Volunteering is one of the most empowering things that I have done. This placement has allowed me live out my dream and I can now see myself achieving one of my goals in life because of this opportunity.
Our placement has been successful so far. This is because of how well organised people are on our placement. Both UK and national volunteers work to the best of their ability according to our target. Team work has been encouraged since we started and this has made everyone enjoy their work and roles.
Achieving our target is our goal and even to go beyond that. As Team Kusintha (“change” in Chitumbuka) we want to be the best and indeed to bring change, to dissolve stigma and misconceptions of HIV & AIDS. The team members are really working for each other in order to see development on a personal level and within the community.
As one of the volunteers, I have learnt many valuable lessons and gained experiences from my friends and the community. I have gained confidence in my work, and am able to perform consistently. After our peer education sessions with youths in schools or with bicycle taxi operators, we come together for an evaluation to see where we have had challenges and where we were successful, so that during the next session we can improve. The evaluations have helped to make our team active and to define ourselves as a group and as individuals. This has made us all more participatory in discussions.
ICS is about learning and we are learning from the community, the youth and bicycle taxi operators and they are also learning a lot from us. If we work as a team, this placement will be rewarding and informative beyond our expectations.
Lastly, I must be very thankful to my fellow teammates for the commitment we are strongly showing. Let's continue until we reach our targets and be active citizens until the end.
Written by ICS volunteer Tammie Chibaka
