My service as a CorpsAfrica Volunteer in Kanyerere VDC would not have begun as wonderfully as it did and I am mostly thankful for my time as a volunteer teacher at Kanyerere Primary School as it helped set an easy tone for me and my service. I started making myself available in September 2023 as a substitute teacher in the local community school. Trust me when I say the children have been nothing short of amazing, respectful, and jolly kids when they see me. 

I honestly found it easier working with these kids in some activities in my community because they are always eager to learn and do more. Every time I am passing one of them in the community, we do a signature kilo (applause), and I see the smiles on their faces as they proceed on their way and I do with mine. It helped me integrate easily with the community as I began being identified easily and people knew me from my bond with them and I will forever be grateful. 

One thing I will always admit to everybody is, that identifying a specific group of people in my community to discuss our community problems was a bit tricky for me. This is because a lot of villages have large proximities from each other and to get them all together in one place to discuss one thing proved to be kind of challenging, among other reasons.  I tried my best to make sure that we did them but I would get uneven responses. 

Then I thought to myself, why can’t I have these discussions with the people I have made proper empathetic connections with, the children from Kanyerere Primary School? We did. Together, we identified the things that they feel hinder their access to improved education conditions. We established our main goal and I couldn’t stand it. I can’t stand having the people who have made me feel the most welcome in this community sitting on the cold bare floor in their class. I can’t stand it, we will help them sit like they need to while learning. Like every child deserves to do during their school years. One desk at a time.