It was early March 2023 when I learned about Youth Volunteer Corps, and after knowing its mission and goals, I got interested in joining. Little did I know that it was a launch into a greater life-changing experience with a series of projects.
My best project so far has been the school vegetable garden project in which we have grown vegetables like spinach, Sukuma wiki, etc. The space was not enough so we used the modern small space farming methods. We used planting bags which we filled with soil and placed on stands that we constructed using wood, nails, hammers, and bow saws.
After a long, busy day, we had put up our garden and planted the seedlings, and the only demanding part left was watering since it was a sunny season, weeding, and spraying them, which we did interchangeably.
I enjoyed the project since I got exposed to my fellow youths in the school. I never thought there could be something to connect us because of the different grades, but this project did.
I also got to know the importance of teamwork since we worked in teams to realize this project as a success.
When these vegetables matured, we could only harvest the mature leaves and leave the young ones for the next harvest. The project helped the school community change the students’ diet with a supplement of vegetables.
The project is still in existence, and we only weed, water during the dry times, spray, and harvest.
From this project, I have made new friends, learned how to make simple vegetable gardens, how to associate with fellow youths, and how it feels to do something like a team.
Napoleon Hill once said, “If you cannot do great things, do small things in a great way,” so we did something small and beautiful in a great way, and it has attracted more youths to volunteer with YVC!
It is such a great honor, privilege, and opportunity to volunteer and serve with YVC Uganda!
Written by Youth Volunteer, NDUNGUTSE STEPHEN of YVC Kampala, Uganda