Hamoye A-TEAM: My Experience Volunteering With Hamoye
by Ifeanyi “Bernie” Iheagwara
An ancient Chinese Proverb states “Tell me and I forget; teach me and I may remember; involve me and I learn”.
I started to volunteer with Hamoye in 2021, a few months right after I concluded a Data Science Internship with them. As one of the top 10 interns in their previously organized internship, I was sent an email in which I was invited to be a part of the A-team/volunteers for their upcoming externship. I don’t exactly remember what my reasons were at the time, but I accepted the offer.
One thing I know for sure is that it was a good decision. Being an active part of the A-Team for the machine learning externship with a progressive (r)evolution mindset provided me with the opportunity to meet with various people and to help others with the use of the knowledge I had earlier acquired at Hamoye. All that was required was the right level of commitment, responsibility, and flexibility.
Why did I volunteer and what has been the experience so far?
Everyone has different reasons why they volunteer. Personally, I believed volunteering with Hamoye was going to be an excellent opportunity to gain some professional experience and skills which may come in handy in the future. This role has helped me gain experience in customer service, resolving and handling complaints, communication skills, time management, and community building, teamwork, and assisting the interns on their data science journey. Volunteering also came with interacting with other exciting and inspiring people from all around the world.
At the program, we the volunteers were in charge of coordinating and executing all activities performed in our individual groups, to ensure the quality and performance of our operations. For me, this was 01-Logistic regression at the beginning, and Keras later on in the program. I would never forget how good it felt knowing that I was part of a progressive and educative program.
As for my experience, it has been great. I would describe it as motivating, fun, memorable, tasking, but amazing.
Best Moments
This has to be my personal conversation and brainstorming session with some interns. I learnt to further develop my team spirit, collaborate better, communicate, and resolve issues in a better and more effective manner. Volunteering is important, it is an act that should be consistent with our principles, in impacting the lives of others, which is extremely satisfying.
Volunteering with Hamoye proved to be structured, insightful, and indeed eye-opening.
Advice for future volunteers.
Honestly, I enjoyed the experience and would encourage more people to volunteer. It is such a great learning experience that I will treasure always. Thank you Cordelia llori, Emmanuel Ikwoche, and Hamoye.
If you aren’t currently volunteering and would like to, remember to do so and help others. It is important to be open to new challenges, experiences, and give it your best. To be part of the A-team and its amazing initiatives, sign up on Hamoye’s platform.
