As an economist-in-training focused on rural areas and a development actor, I am deeply concerned with rural development, sustainable agriculture, the proper management of natural resources, and the protection of the environment. An activist for economic justice and inclusion, I volunteer with several initiatives doing important work in these fields, like Act for Senegal’s Rural Development (ADER/Sénégal), a non-profit created by Master 2 students in rural economics and agricultural policy at Dakar’s Cheikh Anta Diop University (UCAD). I am a founding member and the current president of this association. I also work on the 313 Ambassadors for Peace and Citizenship Program, and the Green Neighborhood Challenge, among others.
In this blog, I aim to present to you my newest volunteering commitment: an adventure with CorpsAfrica/Senegal. Selected from among 1,706 applicants, I participated in an excellent, transformative 6-week Pre-Service Training (PST). And then, on September 19th, 2024, I officially became a CorpsAfrica/Senegal Volunteer for a year, taking an oath to respect my commitment to serve my country’s underprivileged communities.
It was with great pride that I received my volunteer stole from CorpsAfrica/Senegal’s “UBUNTU” Cohort 8, as well as the national flag of my dear country, in the presence of the sponsor of this beautiful ceremony, Mr. Mamadou Sarr, the former director of CorpsAfrica/Senegal, and a representative of the Minister of Youth, Sports, and Culture.
I was deployed in the village of Ndioum, in the commune of Ida Mouride, in the department of Koungheul, and region of Kaffrine, for a 10-month mission as a CorpsAfrica ambassador.
It was with much peace, goodwill, and commitment that I began this new mission, in which passion, self-sacrifice, responsibility, humility, community engagement, and rural development have remained grounding values.
CorpsAfrica’s Pre-Service Training
This transformative, 40-day training put us to the test and equipped us for our commitment to building more resilient and inclusive communities. Supported by an excellent team of facilitators, we acquired skills relating to the tools and innovative approaches of community development, such as Human-Centered Design (HCD).
Lasting solutions and a participative, human-centered development lead by local communities are at the heart of CorpsAfrica’s approach. During these 40 days, we were trained and inspired through morning physical exercise, class sessions, team management, and daily tasks in our training environment. This experience enabled us to develop our flexibility, adaptability, resilience, empathy, leadership, and, above all, to discover another version of ourselves, at both the personal and professional level.
We had sessions on civic-mindedness, discipline, citizenship, first aid, transformational leadership, psychological safety, public speaking, meeting facilitation techniques, positive deviance, and the management and evaluation of development projects, among others. The 10-day Community-Based Training (CBT) in villages allowed us to apply what we learned to our first community immersion and integration experiences, attesting to the richness of CorpsAfrica’s Pre-Service Training (PST) and the valuable skills we acquired there.
Volunteering: A Noble and Essential Practice for Transformational Leadership
Volunteering is based on fundamental values that make it a noble and essential practice in society. First of all, solidarity is at the heart of this approach. By offering their time, their skills, or their energy without expecting financial compensation, the volunteer displays a real determination to help others and to contribute to the common good. This gesture strengthens social bonds and promotes a culture of mutual aid and kindness.
Subsequently, volunteering values citizen engagement. It allows each person to participate actively in the development of their community, their region, or even the entire world. This commitment demonstrates a deep sense of responsibility and a desire to change things for the better. It also allows you to give meaning to your life by investing in causes that go beyond individual interests, thus promoting mutual understanding, inclusion, and respect for cultural and social diversity.
Finally, volunteering promotes humility and selflessness. By putting themselves at the service of others, the volunteer develops a sharper understanding of the social realities and challenges the community’s most vulnerable members face.
In short, volunteering conveys humanitarian and universal values that contribute to social cohesion, solidarity, and the construction of a more equitable and just world.
Asset-Based and Community-Led Development (ABCLD), CorpsAfrica’s commitment to community development volunteering — based on the Human Centered Design (HCD) framework — is an essential pillar for the sustainable transformation of rural African communities.
Encouraging Civic Engagement and Volunteering
CorpsAfrica’s impact furthering volunteerism is vital for promoting awake and competent youth, and sustainable and stable development in Africa. It is a wake-up call, training youth for the promotion of pan-African values. It highlights unity and the skills and abilities of rural African communities within the framework of participative development.
Policies that support this commitment and promote citizen participation in volunteering initiatives strengthen communities’ social fabric and solidarity. We thus appeal to Senegalese public authorities and development actors, both national and international: solid institutional support is essential for creating a culture of engagement, ensuring the durability of volunteering initiatives, and maximizing their societal impact. This last has immense power to transform the volunteering landscape and strengthen community bonds and resilience.
