After my first Roundtable organized in Africa, I am continuing with the series of firsts when it comes to Kabissa.
Although at Kabissa we work 99% online, from time to time life brings volunteers together in person as well. I haven’t experienced this until now and unfortunately I have missed Tobias, our Executive Director, when he was in Abuja in November 2012, for the eNigeria summit. I arrived in Nigeria one week later after his departure. Therefore we have been putting efforts together for more than one year and a half, but never met face to face. Maybe I pay a visit to Seattle ASAP.
Anyway, if I did not manage to meet my oldest friend and contact inside Kabissa, I did manage to meet the newest member of the volunteers team, in Portugal. Eva is the new volunteer recruiter for Kabissa. She is Slovak, but she is based in Lisbon due to her work.
I must say that meeting volunteers face to face gives an incredible feeling of “togetherness”. It is not always easy to coordinate volunteers when only working online and this sometimes leads to a feeling of “impersonal”. But this tête-à-tête meeting made me discover another side of Kabissa. I have been volunteering with this organisation believing that my effort will help the online community platform in their effort of networking, information sharing and peer learning. But Kabissa is more than that. Allow me to elaborate on that.
Now, that I am in Africa, I can make use of my Kabissa role to get to know individuals and organizations that work together to bring change in Africa. Establishing contacts at the grassroots level helps a lot understanding the continent. Therefore I had and continue to have my “Africa dose” through Kabissa and I am thankful for that.
Second, it is a joy to get to meet the people we are working with. I met Eva and we spoke about Kabissa and much more. She is sharing my interest for the European Union and international development. She is currently working at the European Maritime Safety Agency. And she so desires to go to Africa. Therefore she is looking for a volunteering position that would allow her to go to the continent for (only) a month during the summer, as she has two little girls (two dolls I might add) that need her in Europe (but they too stand as a proof of her passion for Africa, as they are half Senegalese). This encounter made me feel so good, helped me in closing the gap in physical presence that Kabissa is often having. Seeing and experiencing common passions can increase motivation, but also inspire and give courage to take ambitious plans.
If Kabissa did not exist, these benefits at a more personal level would not be possible.
