When you look back at your life, what are the moments when you felt that your life had meaning, or when you felt happy or fulfilled? I am convinced that in many of those moments, you probably performed a kind deed, had helped or supported someone, a community, contributed to something without really expecting anything in return. “When I look back on, moments when I tutored a young person to understand mathematical concepts they had struggled with to understand in the classroom, when I helped someone become more confident to ask for the opportunity they wanted and got it, when I do the little things everyday at Think Africa to help ideas of our members come to fruition, these are moments that feel good and meaningful” Myriam Munezero, Chairperson, Think Africa ry. This is the power of giving, it does not only have an impact on the recipient(s), but on you as well. That is one way how you feel fulfilled.
Yesterday (16th March), World Social Work Day was commemorated globally. This day prompted us at Think Africa to reflect on the social impact of work being done everyday by members and volunteers in our organisation. This year, the World Social Day theme is Ubuntu: I am Because We are, which places strong emphasis on collective action and community progress.
As we commemorated, we particularly reflect on how our volunteers, the muscle of Think Africa invest their time, skills, and ideas through various activities and related projects. The worth of volunteers’ investment is of great importance, and so we are pleased to share some of our recent projects, to highlight the many strides, opportunities and success of volunteer impact to the work we do at Think Africa.
MENTORSHIP.
This is an amazing project to support foreigners. It has been humbling to meet different people from different parts of the world with great skills and talents, come together for a common goal of helping each other to get to the top. This makes me not rest until this program is seen as one of the best in Finland.(Nana Assyne, Lead, Mentorship program)
Nana Assyne leads our Professional Mentorship Program for supporting foreigners in their search for professional employment. The program started in 2019 and is running for a second term this month, with a larger, more diverse group of participants. About 60 mentees and mentors will embark on a three month journey together, participating in one on one sessions as well as group trainings.
To implement such a program successfully requires commitment and passion from coordinators and volunteers. The first program produced over 60% of the mentees finding opportunities and resulted in mentors having enjoyable experiences.
Follow us on Facebook to participate in the open sessions or write to the coordinator at nana@thinkafrica.fi if you wish to volunteer as a mentor or participate as a mentee in the 2022 round.
THE BOOK CLUB.
Reading of books gives you the opportunity to view the world through a lens other than your own (Sofia Achame, Lead, Think Africa Book Club)
The Think Africa book club encourages reading of books from authors across Africa. The reading highlights diverse stories from around the continent. It familiarizes readers with African authors on the continent and in the diaspora. Readers get to experience the culture and history that has shaped and continues to shape African countries. However, reading is not so prevalent anymore in general and it is also difficult to find a wide selection of Afircan books in Finland. The Think Africa book club welcomes volunteers that will help us network for donations of relevant books and create programs to improve the reading culture of African youths and adults in Finland. We also have volunteers who lead sessions every third month telling and sharing stories through the Book Club.
We welcome new volunteers.
WELLBEING.
Being able to improve one’s overall wellbeing is ultimately one aspect of personal growth and of empowering the human body to fight against the challenges of life individually and generally (Everest Obatitor, Lead, Wellbeing program)
Think Africa’s wellbeing project promotes a way of life that is oriented toward optimal wellbeing and general happiness through participation in various health promoting activities. Those who participate in the project find some ways to take charge and expand their wellbeing horizons for joyful living through team support and motivation.
However, the current Covid 19 situation makes it very difficult to implement some wellbeing activities due to the restrictions on gatherings. In addition to that, the program needs professional volunteers to give their time and services for the wellbeing of the participants. We also need volunteers to contribute to the search and application for appropriate funding.
A volunteer based program of this kind with no funding available comes with a lot of financial constraint that goes a long way to affect what is possible, the quality and success of the program especially if we think of how people generally respond to poorly organised activities even when they are free. A case for society to think of new ways of Wellbeing.
WE ARE BECAUSE YOU ARE.
Volunteering in Think Africa is about commitment and actively contributing to creating the ‘society you want’. But it is also about creating the ‘you’ you want – SELF-development that happens because WE development is happening. Indeed UBUNTU (Christal Spel, Research Lead, Think Africa).
The contributions and spirits of people who organise impactful activities, those who volunteer to make them happen, by giving their time, skills, knowledge, we celebrate you.
If you are reading this and are looking for a place to be part of creating a world that encourages participation, representation, and diversity, and collaboration, consider giving through Think Africa. Join and be part of the change you want to see! Join us at our upcoming Hub meetup on Thursday 18th at 6pm to meet some of these Doers and explore how you can find value in giving.
‘If you want to go fast, go alone, if you want to go far, go together ’ African proverb
