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Amazing journey on a February unlike this one

EWB-assigments make a difference both to the community we are serving and to the volunteers that leave their everyday-life and worksituation, to take part in projects aiming to make the world more just and sustainable. Read Naima’s reflections on her field mission to Zimbabwe in 2020.

I think I am the happiest when I am out and about talking about the environment and waste, especially plastic pollution. My heart just lies in the work for combating plastic pollution and the challenges to work towards a circular economy. Even though the problems are big and the solutions complex, that's where serenity lies for me. 
Looking back today at this amazing journey I had on a February unlike this one, in the field mission with Ingeniører Uten Grenser og Midlands Children Hope Project (MCHP). 

Going around schools, colleges, communities to talk about plastic pollution and broach & discuss possible solutions that fits the society there and the local situations was incredibly gratifying. Discussing and working with local authorities to bring about a change was illuminating and quite educational. Not only did we get the opportunity to enlighten about effects of plastic pollution and educate about circular economy and possible creative solutions in the communities, we were also lucky to acquire heaps of knowledge ourselves. 

At the end of the day it is humbling and inspiring to see who and what we are working for- the future generations and our planet. I can't thank enough for the opportunity and the journey. It was indeed life altering! 

Looking at the initiatives and challenges that lay in the informal sector and the existing solutions that were in the formal systems taught us a lot about the imbalance of opportunities, aspirations and solutions. The existing knowledge gap that we saw in the society (exists in many societies around the world really) was not astonishing. However, we saw that as an opportunity to spread more information and point out some highlights. After our rounds of talk around the city, some really started to look at the situation and take action. This one lady for example did a phenomenal job at collecting for the drive we had. This was all possible thanks to the MCHP-team. 
 
Through this journey I got to work on my stage fright and see the impact of small initiatives. I learned that even if you are haunted by imposter syndrome, if your passion is energetic enough and can radiate enough confidence to your audience, people might get inspired to take actions. At the end of the day it is humbling and inspiring to see who and what we are working for- the future generations and our planet. I can't thank enough for the opportunity and the journey. It was indeed life altering! 

Naima Islam
EWB-volunteer 

This was first published on Naima’s LinkedIn (16/02/23) 

You can read more about this assignment here

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