I am KIYAM Lamech, a postgraduate student at the Pan African Institute for Development (PAID-Buea). When I applied to volunteer at Voice of Nature (VoNat), I did so out of the desire to gain in-depth knowledge and professional experience in climate change adaptation and mitigation, project management, and community development. I was, therefore, excited when I was recruited to serve as VoNat’s Climate Action Kids AKA Ecokids Project Assistant in Bamenda. Taking over 50 kids from the Nkwen and Bamenda through an experiential session on climate change education, outreach and climate change information gathering, tree planting in public spaces, and radio sensitization within the first two months gave me the most remarkable volunteering experience in my life. It was so enriching and professionally rewarding that, I applied and got an extension for 6 months when my volunteering period ended in September 2021.
Besides the field experience, the continuous professional mentorship and skills-based training sessions organized intermittently by the organization deepened my understanding of grant writing and resource mobilization, business communication, effective planning & reporting, project management and public speaking amongst others. I am very elated to say that the 8 months spent at VoNat have been very remarkable in my life and my career; a major milestone in my career development agenda. It is still hard to leave…… Sincere thanks to the organization, its staff and volunteers. I could not have achieved my objectives without your collective efforts.