How MyCorps Changed My Life

How MyCorps Changed My Life; Three Most Important Lessons in Life

It never once crossed my mind that one day I would be whisked to a country far from my comfort zone, doing something big for a whole community in dire need of help. Well, the day I got the phone call from the Minsitry of Youth and Sports (KBS) officer, I made one of the biggest decisions in my life- to be a part of the international youth volunteers…to join MyCorps.

MyCorps has been organised by KBS for 7 missions consecutively. This time, I was selected to join their mission to South Asia, inclusive of India, Nepal and Bangladesh. After a hard core series of Pre-departure Training for a full month, I was chosen to go to Kailali, Nepal- Yay! Each of the selected locations were equally challenging. My designated region focused primarily on water crisis and arsenic contamination.

The pinnacle of my journey was the first day we set foot in the land of the Himalayas- we could see the Himalayan range from the plane. Such a beautiful, astonishing sight to see! Of course, our mission has just begun. A few days after staying in Kathmandu, we traveled to the Far West region of Nepal, Kailali. We knew that for the rest of the 2 months of our stay in Nepal, we would be faced with difficult challenges in which the five of us have to settle by ourselves. Working with my teammates from different backgrounds is absolutely precious. This is where I learned something valuable. 

#1 I learned the true meaning of giving

Giving starts within. I have always wondered why there are so many philanthropists out there who eagerly giving out to charity. The truth is, they have come to a point in life where they want to find ultimate happiness and satisfaction in life through giving. They’ve already achieved a lot in life, but they didn’t stop there. Many philanthropists eventually became full time volunteers in order to help more unfortunate people and the disenfranchised community. Bill Gates left Microsoft as a trade off for philanthropic activities (Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation). I believe that this is a positive way to turn wealth into productive charity through giving. People like Bill Gates and Angelina Jolie have inspired me to work towards financial success in order to improve my rate of giving.

#2 Altruism comes first

It’s all about putting others first before you; selflessness. As MyCorps volunteers, we were trained to be professional volunteer leaders and know how to effectively plan projects locally and internationally. Altruism is always the key factor towards ensuring longevity and endurance as a volunteer. Most importantly, true altruism comes from the heart, when we are sincere and willing enough to help others without hoping for anything in return.

I believe this is an important aspect that should be absorbed in work life as well, especially when working with a team. Personally, I think that altruistic behaviour shows your compassion and emotional quotient (EQ) from the work-life standpoint. Throughout my pre-departure training, I observed people with different behaviours and manners which transferred to different results in work. Often times, those who ethically prioritised other people (in fact, helped them at work) gained the most out of it. Pondering upon this made me believe that success at work comes when you are willing to help your teammates in order to move forward together. 

#3 Appreciation goes a long way

When you acknowledge and respect your teammates’ different backgrounds and experiences, you’ll learn a lot from them. You’ll notice that there’s still a lot of skills yet to be learned and that everyone is special in their own way. My teammates were absolutely diverse and unique; Awanis is a doctor-to-be, Thashi has an accounting background, Hadi is an architect and Sofee is an insurance consultant. Each of us focus on different scopes based on our expertise and integrate them with our projects in Nepal. 

What I’d like to highlight here is- no matter who we are, we still respected each other and appreciate the little things we do for each other. We helped each other out as much as we could even though we had little to no experience in that field; from helping out in the kitchen and washing dishes to planning big construction projects together. Everything we did together was precious and it shows in the way we appreciate things, big or small.

Alhamdulillah, I was very lucky to have had this opportunity.