Journeys:
you can take them alone or with company, some are short and uninteresting,
others distant and surprising, but each has its purpose and all have its
challenges.
This
is my team’s ICS journey - distant and surprising.
Traveling
from the capital of the UK to the heart of Africa our journey was far from
short. Together with 10 volunteers I boarded a Boeing 747 for a 10-hour,
4096-mile flight to Rwanda. Our journey’s purpose, personal and social, to
challenge yourself to change the world, a unique opportunity.
How it all began
Every
journey has a start, if you thought our journey began in a busy airport think
again. Months and hours before, challenges had been faced and won - different
for each of us. In fact, hours before departure I was on a London tube riding
to the airport. It was Gay Pride, a suffocating 30-degree heat, and I was on
the underground squashed, with my suitcase, in-between girls with glitter and
sweaty armpits in a carriage infused by the odour of warm beer. This was
challenging to say the least, yet that’s not where the journey really begins…
Our
journey much like yours and many others before me, began by accepting the
invitation to embark on the ICS programme. Your first step, sending off the
application form. Your first challenge, laying aside the “what ifs” and jumping
out of your safety boat.
After
months of preparation, fundraising and painful vaccination, we didn’t need to imagine
any more, our dreams were now reality. Even though we were jetlagged and tired
we refused to rest our eyes as we travelled to our hotel. Eyes wide open, we
looked out of the window of the bus, as we journey through the capital in awe
of everything.
We
were ready. Ready to experience all this land of a thousand hills had in store
for us.
Coming together
Arriving
in our rural setting, together with our Rwandan volunteers, not being
surrounded by shops, clubs and cinemas became our greatest advantage. We got to
know each other’s likes and dislikes over countless games of cards. Over a
soda, we learned about each other’s aspirations and with some banter we learned
our different political views. Together we shared embarrassing stories and
those that shaped us as individuals. With each day spent together, layers of
our identity unravelled, with time we began to understand each other better.
Every day was not perfect, but the more we come together, the better equipped
we become at solving our differences.
The moto ‘Challenge yourself to change
the world’
Challenging
experiences makes us aware of our similarities and differences. We were
challenged from the get go, be it getting used to eating cold food or being
woken up by a rooster at five in the morning. We learned how to overcome these
with time, one by one. Although, difficulties were not exclusive to UK
volunteers alone, like us our Rwandan counterparts faced challenges. A common
challenge among Rwandan volunteers, was understanding our faced paced English,
native to UK volunteers, external to Rwandan volunteers. The consequence,
chaos, words misunderstood and misinterpret, which lead to half the team not participating
in project actives.
Other
challenges were personal, an illness in the family, overcoming past problems,
being torn between two worlds, dealing with bags of emotions. Reality is, challenges
are present daily be it at home or in a country far away, but with each
challenge there is an opportunity to grow. As a team, we learned to overcome
ours, some alone and some with help of others. If you were to ask any of us, it
is because of these challenges we have grown and developed.
Overcoming Challenges
First,
we learned to work together, learning about each other, putting aside
stereotypes based on initial impressions or our experiences of people.
Part
way through, we all had to look back to the ICS code of conduct and remind ourselves
to be flexible and adaptable. Our work included surveying members of the community
that lived in rural environment, which was hard to access by foot. Therefore,
it was essential for us to be flexible and work together for the success of our
work and our project.
As
a result, we have learnt that journeys are paved with moments of excitement,
masked anxiety, displays of courage and a large wealth of determination – and the
need for flexibility. It would be a lie if I told you the journey was an easy
ride, our journey has been bumpy, with high and low terrains. We can recount
countless moments we just wanted to go home and others where we wished it would
never end.
Citizens of the world
As
I write this, we have just completed presenting our final research to the
Director of KOPAKAMA (coffee cooperative) and our partners for the past 9 weeks
Our actions haven’t solved world problems, although I can confidently say that
our actions have improved the community… Our research has helped us identify
gaps and strength for KOPAKAMA to carry forward. Our actions contributed to
achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s) amongst which, quality
education, gender equality and economic growth. We have carefully surveyed the
community to understand their standard of living and awareness of human rights
and gender equality, setting the vital foundations for future cohorts to carry
forward.
Our
journey here is ending, as we reflect on our experiences, we can see we have
challenged ourselves, again and again and won! There is so much we will take
from this experience including working and living in a new culture, integrating
into a new community, developed new skills, making new friendships and learned
how to work in a diverse team.
In
regards to changing the world, our journey doesn’t end here. It will continue
back home, through sharing SDGs, ideas and working with our friends across the
continent, we will remain young and proactive citizens of the world.
Thanks for reading, I hope your getting ready and buckling up for your journey. Kristo G. Tafesse
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