Filled with anxiety, fear, and nervousness, a new chapter had begun in my life, September 23, 2023, to be exact. A life away from home and family, and this is someone who has never been to a boarding school before, if I can recall properly the longest I have ever stayed away from family was 3 days, this was when I went to a church youth retreat in Salima. The thought of meeting and staying with strangers, fitting into a culture in a village setting, language barrier, and other African village life myths and misconceptions made my body freeze, and constant goosebumps developed.
With no idea how I would cope and also what my reception would be like in my community, I gathered courage and determination with confidence from the six weeks of intense training I underwent before deployment. Within just a few hours we took a turn from the M1 road to the dusty roads towards my community. With a very beautiful reception, all happy faces, ululating, and sighs from my host mother and another community member showed they had taken the whole day waiting for me, it was a busy evening as community members kept coming to greet me as I sipped my traditionally made drink called ‘thobwa’ which my mother prepared for me.
During my 2023 CorpsAfrica’s pre-service training in Mponela, integration was key to bonding with the community, I took that more seriously and started my integration days after deployment. Honestly speaking, life had begun, and integrating was not as sweet as it may sound. It needed more of my dedication and resilience to achieve what I wanted, I needed to take myself to their level so that I could learn from them better and understand their culture, I engaged in more door-to-door visits to get to know people to serve my community better
Started a Sexual and Reproductive Health club at the secondary school where we discussed issues concerning sexual reproductive health with young girls and boys and how they affect them, this was also part of my integration. I also engaged with the school-going girls in reusable sanitary pad-making training as part of my integration and a way of reducing the number of girls dropping out of school during their periods. Not only have I targeted females, but I have also managed to help young men in my community enroll in practical vocational training at a garage around my community, this will help them become more independent and economically stable that way reducing the number of crimes and drug and alcohol abuse.
Today my community feels more at home than I ever thought, I integrated well and I physically and psychologically feel safe and supported.
