Today we bring you another installment of our local volunteer highlights! This Q&A is with Dr. Emmanuel Opoola, national volunteer for the Nigeria F2F project. Dr. Opoola worked with remote U.S. volunteer, Stephen Bullen, to develop a syllabus and training materials on-farm management and trained the host’s agricultural team on how to use the developed training materials to enable them to further the trainings to their beneficiary farmers.

What was the best part about contributing to Farmer–to–Farmer as a national volunteer in your country/ region?

As a national volunteer, I had the privilege to meet new people. I had the opportunity to connect to the host community, remote-based volunteer and broaden my support network, exposing me to people with common interests, neighborhood resources, and fun and fulfilling activities.  The best part was to have played my role in providing local cases to support the development of training modules and other materials and in visiting the host location to personally deliver training on strategic/tactical farm management planning and setting up a recording-keeping system.

What was the best part about working with a remote US-based volunteer?

Valuable connections and relationships were established with the remote US-based volunteer. The best part was that I had the chance of combining my training experience on-farm management and that of the US-based volunteer synergy for delivering a better package to the participants.

What did you learn/were there any cultural exchanges with the US volunteer and/or your host?

Developing new skills; discovering new passions, gaining insight about myself and the world around me. Now, I feel more comfortable stretching my wings at work after I have honed these skills in working with a remote US-based volunteer. There were cultural exchanges with the US-based volunteer in areas related to strategic analysis and comparing new enterprises.

What lasting impact did volunteering with Winrock have on you?

I have learned important skills to be used in my workplaces, such as teamwork, communication, problem-solving, project planning, task management, and organization.

What was the best part about contributing to Farmer-to-Farmer as a national volunteer in your country/region ?

The best part of my contribution with Farmer-to-Farmer as a local volunteer in my country is the capacity building of the teachers of the vocational Training Center of Nioro du Rip in business marketing. It was interesting for me to be able to help the center to effectively manage their commercial and income generating activities in order to be able to face the budget deficit.

The government of Senegal has decided to make training centers responsible for generating income in order to manage their internal operations. And participating in this training gave me the opportunity to contribute my part in the implementation of this policy.

What was the best part about working with a remote US based volunteer ?

The remote work with the American volunteer (Michelle LaPrise) has greatly contributed to the improvement of the documents produced during the assignment, especially on the development of the business plan model and the questions that the promoter must ask himself on each part that composes the business plan.

I am in charge of following up with micro enterprises in my Zone of Influence and this collaboration with Michelle allowed me to grasp and appropriate other knowledge in the field of business and entrepreneurship. Michelle’s flexibility and willingness to assist was helpful and she has spared no effort in providing information despite the time differences. This further motivated me to provide the training from start to finish and to continue to work with the producers in my area to help them as much as I could without any setbacks.

What did you learn/were there any cultural exchanges?

I learned a lot about the assignment, especially about the financial indicators part of the business plan, the insertion model of the center and marketing techniques. There is a diversity of people within the center from all over Senegal. I met and exchanged with my Diola (one of the ethnic groups in Senegal) relatives and my Serer (another ethnic group)”workers” with whom I teased by taking examples from them during the training. This made the training much easier and with great fun. I was able to understand that this cousinhood is practiced everywhere in Senegal and contributes greatly to the social peace of the country. This mission also allowed me to discover another part of the country with different cultural features.

What lasting impact did this have on you?

This assignment allowed me to reinforce my knowledge on marketing techniques and business plan elaboration. It has allowed me today to reinforce my knowledge on business marketing. There is a lot of materials and information that will be useful to me in my activities with the producers that I supervise. I will definitely become another type of trainer in the future.

What advice would you give or what would you want to tell someone else who is interested in volunteering nationally?

This program allows us not only to develop our skills but also to share our experiences with the beneficiaries for the development of this country. It is a very interesting program. In addition, it allows us to contribute to the capacity building of learners, youth and women in different areas of the country, in order to contribute to sustainable development at the local level.

Why did you choose to volunteer?

I chose to volunteer in the Farmer-to-Farmer program because I am driven by the spirit of sharing and the constant quest for experience and knowledge. Since I am also a microenterprise consultant, I felt it necessary to give my time and in return gain experience for my future career.

My journey as a Farmer-to-Farmer volunteer recruiter with Winrock began about four years ago. I had discovered a knack and affinity for this kind of work when I ran a volunteer program for a veteran service organization. Essentially, my job is bridging the gap between highly qualified individuals and opportunities for them to use these skills to give back. The more I did the work the more joy it brought me. I often think about the altruism that so heavily influences a person to serve in a volunteer capacity. I think about how grateful both the beneficiaries and the volunteers are to have such a fulfilling exchange and I’m happy that I am able to help facilitate this exchange.

With the world being in such an uncertain state, I think it has become easier to forget about volunteering, with so many priorities taking up most of our time.  Everyone is understandably preoccupied. However, with the holiday seasons approaching, I wanted to encourage us all to remember the importance of volunteerism.  Remember why it’s so important to give back and think about the benefits that come from these experiences. In my line of work, feedback has become increasingly important. It’s essential that I understand what does and doesn’t work within our volunteer program, which has moved mostly to virtual spaces. The most resounding feedback that I often receive are the sentiments of both excitement and fulfillment that is brought about when a volunteer donates their time and skills to help others.

As an advocate of volunteerism I thought it might be helpful to share some tips on how to get involved if you’re interested in volunteer opportunities — and how to reignite your passion for volunteerism if you’ve gotten out of the habit and feel a bit rusty.

Ways to give back:

Virtual volunteer opportunities: COVID-19 has created a unique opportunity for virtual/remote opportunities using modern technological practices. Check out Winrock International virtual volunteer assignments here Winrock International » Volunteer

Join a board: Many non-profit organizations need member to help guide the direction of their institution and fundraise. This can be a great opportunity to elevate a budding organization and can also provide robust networking opportunities.

Volunteer abroad: Maybe you’ve done great work in your own back yard and now you want to explore how your skills can support developing countries abroad. Look no further, because Winrock offers the best international volunteer experiences. Our assignments have been paused due to COVID-19 restrictions but there will be opportunities like these in the future.

Share volunteer opportunities: If you are unable to volunteer ,that’s OK! Just remember that lending a helping hand comes in many different forms. The best way to support could be simple sharing of information about volunteer opportunities within your network.

Volunteerism is a way to practice thankfulness for all one has been given and share those gifts — whether it is your skills or your time — with others. This year, I am thankful for the people I get to work with and their generosity. It’s awe inspiring and I couldn’t see myself doing anything different at this point in my life.

Wishing everyone a safe and happy Thanksgiving, even if it looks a bit different this year.