My lunch break from clearing out Reunion Weekend mess at the Alumni Affairs office today was spent in the library, going through the last couple of emails and thinking over things I should do, before leaving... in about a week.
I hadn't thought it would come so soon. It has been two terms since I started planning for the trips to Africa. I thought I would have been more mentally prepared over the past 6 months, but my mind still feels blank. I guess no amount of preparation could prepare me for what I would experience there. And perhaps that is the beauty of it: going to a new place, without setting the standards of expectations so high that they prevent you from immersing yourself in the new environment that awaits you.
I know what I am going to be doing there. I have repeated several times.
What are you going to be doing there?: "I am going to be working with a local NGO to facilitate HIV/AIDS awareness programs in rural villages near Cape Town.
It's not a very big NGO, only 7 full time staff and some volunteers."
I think my friends envy me (some told me so), because of where I am going to be and what I would be doing. And subconsciously, I enjoy the glory of doing social work, in an exotic setting such as South Africa.
But my past attempts to work with an NGO tells me otherwise. Last December, I have desperately tried to call up NGOs in Singapore and Burma to offer them the time I would otherwise have wasted away, but their resources are limited and sometimes, it becomes a burden to entertain such (overly) keen volunteers. Two months in an organization is an extremely short amount of time, and I could imagine myself not being able to contribute as much as I would like to and justify for the credits and awe that one might get, upon returning from social service work trips.
I would hate to be glorified as an intern and not be able to learn/do much. And so I have had the benefit of speaking to a couple of experienced interns, both my age and older and this is what they suggested (this would be helpful for me to look back on while I am doing work, both in South Africa and Kenya).
Tasks:
-Set clear goals at the begining of each week and access them at the end
-Do what you are told to do but don't be afraid to suggest new ideas/projects
-Get involved in other community organizations over the weekends to get a richer experience. (Religous organizations like Churches might be a good place to start).
Communication:
-Know the roles of the people within and beyond the organization
-and be aware of who to talk to, for various issues
-Keep an open communication channel and don't be afraid to share experiences
-Get to know people for who they are; what makes them tick? what makes them happy?
Personal:
-Be open to new ideas and ways of workings
-Live 100% and soak in all the experiences
-Be inspired by the people I meet throughout!
I am not sure if I would be able to accomplish all that I set out to do here but as the pages in this blog fills up, it would be interesting to know what comes of it.
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