By: Gloria Busingye
It's 3 weeks now into the Mandela Washington Fellowship and so far, the fellowship has been nothing but learning, unlearning and relearning. Sessions on leadership in different capacities in businesses organization and community development have made it even more worth. More than that, it’s been a great opportunity to show off Africa and its diversity to the community of Athens, Georgia. It gets even more exciting when all fellows come together to share their experience in their countries. But that’s not my point today. The impact of the Mandela Washington Fellows has already been felt across the USA, not only in our presence and keeping the streets busy, but also in our impact in the community. Luckily, Athens in Georgia has shared in this experience too. Apart from attending classes and learning about the different magical places across the United States, Mandela Fellows at the University of Georgia have also been very instrumental in interacting and supporting the marginalized people in Athens community. It has been a moving experience to add our hands to the support of these communities.
A Day in the Athens Community Children are the most amazing humans you can ever spend time with. We had an opportunity of such an experience during our third week of the fellowship. A few minutes from the University is the awesome Parkview community center for some of the little dreams and visions of Georgia. And the Centre does everything they can to nurture these dreams. Through engaging the kids to read English storybooks, the kids improve their reading abilities and story-telling. Spending an afternoon with these kids brought back every little energy within me. It is surprising how many of them are very positive minded and have big dreams to achieve in life. While we were at that, another group of our colleagues visited the Chess and Community Centre that is using the Chess game as a tool to transform the lives of children within the neighborhood. With the game, children are taught life skills of strategic thinking, problem-solving, and networking. Every one of these children is inspired enough to inspire you in the first 30 minutes you spend with them. From them, I have learned that there is so much to our reach that we can use to better our lives. With a positive mindset, everyone is capable of achieving what they want to in life.
Community Work Now, much as I have not got an opportunity yet to participate in community work in Athens, some colleagues have. And from their experience, they say, is quite a thing. A few of us have been privileged to work with Campus Kitchen preparing meals for marginalized homes that the center supplies lunch boxes to. And yes, you may only get to appreciate the little pieces of food that you get to throw away after you hear from someone who has not had a meal for days. So I am certain that Campus Kitchen is doing an amazing noble job on it. Sightseeing Atlanta Apart from our visits within the Athens community, a few days spent in Atlanta during our 2nd week were equally fulfilling. The historical sites that narrate the beautiful story of Georgia, including the Centre of Human Rights and the Capitol were the crème de la crème of our 3-day trip. It was a moving experience getting to learn about the history of the United States and the role of prominent figures like Martin Luther King in this great country’s story. The entire trip was wrapped up with a quick tour to the Coca-Cola headquarters, the biggest aquarium and CNN studios, which was all nothing but exciting to all fellows. I would give anything to take me back. If you just read this to the end, as I say ‘Adieu’, I must say I am looking forward to the next few weeks of my stay in Georgia, just probably the same way you are looking forward to my next piece of my experience.
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