My Community Engagement reflection
By
Bulelani Mvengenya
Saturday, 24 February 2018 (20:46)
When it was finally time for me to really get to doing what I always dreamt of, I had to take a moment a think if really what I desired was what is necessary for Rhodes University Community Engagement as a well-established, managed and maintained structure of operation with excellent role and values that define Rhodes University. To ask myself if there was anything that I knew about Rhodes University and the broader Grahamstown community. If I ever thought I would succeed in anything alone, my experience from working in different projects made me understand that working with other people and being open for experiences and challenges are necessary in personal growth.
Grahamstown was new to me as well, like it becomes to any new student and I was excited for learning. When I met my community partners, I new that I should use my maximum potential to make sure that I find the love that my parents would give me if they were to partner with me. I was doing that with the knowledge that they have maintained relationships with other students before me. I did just what I would do and would communicate honestly any weakness and possible strength in advance.
For me, leading means being at front and moving as the rest is following behind you, therefore my role remains as to keep leading and leading people is not rendering people to follow you but attracting them to the way. You have to be humble and make sure that you strive for best conduct in leadership for inspiration. As a leader, I hate being judgmental and I never assumed the reasons why my colleagues failed to pitch for the meetings and gatherings but I kept showing to them the importance of the respective meetings and events and how I appreciated their presence when they were presence. I never reminded people of their regretful faults but always praised my teammates for every success. If I ever had to be hard on my fellow colleagues, I would also commend them for the successful work done and how we would better it in future.
I understand experiences to take a huge aspect of our learning and I never assumed that I have experienced a lot hence I tend to listen to everyone's experience carefully. I never wanted to bring even change but strive to be part of a possible change that together, myself with my team and partners wish to see. This is why I am just proud of my involvement. As I have worked mostly with children, I was lucky enough to be interested in how they grow up and that gave me an opportunity to reflect to my early ages. Working with children also assisted me in my studies as I would remember things that were said by these little ones during our games and chats. I have the established attachments to different places and sites in Grahamstown that mean best times that I spent with my community partners and children, things that keep me interested to my home away home which is Grahamsown.
I have used facilities fully and made sure that I always ask for more information. Visiting the Community Engagement office has made it possible for me to have all the answers when my constituency had to seek for clarity and that made it easy for me not to miss deadlines, to be incompetent and to manage my time.
As the student volunteer, most of the times we need to avail ourselves in the site for new experiences whereby children or partners come up with very interesting games and activities for you to learn hence it is important not to always worry about planning what you will do at the site. Just be prepared for any exercise and for new experiences. You can take notes but it is sometimes more appropriate to engage with people without jotting down a lot of things because that might hinder engagements.
It helps in forming good relationship to regarding yourself equal to children that you are working with. This is because the level of education might be different from us and the children we find in the sight but we must always trust that they know things that we don't necessarily know. Asking them to teach us about their surrounding environment assists in making them gain their confidence and enables them to equally engage with you. I used to take my shoes off, if we play football unless they wear their shoes to make sure that we are equal and sit on the floor if we are playing indoor games so that there is no hierarchy. I wouldn't spend time listening to their experiences but I always find a way of letting them know how I also have lived my childhood and share with them my memories. It excites me when they discover that I am not that much different from them and that I don't know everything.
Children always take their time to entertain and accommodate us in their homes and take us as their own people so we need to also think about that and invite them to draw our attention. If you find them playing join them first and participate even if you will later request that the exercise is changed.
The last point also applies to the students we lead. If you are in the same trip with your fellow volunteers, let them suggest exercises and allow them to preside over the games. Give them support and always great them with warmth. Make sure that the fellow volunteers establish healthy relationship with you and not just find you as their head of volunteer site.
student leadership of Community Engagement comes with an opportunity for time management and creative skills. I have learned how to think broadly and how important is the team work. My community partners, if one may ask me to tell the role that they play to me I can tell them that they inspire me and that they motivate me.
Bulelani Mvengenya
Student Volunteer: Home of Joy
Community Engagement Rep: Founders Hall
Student Leader/Reader:Siyazama Pre-School
Participant: Trading Live for Nelson Mandela Week
Student Leader-to be: Eluxolweni Boys Shelter (2018)
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