Francis Ogutu Univ. 291 Dr.

Green Reflection Paper September 6, 2011 Understanding Service Experience Living in a society where I could constantly witness various forms of injustices and suffering, definitely compelled me to want to make a difference. Most of ti me in my life and in my surroundings, I have encountered one or two cases where I had to join hands with other members of my community to offer a community envi ronmental clean-up exercises, HIV/ AIDS public awareness campaign, teaching reli gious classes to 6th and 7th graders and also joining other youths from my neigh borhood back home in Nairobi to offer our services to Mentally handicapped homes . So I would say that from a lay man(my own)s perspective, service to me represen ted my willingness to join hands with others to voluntarily address concerns of those less privileged than myself. The most important thing though, is the convi ction and satisfaction that followed after I have participation in these service a ctivities. After reading the assigned class readings, my perspective on service might have changed a bit about what constitute a service, because now I realize how service should be checked in a broader term including creating formidable partnerships and meaningful collaborations to allow for mutual understanding and smooth opera tion. Nevertheless, I will still share a little bit about what kind of service I engaged in the past that has impacted the way I see the world around me. I woul d be sharing my experience of doing a volunteer service here in the United State s with a Non- governmental organization called LIFT. Joining Loyola University in 2009 was one of the best moments in my life as I un derstood quite well what a Jesuit education entails: forming great men and women for others. Just to be safe with some of my friends who usually feel uncomforta ble with this phrase, I usually add something like forming great men and women fo r the greater service of gods creation. I had attended a Jesuit high (the only one in Nairobi, of course) school back in Nairobi. Community service was an integra l part of our learning after graduating from the school for six months before go ing to colleges. So when I finally realized that I would be continuing my educat ion in the United States and most importantly in a Jesuit institution (Loyola), I knew that community service would be part of my life and honestly, I like doin g community service. At Loyola Org fair in Spring of 2011, When I got the chance to meet some volunte ers from LIFT- Chicago and heard about what they were doing, I was convinced tha t maybe I should contact and join them. Fortunately enough, my interview went on well and in February of 2011, I joined LIFT- Chicago. Founded by two undergradu ate Yale university students Kirsten Lodal and Brian Kreiter in 1998, LIFTs miss ion to combat poverty and expand opportunity for all people in the United States , with an aim to see members of the community have the opportunity to achieve ec onomic security and pursue their aspirations, was like a bait to me. LIFT has gr own into a network of significant resource centre serving community members stru ggling with social and economic issues. As a resource centre, it welcomes member s of the community who are looking for employment, affordable housing and other public social benefit issues. Clients work hand in hand with trained volunteers who are mostly current undergraduate students. These volunteers including myself work under the supervision of our site coordinators and the site Director. Thes e are full time employees. LIFT has helped me understand many aspects of how United States systems work. As an Economics major, I had thought that by just taking my usual class courses, w ould make me understands everything about the society. However, I realized from my interaction with clients (community members coming to LIFT), that there is mo re that meets the eye in the academic books. Most of my work at the organization revolves around unemployment and affordable housing issues. More so, I also enc ountered quite a number of formerly incarcerated individuals who struggle with s

earching for employment and education opportunities. The fact that they have the exconvict status puts these individuals at a disadvantaged position as most of th em are staying much longer before getting any job offers. Also the issue of affo rdable housing has become one of the most challenging issues that LIFT is trying to address. As a volunteer at lift, I felt very happy at the amount of freedom and opportunity to meet one on one with the clients and I got to hear firsthand information about their struggle to improve their lives. Another thing I liked a bout lift is the amount of support a volunteer receives from the coordinators. W henever an issue became more complex beyond my own capabilities, our seniors wou ld come in and help out. The nice thing also is that the clients themselves unde rstood the limitations of student volunteers and therefore didnt undermine our ef forts. This encouraged wanting to go to LIFT every day and get to sit down with these lovely clients and listen to their concerns My main work as a volunteer at Lift had encompassed working with the clients to create their resumes and cover letters for job application, check the Database o n Housing and Employment to check for open up spaces and opportunities. Most of the time, these opportunities do not open up and it can be very frustrating at t he thought that one is failing to assist. However, the fact that most of the cli ents appreciate our time for speaking and listening to them encourage me each da y and I had always looked forward to reporting to LIFT uptown offices in Wilson redline. From my past and current volunteer and community service experience; Service to means more than just presenting myself at an organization with aim of helping th ose the society considers vulnerable. I consider service to be the urge to want to make a difference ad finding joy with other people to help come up with applica ble solutions to the problems at hand. Service is making those you serve be able to understand and identify you as one with good intentions for them and also fo r my own personal growth. Since I joined LIFT, I would confirm that my experience there has been w onderful though coupled with a few challenges here and there. The mission and Vi sion of alleviating poverty and fighting for social justice for the US communiti es attracted my interest in LIFT. I might end up going back to Kenya after my gr aduation but the skills and experiences gained at LIFT would be of great signifi cance because I can relate what I see happening at LIFT with the difficulties mo st people I see in Kenya go through. The issues about unemployment, affordable h ousing, public benefits and literacy are very universal problems and I believe t hat by sharpening my skills and learning how different organizations are trying to address these issues would enable me to gain useful and applicable skills if I end up working my community back in Kenya. The most important thing, however, is that while here I participated in making a difference on one or two people. T his one or two people will go on either to get employment or access affordable h ousing which will result in peace and harmony within their families. To me: This is service.