What volunteering taught me Today I am member of the UN Global Education First Youth Advocacy Group. Many young people have come to me to ask how I got to be in such an initiative. It has always been a pleasure for me to share my volunteer experiences, and it is because of these experiences that I was selected out of 500 applications to serve in this group. It all started when I was in secondary school. I was engaged in student affairs as the president of the UNESCO club, a school platform that brings students together to discuss school matters and the pressing current issues concerning them.
After secondary school, I started volunteering within non-governmental organizations. It was at this moment that I began to understand a lot about community development. I was involved in projects and activities relating to peace, human rights and the environment. It was a great pleasure for me to contribute to the development of my community through volunteering because the impact was visible.
I had many obstacles while volunteering because people don’t value volunteer work. In Cameroon and especially in my community, people consider volunteering as waste of time and resources. They cannot conceive the fact that someone can work without remuneration or a salary. My friends and family advised me on several occasions to stop volunteering. I felt very discouraged at some point, but I could not stop because I loved doing it. Volunteering was the top priority in my life. I decided not to pay attention to their advice but to concentrate on my work.
By spending time with host families in various regions I got used to cultural differences, which was really helpful during the projects. I learned a lot about what belonged to the norms and values of the local people. For example, how to dress appropriately, eat and even how to shower and go to the bathroom the local way. Most of the things are totally different than in my area, so it took some time to adapt.
In Nigeria I taught English conversation, 3 times a day. I had the opportunity to come up with my own ideas for the classes and tried to be as creative as possible making my lessons not only informative, but also fun. Apart from having conversations, we also cooked food, listened to English music and painted. Having a lot of conversations in English on different topics, I understood how to look at things from a different perspective. It also made me think in a more creative way, out of the box, one can say. I think this will help me in the future, looking at things through different glasses.
One day, a group of young people came to me and said they had something to say. I was very surprised. They said they were all grateful for the changes I brought into their lives through peer education. I was so happy to hear this that it aroused joy in my heart. This experience made me understand that only volunteer work can have such a profound impact on people’s lives.
There are three elements that permitted me to succeed in a life dedicated to volunteering: passion, determination and patience. Volunteering helped me become a job creator, not a job seeker.
My advice to my peers is that we cannot succeed in life overnight. We have to work hard to enjoy the fruits of our labor. Even if you have a diploma from the best school in the world, it is not enough because what matters most is your skills, your talent. The best way to discover who you are in order to integrate yourself into society is to volunteer. Volunteering not only allows you to offer your services, but to learn and discover new things and improve your skills. One secret in volunteer work is to avoid thinking about money because that is where the problem is. Young people expect to be paid as they are volunteering. |