Written by CorpsAfrica/Malawi Volunteer Ms. Deborah Kamanga

The week starting on the 25th of July marked another exciting week in my CorpsAfrica journey. This was the week where our Mid-service training was scheduled and I was thrilled to take a one-week break from site, plus I was looking forward to meeting the entire CorpsAfrica Malawi team.

I got to the training center called Naming’azi in Zomba together with Asyatu my site-mate and we found some of the other Volunteers already at the center. The first day of training was a gender workshop which was meant for the female Volunteers only and it was an exciting day to hear from all the girls about their experiences in their respective sites. The following day, the guys joined us and we continued with the gender theme and several other enlightening sessions on different topics throughout the remaining days of the training. The stories I heard from all of my fellow CorpsAfrica Volunteers during the training hours and even afterwards have taught me how much of everyday heroes that all these young people are. The bravery in undertaking tasks and actions in the different communities in which they are placed has inspired me to aspire for more during my year of service. It has made me realize how much of a difference the seemingly little efforts that each and every one of them is making. I have learned from these guys that to be a Volunteer it takes generosity, a willingness to give your time to others, understanding, because people’s lives might be very different from your own, empathy, an ability to put yourself in someone else’s shoes and feel what they must feel, compassion, to truly care about making someone else’s life better, patience, because the process doesn’t always go as smoothly as it might, dedication, to stick with the project and see it through. You’ve shown these qualities and so much more and I have emulated them so thank you. Here’s to the everyday heroes, the Volunteers who do what they can, to ease the suffering of others, and be of service to their fellow man. May they know the true satisfaction that comes from helping others who are less fortunate than themselves but no less their brothers and sisters, may they feel the gratitude in my heart for all of the good that they’ve done. The appreciation that I feel for them is truly second to none.