Be the change you want to see
It’s been nearly a decade since I went to Tanzania. I applied on a whim to spend eight weeks promoting HIV/AIDS awareness in a remote village with a Toronto-based NGO called Youth Challenge International. I’m not sure what exactly made me sign up: the idea of traveling to an unfamiliar place, or believing that I could seriously make a difference in the lives of people overseas. “Be the change you want to see in the world”, is what I kept hearing, and this was my chance. I was an undergraduate student at the time, studying international development in between commitments as a varsity athlete. It was the summer after my second year of university and before I knew it, I was replacing my soccer cleats with flip flops and my school books with Swahili language guides. Off I was, bound for the African continent with a small group of people I’d never met and ready for anything. Hakuna Matata, right? It really does mean no worries – in case you were wondering.
Read the whole article via the new Volunteer-Database blog!
