Namibia
The Gift of Volunteerism: Rehoboth Resident Reflects on Community Service Experiences
"These were things I was seeing every day," said Harold, "and it became very clear that HIV and alcohol abuse were creating a lot of suffering throughout the community."
Harold Swartz had two of the most important assets needed to become an effective community volunteer: time and concern. Harold was right out of school, and wanted to do something constructive with his time while seeking new opportunities.
Harold was also concerned by the rising HIV prevalence rate in his Rehoboth community, and felt that alcohol abuse was fueling this pandemic and also wrecking havoc amongst families by exacerbating poverty conditions and domestic abuse. "These were things I was seeing every day," said Harold, "and it became very clear that HIV and alcohol abuse were creating a lot of suffering throughout the community."
In 2004, Harold participated in local HCP-supported Participatory Learning and Assessment (PLA) activities, a guided process to identify problems facing the community and brainstorm potential solutions.
Based on the PLA findings, Rehoboth residents agreed to form a Community Action Forum (CAF) in collaboration with HCP to address the problems they identified. Harold was elected chairperson of this forum. And, like many who volunteer, he soon found that this experience had as much of an impact on his own life as it was having on those he was serving. "When we went to the [informal bars] to give HIV/AIDS awareness sessions," reflected Harold, "the people had all kinds of questions about this disease. You could tell that they wanted to know more about it, and that they were trusting us to give them the right information."
In June 2005, Harold Swartz accepted the position of Regional Coordinator with the HCP Namibia office, and is now responsible for working with several CAFs in different regions of the country. He continues to develop professional capacities as a regional coordinator, and is now complimenting them with academic skills he is acquiring as a part-time Economics student at the Polytechnic. Harold found his volunteer experiences extremely useful, and views them as an important stage in his personal and professional development. "The things I learned then (as a CAF member) are helping me a lot now," concluded Harold, "but I know I have to keep improving my skills to be a better regional coordinator."
"The things I learned then [as a CAF member] are helping me a lot now," concluded Harold, "but I know I have to keep improving my skills to be a better regional coordinator."
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