When I first arrived in my community as a CorpsAfrica Volunteer, I thought I was prepared. I had gone through a lot of trainings, conversations about service and being resilient but nothing really prepares you for the movements when theories meet reality.

One of the first experiences I encountered was  living a life without electricity. Coming from a place where electricity was available, I never had to think twice about any challenge when it comes to charging my phone, studying at night or even working on my laptop. Light was something I seriously took for granted and this never occurred until I arrived in my community. In Sare Biran, darkness visits early which makes me feel scared to walk around whenever I need to and somehow when it does, everything around me slows downs and my phone lights becomes a new normal thing.

At the beginning, it was difficult to adjust. I struggled to plan my days around daylight and how to manage my phone battery and most importantly, my laptop and sometimes I have to miss my deadlines in sending weekly reports due to network issues. This gets worse day by day and I got uneasy and had to ask myself how will I survive ten months? Moments of crying turns to adapting day by day.

Beyond the challenges, I had to let go of my comfort zone, unlearn my independence and embrace patience, gratitude and adapting to what’s available and every tasks becomes a lesson and whenever I have to charge, I have to plan, and writing my reports demands discipline. Every moment that comes builds my character and confident to embrace the darkness around me.

Now, days turned to weeks and I started seeing myself adapting to the lack of electricity and I continued to remind myself that people live here,work and laugh and even dream without many of the things I consider essential for life. Even when I have to help the children study at night, I have seen how happy it’s for them to dim light and families to share stories at night and life continues with beautiful scenes. 

All these struggles is teaching me humility and even inspired me to do more and deepened my respect for the community I’m serving. These experience have really helped me to understand my service and I realize that being a volunteer is not about bringing solutions from a place of comfort but rather about living within the life of others and putting yourself in the shoes of others. I believe this eventually  add value to my growth, instead of the earlier fear of discomfort. It doesn’t not weaken me but add up in strengthening my confidence and sense of purpose to serve with distinction, even with meager resources. 

Today, I no longer see darkness as an obstacle but the beginning of my journey that is teaching me to keep being grateful and be resilient, empathetic and be courageous enough to embrace the little opportunity that is available in my community Sare Biran.