Voluntary service program
I have always viewed voluntary service as an embodiment of commendable service. Right from my high school years, I have ever wanted to participate in voluntary service. These are the moments when you realize that it’s all about society and the change you have to offer. I took part in my first official voluntary service back in grade 10 at the Kenya National Archives. I was assigned to work under the Research Department, together with two of my schoolmates who participated in the voluntary service. We were to arrange box file reports recorded from the mid-20th Century. We were also tasked with doing essential database management. We did these for two weeks during the holidays.
The following year, I took part in another voluntary service program at the Senate. In two weeks, I got to experience a lot. We worked in different departments within the Senate and National Assembly. We also did different types of duties as we shifted from one department to the other. It was an incredible experience and a fantastic journey. Moving forward, my interest in voluntary activities never ceased. I had the opportunity of organizing voluntary service as a house captain. We would aim at giving back to any institution in the best way we could by offering service without question. I organized a couple of voluntary service programs in a children’s home and an elderly home. Aside from that, we as the captains in the school decided to do a clean-up along the streets near our school as a way of giving back. This decision was made as a consensus in the spirit of leading by example and offering service to the neighboring locality. Even after high school, I was willing to carry on with voluntary service at any chance I got. A couple of months after graduating from high school, I joined a social advocacy program coordinated by AMREF. It was aimed at creating attention to sensitive issues while pushing policies that will enact positive change. We did these mainly through creating impressions on social media platforms such as twitter and websites that we had in our control. In a matter of months, we had addressed some pressing issues such as gender equality, cyberbullying, myths and truths behind COVID-19, initiatives to be taken amidst the pandemic and challenges girls are facing during the pandemic.
I am currently still participating in the program since we are all working from home. With the pandemic at hand, I was introduced to CoronaNet Research Project, where people volunteer to work as Research Assistants after passing their online training course. This body is involved in collecting policy updates from every country in reaction to the COVID-19 pandemic. Their data entries are being used by internationally recognized bodies such as W.H.O, and it’s an honor to work them. I am currently in charge of collecting and recording policy updates from the government of South Africa. The research team has granted me exposure and immense work experience. With my Computer Science degree at hand, I am looking forward to developing my entrepreneurial journey. I will use my tech skills to enact positive change in modern society. Owing to the entrepreneurial training offered as a scholarship recipient, I will use it to carve out the mindset of one willing to be the change not only in Africa but also in the world.