VOLUNTEERING AT LOCAL AFRICAN COMMUNITY(Reflective portfolio ) Essay

VOLUNTEERING AT LOCAL AFRICAN COMMUNITY(Reflective portfolio ) - Essay ExampleTo a large(p) extent, I feel that I was ideally suited for this volunteering opportunity. Since my childhood, I had been a gregarious and partnership orient person, who felt comfortable in groups comprising of individuals with diverse cultural and ethnic background. In fact I institute such an environment really educative and stimulating. So, when I got a chance to work as an administrative assistant with the West Midlands Somalianan Association, I instinctively knew I had made the right decision. While parcel with this organization, I expected to get a firsthand experience, as to how young tribe of Somali beginning felt like being in the UK? What were the administrative, social, cultural and financial problems that aided or inhibited their consolidation into the essentially British mainstream? Besides, I was curious to know that whether it was pragmatic to categorize all the Black people as one mon olithic group and assume that they faced the same problems, or whether their existed subgroups amongst the African community in Birmingham , which faced problems that were specific to their culture, origin and community (Kyambi 2005)? The objective was to approach the given opportunity with an outdoors and receptive mindset, so as to extend maximum assistance and to seek ample insight, companionship and experience. share Made to the Aims and Objectives of the Organization I really feel proud and glad to realize that during my time spend with the West Midlands Somali Association, I was able to make immense contri just nowion to the aims and objective of the organization in the following ways Office Paper Work One of the main objectives of the organization was to coordinate and work with the local government bodies and charities to seek maximum assistance for the education, entertainment and integration of the local Somali spring chicken (Rutter 2006). The job involved ample pap er work as filling forms, filing reports, sending mails, and so on Besides, the young people who sought assistance from the attached organizations like Relief4Africa, British Yemini Project, SOVA Midlands Area Office, London Somali Youth Forum, or needed employment or housing were required to deal with ample paperwork, which they put up immensely cumbersome because of their lack of proficiency in the English language (Save the Children 1994). At West Midlands Somali Association, my services proved to be of immense help in that context. I non only helped in the regular office paperwork, but also assisted and selectd the young people with soliciting and filing the prerequisite forms and affidavits. Health As per my first hand experience, the Somali community in Birmingham faced many wellness related issues. The young people not only faced many diseases related to poor nutrition, but also psychological issues like anxiety disorders and depression (Ingram 2009). Besides, they also faced barriers to access to health facilities, not only owing to language problems, but also owing to a lack of trained volunteers and interpreters who could exit them on the exact and sometimes culturally sensitive information pertaining to their health problems. In that context, my language skills and knowledge turned out to be of immense help. In a way, I acted as a guide and interpreter, who served as a facilitator between the local health workers and authorities and the young people facing health