ZENITH CHUA
LEARNER . VOLUNTEER . PADDLER
Goodness and Mercy Missions - GMM (Cameroon)
GMM was my second major commitment and it's also one experience that has inspired me to go beyond the "original agreement".
GMM is situated in Cameroon and aims to empower women through their entrepreneurial intiatives (e.g. women income generation project) and also helps children by getting sponsorship and also having IT skills training programs for them.
My task with GMM originally was to re-evaluate and initiate better ways for money to be wired in from overseas. It was done with a team of volunteers internationally. Through the task, i became close friends with another volunteer in Brazil, Priscila
An opportunity then arose when i saw my school email sending information on an international competition called "Project Inspire" which was targeting NGOs that had ideas which can be sustainable and empower women in their local communities.
I initiated for GMM to enter the competition, since there was nothing to lose but everything to gain. I approached Priscila and over the internet, we agreed to give it a go. We had to find another team member who could do video editing, as a promotional video was initially required by the organizers. This void was eventually filled by Prisicla through her network.
Despite the varied time zones of the 3 team members, we leveraged on our own expertise - I was doing the speech and voice over, as well as consolidation of submission report, because I was better with advocacy work, Priscila helped with the report and did a great job with the financial statements and projections which was her expertise. And our third member, Pedro, leveraged on his expertise to help with the production of the video.
The competition was intense, with 70 countries and 500 over submissions. We did not make the top 10 finalists, but we managed to add value to GMM through the promotional video which has been passed onto them for future uses.
This stint with GMM has also inspired me to have an idea regarding child sponsorship, donation behavior and a way to revamp it completely. Currently, i am working on the idea to test its validity on local grounds.
Gender Equality and Health Organization - GEHO (Uganda)
GEHO was my first NGO as a UN Volunteer and it has also been an unforgettable experience with them.
GEHO Uganda seeks to help LGBT individuals (Kuchus, in their slang) to gain a better life and understand more about HIV/AIDS. They provide shelter to these individuals for they are largely seen as "dirty" or "abnormal" people that are shameful to the family and the village. They also share information and try to provide ways for them to receive medical information/attention.
My task there was to draft a grant proposal for them to fund their HIV/AIDS program. But the proposal was eventually turned down.
However, my stint with them extended beyond what was originally stipulated. GEHO later had an entrepreneurial attempt to sell paper beads jewellery items overseas, and i initiated to set up a Facebook page as a platform for them to advertise their items.
But things did not go well when Uganda eventually first passed their Anti-Gay Bill. Things turned nasty and people eventually had to flee, and many online platforms had to be shut down to avoid tracking.
Throughout my stint with GEHO up till now, they have shared with me very saddening stories, of how LGBT individuals have been turned away by families, and even up till death, their families refuse to collect their bodies or pay for the ritual/coffin, just because they are seen as a shame. There are also many LGBT individuals who have suicide intentions because they see it as their only way out. Not to mention having personally witness an sabotage mission by an anti-LGBT individual unfold, causing raid missions and late-night rescue missions to be conducted.
There is much debate over the issue of homosexuality and there are arguments on both sides. However, my stance remains the same: they are humans, and they should deserve equal rights as all of us do, whether they are gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, queer or heterosexual. Sexual orientation doesn't define who they are, or what they can be; for it's merely a part of them. Hence, it's an absolute ridicule that they have to flee for their lives, suffer physical and mental violence attacks, and at the end of the day, even be sentenced to death, for being who they are. They are humans, so are we.
Safety First for Girls - SAFIGI (Zambia)
SAFIGI is another NGO that i have decided to extend my contributions beyond the "original agreement".
SAFIGI has a blog site that shares information about women safety issues, women rights issues, and other related topics for women empowerment.
My task was to help write blog posts around the topics, and i chose to do a "women inspiration series", where i find women that are amongst communities, potentially less well-known on an international scale and share their stories, hoping that upon reading them, women can become inspired and not feel that they need to be extraordinary like Mother Teresa to be somebody.
We have also agreed for a continuation of the stint; to keep blogging for SAFIGI.
Though this experience is less intense than the other 2 mentioned, but it has been one where I enjoyed contributing in my tiny ways and yet knowing that these posts are potentially helping someone else in another part of the world.
International Volunteer Work
I am an online United Nations Volunteer and to date, it's coming to 2 years of serving the greater community. My experience from attaching to various NGOs across different countries and serving different causes (from gender to health to youth to fish farming, etc), has truly widened my horizons and enrich my life in ways that is beyond simple words. I pick below 3 of my most memorable experiences thus far, and sharing some thoughts and insights from them.
