Job Namunyu’s Volunteer work Reflection

As I was looking for a place to volunteer during my 3-month free time as I awaited to join university, I had no idea what I will land into. I was truly looking forward to my first opportunity to volunteer. I searched for opportunities in several organizations including health facilities and schools but finally my mind decided to settle on a library set-up. That is where I got to know Badili Zone Library. The library has been the perfect service-learning organization for me because I genuinely loved to work and interact with kids. I appreciated having the opportunity to positively-influence young high school and primary kids within the realm of education, because I see a lot of importance in pursuing knowledge and constantly bettering yourself scholastically.

I worked every Monday to Saturday (9:00am_ 5:30pm). I saw sometimes remarkably familiar faces of families, neighbours, and their children and was proud to say that I am volunteering at the Badili library which serves the Mukuru Community. During my volunteer work most of the time I provided help to young students who may not get the same kind of help with their homework at their homes. I also sorted the returned books and piled according to their categories, which helped the librarian to put them in order on the correct shelves and sections.

With this activity I come across lots of new books, I also got to recommend some other useful revision books that were present in my former school library but were missing there. Working in an environment with books increased awareness of my ability to increase my reading capacity and be more acquainted with popular authors and their books. One of the fun moments I enjoyed during my last moments in the facility was co-leading an inspirational and educational movie session which the library committee hosts once every holiday when the students are about to go to school. I also liked the basic computer literacy that was organized by the team, it was a wonderful opportunity to offer the digital literacy skills I had to the learners.

Volunteering at Badili gave me the strength & confidence to get close to the community without any barrier in a quiet environment. Daily I improved my social service skills through engaging with the Badili Zone team members that I interacted with directly (Lefty, Claris, Meso and Juddy) and serving the community. I made sure my work is that which they expected from me, which gave me full satisfaction at the end of the days' work. There are no limitations for growth in serving the community and it can be grown at all times and all ages. I feel I impacted many.