CORPSAFRICA
  • Home
  • About
    • About us >
      • The Model
      • Human-Centered Design
      • Impact
      • Development Partners
      • Junior CorpsAfrica
    • Team >
      • Staff
      • Board of Directors
      • Advisory Council
    • Work With Us
    • Press
    • Videos
    • Testimonials
    • Contact us
  • Countries
    • Morocco
    • Senegal
    • Malawi
    • Rwanda
    • Ghana
    • Kenya
  • Volunteers
    • Meet the Volunteers >
      • Morocco Volunteers >
        • Group 1 Morocco
        • Group 2 Morocco
        • Group 3 Morocco
        • Group 4 Morocco
        • Group 5 Morocco
        • Group 6 Morocco
      • Malawi Volunteers >
        • Group 1 Malawi
        • Group 2 Malawi
        • Group 3 Malawi
        • Group 4 Malawi
        • Group 5 Malawi
        • Group 6 Malawi
      • Senegal Volunteers >
        • Group 1 Senegal
        • Group 2 Senegal
        • Group 3 Senegal
        • Group 4 Senegal
        • Group 5 Senegal
        • Group 6 Senegal
      • Rwanda Volunteers >
        • Group 1 Rwanda
        • Group 2 Rwanda
        • Group 3 Rwanda
    • Podcast - "My CorpsAfrica Story"
    • Featured Projects >
      • Dzaleka Basketball Court
      • Kitchen Gardens
      • Coronavirus Response
    • Featured Volunteers
    • Alumni Association
    • Apply
  • Events
    • Events >
      • PROJECTing Resilience
    • All Country Conference
  • Blog
  • Donate
    • Donate to CorpsAfrica
    • Pay It Forward Campaign
    • Holbrooke Campaign
    • Corporate Council for CorpsAfrica
    • Planned Giving
    • Amazon Smile

Dorothy Mapira, CorpsAfrica/Malawi Volunteer G4

8/25/2020

1 Comment

 
Picture
Where are you from? Tell us about who raised you and what your path was growing up?
I was born and raised in the northern region of Malawi, while my family hails from Machinga district in the southern region of Malawi. When I am not in my CorpsAfrica community, I live in Chinamwali, Zumba with my family. I am the second born in a family of six children. I also grew up in a large extended family. My parents accommodated their relatives and I even remember living with 15 people in one house. My family has played a big role in building me to be what I am today. I am also the only child who is a graduate in my family. I feel like I have a big role to play in transforming my family by helping them follow my path. I resonate with Tim McGraw’s lyric in his song, 'Humble and Kind,' that says, "When you get where you are going, don't forget to turn back around and help the next one in line." 
 
All of these people taught me how to love and care for others. Family members and different communities I was a part of were all crucial in making me who I am today. My parents encouraged me to work hard and never give up. My father taught me to not be afraid of challenges because those moments will bring out the real me. And I emulated my mother, whose courage has pushed me to do more in life and not easily give up despite the struggles faced. I was also taught the importance of self-discipline. I learned that communities are different and they have different things that they value. To live well in those communities, you have to discipline yourself and respect others regardless of who they are. I learned that you cannot always please everyone, but if you respect everyone you will live at peace.
 
Growing up for me was like any other child who was raised in an average family in Malawi. I had a lot of things to explore as a child and had a lot of time to play, at the same time I liked being indoors and having time for myself. I had the freedom and support that I needed from loving parents. My childhood was fun, and I have fond memories to look back to.

Do you have a favorite memory of your childhood?
One favorite memory of my childhood that comes clear to mind is a game I would play. We had a small garden in front of our house where sweet potatoes were growing. Each day after primary school I would come home and teach the potato leaves what I learned that day. If my students (the potato leaves) misbehaved during my class I would send them out of the classroom. I was a very serious teacher! I would stand there for what could have been hours teaching the leaves everything day after day. I was doing this to remind myself of what I had learnt in class and it was the easiest way of studying.  

What are your dreams?
I was once told that dreams are free and we should never let ourselves limit them. I am someone who aims high. I want to be able to inspire others while I show myself that I can do my best and take on challenges. I want to do better for myself and for others so we can all do more and have a more full life. I am a Malawian and am proud of my country. I have dreams for a better Malawi and I know that it is possible. I believe in the power of change and that change starts with me. I can use my knowledge as an element of change. I want people to live a better life and focus us on building on what is helpful and profitable. I want to make these dreams possible by helping people understand and realize the potential they already have in themselves.
 
I know we can make the world a better place to live in. Everyone has dreams and mine are not unlike many other peoples’: I want a better world to live in. I dream of a world that is free from poverty, a world that prioritizes the rural communities in development and a world that gives everyone a chance to bring out their potential.
 
Finish this sentence: Success means ... not leaving anyone behind in the process of development. 
 
How did you become involved with CorpsAfrica?
I found out about CorpsAfrica through a college friend, Chancy Simba, who is an alumni of CorpsAfrica. Having asked Chancy about the organization, I was excited to join a group of young people eager to change their communities. I thought, “this is the place I have to be.” I have a heart for people and loved every volunteer opportunity I did during college. I became aware of life in the villages and in the prison cells. I learned that I could reach out a hand or a smile and offer hope to the people I worked with, that I could help ease the struggle they faced. I realize that the life that I have is not only for myself, but that I need to live for others as well. I have also realized that if we do not step out of our comfort zone and reach out to the people that need our help, we are denying them the happiness that they deserve. When I received notice that I had been selected to serve with CorpsAfrica I could not hide the joy in me, I was so happy and I wanted to share the news with everyone I met. I was on my bed when I got the email, and I went out to tell my next door neighbor about the news, I texted my dad and my family and they were all happy to hear the news. I couldn't wait to start serving. 
 
Tell us a bit about your CorpsAfrica Community.
My site is in Mzimba District in the northern region of Malawi. It is called Chiondwe and is located in the south of the district. There are approximately 5,000 people in my community and they are always so welcoming. My first days of integration made me forget that I was far from home. I made friends with everyone from the Chiefs to the general members of the community. My host family looked out for me and made sure I was able to make friends with great people. I love the environment, the green vegetation, the livestock, rivers, and quietness of the community. I love their culture and their way of doing things. What surprised me most about my community was the consistent enthusiasm and eagerness to pursue every project that they proposed. They are still always checking whether the proposals submitted have been approved so that they can start working on projects. They are ready to work and change their community.
 
What is your primary project with your community?
My community's primary project is the renovation of a health clinic building. The project's main focus is renovating the "under-five" clinic in Chiondwe. The clinic services are conducted outside the church as the clinic is not physically usable. The clinic had fallen apart and so the community, the women and children, did not have a proper place to receive medical help. I found the volunteer training helpful with this project as it gave me a good idea on how to use Human-Centered Design to smoothly work with the people as they are the center of every development happening in the community. 
 
How has Covid-19 impacted your community and your projects? 
It was hard in the first days to talk about the pandemic as most people thought it did not exist. There were a lot of misconceptions about the disease. People thought it did not impact black people and that only well-to-do people would be affected with the disease. They also thought it was politically motivated to prevent people from voting as it was during the presidential election period. I didn't give up, I still educated my community about the disease. Now, people have accepted the news and reality and are embracing changes to be safe. 
 
To get to that point I raised awareness about the pandemic and used the Covid-19 micro grant from the Mastercard Foundation to procure water buckets, soap, hand sanitizers, gloves, and masks. I made sure that the water buckets and resources were placed in the marketplace, in churches, and in schools so that there were central locations for people to wash hands. As one way of empowering the women and girls, we took some of the grant and established a business where I taught them to sew cloth masks, which we then sold in the community. 
 
Overall, the effects of Covid-19 cannot be underrated.The communities have been affected. The focus on projects has also changed. Initially, my community wanted to build both a classroom block and a Community Based Child Care building in additionto the clinic, but due to the pandemic the focus changed to considering projects that will make sure that the community is resilient against the effects of this or any pandemic. It has become more important for the community to address their basic needs like water and health. We are now implementing a borehole project (a water well) in addition to working on the clinic project.
 
How has Covid-19 changed your experience as a Volunteer? 
When I was coming to my community, I never imagined that the pandemic could affect our country. Now that we have cases in our country, the way of doing things has changed. I now have to work with people at the same time that I have to follow preventive measures for myself. I am keeping myself and others safe. I also have had to be innovative enough to find ways of safely meeting the people to make sure that the projects are implemented. I chose to work with a committee, which consists of a small number of people. It is a hard time because I have to be cautious because we do not always know who has the disease, but my experience overall has been wonderful.
 
Finish this sentence: CorpsAfrica is ... a platform to equip and train youth to be the change makers and champions of community development in their countries.

1 Comment

Peter Mndalasini, CorpsAfrica/Malawi Volunteer

8/22/2019

1 Comment

 
Picture
What made you apply to be a CorpsAfrica Volunteer?
My passion to contribute to the achievement of sustainable development goals especially SDG number 1 which aims at ending poverty by the year 2030

What is your biggest dream for your own life? For your country? For the world?
My biggest dream in my life is to motivate and mentor my fellow youths to come up with innovative solutions and ideas towards challenges affecting communities, especially in the rural areas.

What does success mean to you?​
Being innovative and learning from failure.

What is one piece of advice you would give to incoming CorpsAfrica Volunteers?
Group models are much better than individual ones. If you want to achieve something or make a positive change do not work alone, but ask for advice from other people and involve your community in whatever you want to do or implement.

What is a piece of wisdom or quote that inspires you?​
No man is an island.

Who is your role model and why?
My late brother Raphael Mndalasini. He was ambitious, humble, and hard-working.  He used to give me advice to be a responsible person in the society.

What is something people would be surprised to know about you?​
I address my biological mom as Aunt, and her elder sister as "Amayi" (mother).

What is a favorite memory you have from your time as a CorpsAfrica Volunteer?
Women dancing and singing after teaching them how to make cooking stoves, which helps to save firewood.

What do you regard as the most beautiful word/saying in your native language? What does it mean?​
'Mutu umodzi susenza denga" meaning there is power in unity

What's something you're most proud of accomplishing during your service?
I managed to organize and facilitate a three-day SOLID trading in my community. SOLID stands for Sustainable Opportunities for Leaders Of Internal Development.

How has CorpsAfrica changed your life or perspective?​
I have gained experience on how to implement and design projects using Human-Centered Design and Asset-Based Community Development approaches.

CorpsAfrica is...
...comprised of ambitious, innovative young men and women who are passionate about making a positive change in different communities in the rural areas.

1 Comment

Souad Nahal, CorpsAfrica/Maroc Volunteer

6/13/2019

1 Comment

 
Picture
What made you apply to be a CorpsAfrica Volunteer? 
My strong belief is that change requires action. 

What is your biggest dream for your own life? For your country? For the world?
My biggest dream is to be influential in a way that enables me to make changes in my country and contribute in spreading peace all around the world.

What does success mean to you?​
Success is perseverance.

What is one piece of advice you would give to incoming CorpsAfrica Volunteers?​
Believe in your small actions.

What is a piece of wisdom or quote that inspires you?​
Keep your hope and never lose your faith.

Who is your role model?
Mohammad, May Peace Be Upon Him. 

What is something people would be surprised to know about you?
I have this great ability to deal with all kinds of people.

What do you regard as the most beautiful word in your native language? What does it mean?
"Salam" it is a way of saying hey. It means peace, and it helps in spreading peace and love.

What's something you're most proud of accomplishing during your service?​
Increasing attendance at the local kindergarten by creating an improved schedule to include entertaining activities.​

How has CorpsAfrica changed your life or perspective?
CorpsAfrica makes me see the power within me.

1 Comment

Abdou Coly, CorpsAfrica/Senegal Volunteer

5/24/2019

2 Comments

 
Picture
What made you apply to be a CorpsAfrica Volunteer? 
I applied to be an CorpsAfrica volunteer to serve my country, to learn from others, to have new experiences, to discover my country.

What are your biggest dreams? 
My biggest dream is to be among the leaders who will bring innovations to the world. For my country, a better democracy will be welcome, a good management of the resources of the country, and the change in mentality of the youth. For the world, nothing will be more beautiful than sharing, to have good relations between the states, and to preserve a world peace.

What is success? 
For me, success means having a family, being able to take care of yourself and taking care of your family.

What is one piece of advice you would give to incoming CorpsAfrica Volunteers?
I advise to incoming CorpsAfrica volunteers to have an open mind, to listen and prepare to adapt to any situation.

Who is your role model and why? 
My role model is Loepold Sédar Senghor because he knew how to fight for his history and his culture.

What is something people would be surprised to know about you?
 People will be surprised to know that when I get excited, I'm not easy to calm down.

What do you regard as the most beautiful word in your native language? What does it mean?​
What I consider as the most beautiful word in my native language -djola- is "kahiguène" which means to smile. Nothing beats a smile, even the smallest.

What's something you're most proud of accomplishing during your service?
What I am most proud of is the literacy classes I give to adults. They have made remarkable progress.

How has CorpsAfrica changed your life or perspective?​

CorpsAfrica has strengthened my self-confidence and expanded my entrepreneurial goals.

CorpsAfrica is...
The best life-transforming experience​. 
2 Comments

Amadou Mansour Ndiaye, CorpsAfrica/Senegal Volunteer

5/8/2019

1 Comment

 
Picture
Picture
What is your biggest dream for your own life? For your country? For the world?
My greatest dream is actively participating in the development process of my country via innovative development projects. 

Success is... 
to learn from your mistakes. 


What is one piece of advice you would give to incoming CorpsAfrica Volunteers?
Be committed and be at the heart of communities for sustainable development. 


What is a piece of wisdom or quote that inspires you?
"Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country." ~ John F. Kennedy

Who is your role model and why?
Mr. Sarr, the CorpsAfrica Director in Senegal, because of his commitment and the spirit he has developed in me. As a CorpsAfrica Volunteer, I learned a lot from Mr. Sarr both personally and professionally. 

What is a favorite memory you have from your time as a CorpsAfrica Volunteer?
When the women of my village and I decided to organize for International Women's Day, for the first time. 

What do you regard as the most beautiful word or phrase in your native language? What does it mean?
"Mbollo moy dole." In Wolof it means, "many hands make for lighter work." 


How has CorpsAfrica changed your life or perspective?
CorpsAfrica allowed me to be aware of the current situation of my country. The service allowed me to take a step back in order to see where I can work to be most efficient. 

CorpsAfrica is...

a school for young leaders. 

1 Comment

Zizwa Mwafulirwa, CorpsAfrica/Malawi Alum

3/29/2019

0 Comments

 
Picture
What made you apply to be a CorpsAfrica Volunteer?
I wanted to gain a better understanding of rural health needs and to give back to rural community because I was raised in rural village myself.

What is your biggest dream for your own life? For your country? For the world?
My life’s passion is to help build a strong and thriving healthcare system in Malawi. I would like to contribute towards health equity in Malawi by building a health system that responds to the health needs of all including those in rural areas. I also want to build networks of health providers connecting Malawi to the broader world so we in Malawi are not working alone and isolated from health providers elsewhere; I want to know how we might connect to services virtually and directly as partners in global health.


Success means... "we made it" and not "I made it." 

What is one piece of advice you would give to incoming CorpsAfrica Volunteers?
To make most of their service. I took my service as a privilege and a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to serve my country and also for my personal development. The more you commit yourself to service the more you gain.

What is a piece of wisdom or quote that inspires you?
The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.

Who is your role model and why?

Dr. Paul Farmer, the founder of Partners in Health. His dedication, integrity and commitment to service as a medical doctor is very inspiring.

What is something people would be surprised to know about you?

I'm a good cook and I coach a local soccer team in my village.

What is a favorite memory you have from your time as a CorpsAfrica Volunteer?
The members of the support group singing and dancing when World Connect awarded us a grant for the piggery farm project. The chairman of the support group walked to me and gave me a very tight hug.

What do you regard as the most beautiful word in your native language? What does it mean? Umoza means togetherness.

What's something you're most proud of accomplishing during your service?

My piggery farm project for the HIV support group which works to improve nutrition and bolster household income.

How has CorpsAfrica changed your life or perspective?
My experience with CorpsAfrica has inspired me to work hard for my people. I'm able to find simple and effective solutions to problems in my community by facilitating mindset change from a need-based to an asset-based approach.

CorpsAfrica is...a channel through which passionate African youth have an incredible opportunity to help combat poverty and empower communities in their country.

What are you working on now? 
​
Upon returning to my village in August 2018, I created and manage two sports teams: a soccer team for boys and a netball team for girls. This helps to keep teens from engaging in risky behaviour and provides a healthy activity for youth and a great platform for me to promote safe sexual reproductive health and substance abuse prevention. I have also worked with my netball team on reusable menstrual pad making projects to promote menstrual hygiene in primary schools around my village. This helps to keep girls in school during the time that they have their menses.

Picture
Picture
0 Comments

Mourad Abdennebi, CorpsAfrica/Maroc Volunteer

3/29/2019

0 Comments

 
Picture
​Mourad served in a small village located in the Azzaden Valley situated in the High Atlas Mountains in Morocco. Read his exciting dialogue below!

What inspired you to first join CorpsAfrica? 
“What inspired you to join CorpsAfrica?” is a question that everyone who joins CorpsAfrica will be asked from the day they first decide to apply and probably for the rest of their lives. For me, the inspiration began with my interest in development in general, and voluntary work in particular. During my undergraduate studies, I took a broad range of exciting courses, which related to culture and media to tackle the broader issues of international development as well as local development in Morocco. One of these courses, “Representation,” helped me to acquire a deeper understanding of certain significant concepts such as human rights, servant leadership, poverty, and cross-cultural communication.  This track inspired me to pursue a career working in non-governmental organizations with a focus on these issues. When I graduated from my university, I thought that I would pursue studies at the graduate level to further enrich my academic profile; therefore, I was looking for an opportunity to apply for graduate school scholarships. I went to an American cultural center to inquire about graduate scholarship applications but found that the deadline had already passed. Before leaving the center, I walked around looking at brochures for other opportunities available for students and recent graduates. My eyes fell upon an opportunity for Moroccan young people to serve as volunteers. I read the pamphlet, and I instantly became fascinated with the idea of volunteering with CorpsAfrica.
​
This organization provides the opportunity for African young people, like myself, to volunteer in their own countries to help find solutions to poverty through working at the community level. By working directly with poverty-stricken communities, volunteers can assist in the search for solutions to a problem that the community has chosen. In my opinion, the concept of CorpsAfrica came to redefine the historical concept of development and volunteering, which is often associated with Western volunteers who come to African countries with little knowledge of the country, language or culture. However, to do justice to Africans, it is necessary that we find ways to reconcile our complicated history, widely characterized by imperialism and exploitation, with the necessity of the search for solutions to improve the futures of our countries.  To do this, it is necessary to promote the independence of Africans who are, in reality, the ideal group to discover innovative solutions to the problems facing their countries.

I was fascinated by the idea and realized that this is in fact what I want to do. I want to volunteer and serve my country, develop myself and have an impact on my community.
​

What was/were the project(s) you worked on with your community?
After an extended period of community meetings and discussions, the village that I was stationed at decided that the issue of poor water quality and supply was the village’s top priority to solve. Therefore, CorpsAfrica collaborated with the members of the community as well as with some charitable organizations throughout Morocco to complete a project that would establish a new and more efficient water supply system in the village. With the help of CorpAfrica and other NGO’s, we were able to provide the villagers with new pipes as well as a new water infrastructure. The villagers contributed and did the labor work and installed the new water infrastructure with the help of a water expert, which solved the issue of high pressure and limited access to water. Now as a second phase of the project we want to find a solution to the limestone that the water contains and provide the villagers with water that is clean and filtered. Therefore, I am working with People to People water committee students at the Casablanca American School and an organization that is called H2OpenDoors to collaborate on the second phase of the project which is finding a viable solution to the issue of limestone.
​
You can also watch this infield documentary about the water issue in the village for more information.​​

What part of your service did you enjoy most?
I enjoyed teaching the kids and conducting different fun activities and workshops with them. Even though things were hard at the beginning because there is no school in the village, I just gathered students in a small house; brought some chairs and a board and we start the fun lesson. They were all smart and eager to learn. I remember even when sometimes it was snowing in the village; they would come and knock on my door asking me if we will have a lesson today or if we will play soccer in the valley. After spending some time with the young students, I realized that using teaching methods that encouraged the students to have fun and release their energy would be the most productive learning environment. Through using the Total Physical Response to teach vocabulary, the students were able to scream, jump, sing and dance inside the classroom while learning action vocabulary. What is fascinating is that the students never forgot the vocabulary that they have learned. Teaching with kids in the village taught me to be more flexible, and to think quickly and creatively and this part of my service that I will cherish throughout my entire life.
​
What is your favorite memory from your service?
In fact, they were many favorite memories, but since I spent a lot of time with children in my village, I remembered the memory of the first day in which snow fell in the village. I gathered kids around me and taught them how to build a snowman. We worked on it all together, and divided tasks; some brought shovels, some went looking a carrot for the nose and walnuts for the eyes. A lot of villagers stopped to observe what we did! The children and I had never built anything with snow and were excited to find out how our snowman would look. I rolled a big ball of snow for the head, and one of the children stuck the carrot and walnuts to make the face and wrapped a red scarf around his neck. I felt amazing moments of joy with the kids. I felt happy when I saw all of them wanting to take pictures with the snowman, talking to him, kissing him, and dancing around him.
​

What do you miss the most about living in your host site?
I miss everything about living in my host site especially the villagers. The villagers, younger or older, men or women, were like a family to me. They embraced me and welcomed me to their small little world. I developed an excellent relationship with them based on trust, love and mutual respect. They helped me throughout my service since the first day I came until the last one. I experienced challenging days as well as good days, but they were on my side in both ways. Integrating with my community wasn’t as difficult as I thought it would be. Despite the obstacle of language at first, despite the rain and the cold weather, the villagers’ helpful attitudes and kindness made me feel warm and cozy inside! I feel like I belong to the community and that I became one of them. I learned something from every interaction and had profound realization. Everyone was my teacher, from the younger kids to the elderly. It feels good to belong to this small community of people who genuinely care about each other’s well-being and the development of their village. I will also miss my loving host family that took good care of me and offered me a comfortable place. I will miss going down to the river playing music, soccer or just having fun activities with the kids. I will miss those moments when I used to hike up the mountains and to contemplate about its beauty, and that of the valley. I will miss taking the truck on the twisted roads to go to the weekly souk. I will miss meeting other volunteers and having a free range chicken tour (Read my blog to know more). I will miss every single thing about my site and service, and I will try to come back whenever it is possible. 
​

How has your CorpsAfrica experience changed your personal perspective?
I believe that volunteering shapes a person's heart, mind and soul completely. The chance to share the humble resources I possessed with the community which I eventually considered my home was an incomparable opportunity. By simply opening your eyes and heart to the culture of a new place, you can have an entirely beneficial, life-changing experience.

I also started counting my blessings twice. The lack of resources and the poverty lead me to be more thankful and grateful of what I had, and the struggling and fighting of others around me taught me to stay positive and motivated to keep going. I find myself a more understanding, compassionate, and empathetic person simply by having contributed my time and hard work for the benefit of others. I realized that sharing the struggles of those in need will help a person become less judgmental towards others.

I appreciated experiencing a different way of life. Living a completely new and different way of life helped me to get out of my comfort zone, get to know people from all over the region (and globe), learn a new local language and become a more adaptable person who is able to overcome challenges much more easily.
0 Comments

Nadia Kamra, CorpsAfrica/Maroc Volunteer

3/29/2019

0 Comments

 
Picture
What inspired you to first join CorpsAfrica? 
I was first attracted to the idea of trying a new experience far away from my family and my town. When I started reading the blogs of former CorpsAfrica volunteers, I realized how priceless their experience was to each one of them. Aside from my passion for volunteerism and giving back to the community, I was also eager to change myself and inspire people around me.

What was/were the project(s) you worked on with your community?
My first activity was organizing soccer matches for the kids and participating during the weekend. Although this activity seemed very simple at first, I quickly realized that as I got to know the kids, I needed to figure out ways to make soccer a learning tool for them, and this was particularly valuable since most of them seemed to lack communication, discipline, and teamwork skills. I later found that soccer was a game that brought them together, and it was so good to think of it as a communicative mean. Watching them apologizing to each other, working in teams, or simply giving a hand when someone falls was enough proof for me to stay motivated.

The second activity was directed to women. Illiteracy is one of the main dominant issues in my site especially amongst women. Initially, it was not easy for me to get their approval and their involvement in such a conservative community that didn’t encourage that. So I came up with the idea of health care awareness sessions with the aim of raising awareness about sicknesses and hygiene, and encouraging them to ask “embarrassing” questions regarding these matters. After guaranteeing their attendance through these sessions, I proposed the illiteracy program. There were 19 women who began attending, 6 girls among them who dropped out of school. I never imagined this will make the huge impact that it did for them and for me as well; they were ambitious, motivated learners and the women eventually surpassed the insecurities they recognized.
​
The last project was the renovation of a preschool that was built by former CorpsAfrica Volunteer, Hiba Tazi, and the community. To guarantee the sustainability of the project, we hired a new preschool teacher for the kids for the new school year. In addition, we worked on renovating the classroom from the inside due to the humidity and mold that has pasted on the walls and thus made the classroom an unhealthy environment for the students. Moreover, the classroom didn’t look too inviting, so we decided to implement a few changes by removing the paint off the four concrete walls and bathroom and repainting them again using thick humidity-resistant paint, before painting colorful murals and cartoons on the walls. After, we gathered and encouraged the kids in the village to participate in a cleaning campaign around the school.
I also took part of other small activities with kids, such as homework tutoring, cleaning campaigns around the school, and different craft workshops.

What part of your service did you enjoy most?
I have enjoyed every moment of my service, even the sad ones. Each day at my site thought me to be more patient, strong, satisfied, and innovative.  Looking back, I reminisce on my first few days at my site, when I spent many nights crying, but later realized that that was a first step to strength myself.  Lastly, I enjoyed all the challenges and scary moments, including driving up the dangerous road up the village, which helped me get better at facing my fears.

What is your favorite memory from your service?
The best memory that I still hold dearly is looking into the eyes of the preschool children who race to the school every morning to participate in our daily tasks. We would find them ready and eagerly waiting for us to open the door and help us in painting and such activities. It was a real motivation for me to give all I have in making the preschool look great for the little students.

What will you miss the most from living in your host site?
I will miss the kids mostly - that jovial time we spent, creating teams, playing soccer and chatting with each other by the river.  I will miss hiking the road that lead to my house that taught me how to be patient and strong. I will miss my host family, particularly my host mom and her playful complains and gossip. Lastly, I will miss the women in my site and chatting with the older people.

How has your CorpsAfrica experience changed your personal perspective?
I believe that volunteering shapes a person's heart, mind and soul completely. The chance to share the humble resources I possessed with the community which I eventually considered my home was an incomparable opportunity. By simply opening your eyes and heart to the culture of a new place, you can have an entirely beneficial, life changing experience.

I also started counting my blessings twice. The lack of resources and the poverty lead me to be more thankful and grateful of what I had, and the struggling and fighting of others around me taught me to stay positive and motivated to keep going.

I became more understanding. I found myself a more understanding, compassionate, and empathetic person simply by having contributed my time and hard work for the benefit of others. I realized that sharing the struggles of those in need will help a person become less judgmental towards others.
​

I appreciated experiencing a different way of life. Living a completely new and different way of life helped me to get out of my comfort zone, get to know people from all over the region (and globe), learn a new local language and become a more adaptable person who is able to overcome challenges much more easily.

0 Comments

Emas Potolani, CorpsAfrica/Malawi Volunteer

3/29/2019

1 Comment

 
Picture
What inspired you to first join CorpsAfrica? 
To me CorpsAfrica never existed. I never knew of CorpsAfrica before, never heard of it until one day a former classmate shared a link to CorpsAfrica’s website where there was a call for applications. I didn’t even bother to open the link or read what it was about. A week later, I was browsing some stuff on the web and I bumped into the CorpsAfrica call for applications for Malawi Volunteers and without a second thought, I ignored it once more. It was all forgotten and since I didn’t open the link I never knew what the organization was all about. The following week, a close friend forwarded an email from Liz Fanning highlighting an opportunity for Malawian young leaders to apply to be in the first cohort of CorpsAfrica in Malawi. This time I gave it shot and I went on to read more on the CorpsAfrica webpage where I understood it in depth. I was unhappy with myself for a second because I was ignoring something I have always desired to do; to serve my country, my community and contribute to developing the lives of my own people. What caught my attention was CorpsAfrica’s unique model; placing young leaders in high-poverty communities within their own countries, plus the idea of locals helping locals. CorpsAfrica for me was the rejected stone that later became the capstone that would build me professionally and help me become who I am today. I knew I had found the right platform to focus on a community and invest my time, knowledge, skills and my life in helping my fellow Malawians. By joining CorpsAfrica, I was convinced I was part of a team committed to selflessly contributing to the transformation of people’s lives in my country.

What was/were the project(s) you worked on with your community?
​​
The Human Centered Design training that we received during the Pre Service Training helped me to entirely focus on the people in my host community. When I joined the Paterson/ Chitete Community, I had no idea of what projects I would end up doing. Observing community needs was tedious work and what was more challenging was narrowing the needs as we prioritized them together with my community before deciding on actual projects to be done. Below are some of the projects that I managed to do in my community:

  1. Stove Project: In this project I worked with women in my community and together we learned and developed two prototypes for two kinds of improved stoves; the stationed and movable stoves. Before embarking on this project, I never had any prior knowledge or skills whatsoever in stove production but challenged myself to learn and practice with the women in my community. Today, I can confidently tell you that I know how to make stoves, train others who later become trainers themselves, and the experience has been amazing. It is fulfilling to see women in my community make stoves and use them in their kitchens and sell them so they earn a little something for themselves and families. These stoves have a lot of advantages for the environment since they consume less firewood and keep and retain heat as they are being used-meaning the women spend less time to cook food, produce less smoke, creating a cleaner environment for women to cook their food. This means that there’s a considerable reduction in the number of trees cut for cooking - resulting in protecting the environment.

  2. Water Provision and Sanitation Project: During one of the meetings I had with the community members, one of the main issues that people talked about was the issue of lack of clean water in one part of the community. This side of my community, people didn’t have any source of clean and safe water nearby, forcing them to be drinking from the nearest river, the Shire River.  I remember during my first visit to the households residing in this part of the community, I heard touching stories of how some people were attacked and devoured by crocodiles during some water drawing routines at the river.

    We agreed to embark on this project although my community thought that it will take ages for this project to be a success, they knew we needed a lot of finances to make it come to pass. I am glad to say that for the very first time in the lives of the people of the Paterson village residing near the Shire River, they stopped drinking from the unsafe and dangerous Shire River and are now drawing clean water from a borehole, which we finished last December 2016. Today, the people have clean water, and worry no more about water borne diseases, not to speak of the deadly crocodile attacks.​

    ​These are my main projects that I can share with you, there are also a lot of trainings that I conducted with leaders in my community among many other things.

​What part of your service did you enjoy most?
I enjoyed interacting and teaching kids at Chitete Primary School. I enjoyed teaching them how to read and do mathematics. It was heartbreaking to see how many kids failed to read and write despite their age and class as compared to their equals in other parts of the country, especially urban schools. Teaching these kids read and learn to speak English felt awesome.

What do you miss the most about living in your host site?
I will miss my kids at Chitete Primary School. I can tell you that I spent more time with these kids than any other group of people in my community - no wonder I decided to adopt the kids in the class I was teaching. The other things I will miss are the meals I used to eat in my community and the chickens the people used to give me occasionally. I will surely miss my host community, but I will be coming to see them. I am their son and I will be there to walk and work with them wherever necessary.
​
How has your CorpsAfrica experience changed your personal perspective?
CorpsAfrica gave me an opportunity to serve my country and my community; for this I am forever grateful. This experience has challenged my perspective about life in general. There are things we take for granted in this life, yet there are people elsewhere suffering and dying for the very things we take for granted in our lives. There’s a lot of work to do in our communities and instead of waiting for others to come and develop our communities, ourselves as locals have a candid obligation to develop our very communities - it begins with us. The little efforts we can collectively put together towards improving lives in these communities will result into much greater positive impacts we can never imagine.
1 Comment

    About

    CorpsAfrica is proud to feature in-depth interviews
    ​of  Volunteer and alumni -
    ​READ ALL OF THEM, HERE!

    Archives

    August 2020
    August 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    March 2019

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

Picture