2022

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Written by CorpsAfrica Malawi Volunteer Adorah
Volunteering in my community and helping people there, gave me the opportunity to see other corners of this country, and other people that have the same goals and the same purpose. I met people from different backgrounds, religions and cultures each with their own ideas, experiences and desires living together in harmony. We got to share so much of these with each other. Volunteering at a secondary school was what I can explain as one of my integration or networking sensations, where we heard from each other different perspectives and realities. 

My personal experience as a Volunteer at the secondary school, I met a boy named Waliko Matola (pseudonym). Waliko was absent from school for at least two days each week.  Whenever he made it to school, he was very bright and active in class to an extent that one would notice if he was present or absent on each given day. One Thursday I gave my students a test and he managed to get the highest score than everyone else. I called him under the mango tree and had a one-on-one chat for at least an hour. In that conversation he told me how he is a breadwinner for his family because his mother had been sick for some time now and they have been without a father for as long as he could remember. He said he has two younger siblings and they are all looking up to him to eat every day. He said he does piece work which helps him find money to buy food for his family as well as drugs for his sick mother. ‘This isn’t a big deal though, but when I add fees to that list, it now becomes very tough.’ He said. Currently I am working extra hard so that I can also pay for my school fees since they have already started to send me back from school. This is making me work on two fields to find the fees in time. He said. This was making him work even during school days to finish in time and pay up the fees before the examination period.  At this point, I didn’t have the strength to ask more questions until this day. I did not know that it was possible for a 14-year-old to pass through what he was passing through and still manage to be strong enough to endure it all. But still I needed to probe more to understand his situation better. Waliko looked at me, sad and said; ‘Madame, it’s easy to give up when you know someone else will come through for you. But when you know you are all there is, giving up is never an option. I nodded with pain in my heart and told Waliko that he has a very bright future and he should never give up on it. I then went ahead and informed the head teacher everything, and he said it’s very unfortunate that he did not know this. He then called me a few days later and informed me that Waliko has been added to the bursary program and he will be given back the fees he already managed to pay this term. This made me so emotional knowing one future has pulled away from distraction. When I called him to break the news to him, he cried and hugged me and promised to work so hard in class. Together we smiled, joked and laughed for it was well with our souls. I now know that it doesn’t take one to be rich to change another person’s life. But even just with enough empathy and a listening ear, we can.
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Encouragement

2/27/2022

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Written by Ms. Patricia Lily Nyirenda
My passion to Volunteer for my country and my people keeps deepening each passing day. The CorpsAfrica motto which reads locals helping locals keeps motivating me even when I feel like giving up as I go around different corners in my site working with different groups of people.

As an educationist, I had already set a plan before I even got to my site that I will be volunteering at a local secondary school thatI will find in my site. Unfortunately, there is no secondary school nearby, so I had to adjust and work with primary school learners. I love it so I dedicate a day in a week to teach at a local primary school. For me it's encouragement. I think of how different our world would look if someone was encouraged daily, how strong we could be with our arms linked together. I do not let this encouragement end at classroom level, it goes far to girls' club after classes where the girls and I share, discuss, and learn life skills, the environment, sexual reproductive health and many other interesting topics. As part of my service and the passion I have in education I feel it is my duty to encourage these young ones in their different aspects of life. 

The amusing part of this duty as a Volunteer is when I meet some of these girls on school days when I do not work at the primary school, with their smiles they say "madam once a week is not enough, we need more days". This takes me to ecstasy of satisfaction and makes me believe that indeed there is joy in learning. I feel encouraged as well.
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