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Hello everyone from Jess’s blog!

I’m happy to be here! Jess invited me as a guest author to share my experiences with the 5 students she is fundraising for. I am currently completing my Peace Corps service in the beautiful city of Livingstone, Zambia. As most of you know, this is where Jess completed her recent service.

A few months ago, after her shift from Zambia to Tanzania, Jess shared her idea to raise funds to send our 5 student-mentors we worked closely with to college. I thought it was an incredible idea because I know the students personally and had recently talked with them about their goals for attending college. But those dreams quickly faded when their families shared the realities of not having the money to pay for college.

But after reading this blog, you will understand how deserving they are of your support, and how pivotal they were to our Peace Corps projects over the last two years.

Before I go any further, let me introduce the five student-mentors; Sunday Makungu, Israel Bwalya, Isaac Lungu, Ezra Chansa, and David Chasha. I will refer to them as “the mentors”. They are each unique in their own way and hold a special place in Jess and I’s hearts.

Shortly after I arrived to Livingstone, Jess invited me to a lunch she planned for the mentors. She was eager to introduce me. Although I knew little about the mentors, I immediately saw why she spoke so highly of them. They spoke passionately about their desire to continue supporting Peace Corps volunteer projects and were eager to learn how they could support any project I decided to do during my term of service.

Read More: Debate Club

As we ate our pizza, they shared their passion to help their underclassman lead the debate clubs they had previously led as 12th graders. They advocated for another debate competition and another leadership camp too. They brought fresh ideas, discussed challenges and offered solutions to improve debate clubs and camps. It was very apparent that these 5 mentors were special.

Watch: Hear from the mentors

Fast forward a few weeks, and Jess completes her service. As a result, I inherited her projects, including more debate clubs and a large debate event. Let me tell you!  It was OVERWHELMING! How was I, who knew virtually nothing about organized debate, supposed to manage 4 different debate clubs, one being at a school that was 30 minutes away!?

Fear not, everything turned out phenomenally, but this is largely in part because the mentors were involved. Each mentor was assigned to a school to help support the teachers leading it. Eventually, the mentors led most club sessions, ensuring their students knew everything from the motion itself to all the nitpicky rules of formal debate. I watched each of the mentors in action and I was so impressed by their composure and attitude. Trying to lead 20+ students from all different age groups is challenging, but they completed the task with ease like it was their day job!

When Jess and I say the mentors are hard-working and passionate, we are telling the truth. After the debate event, I got calls and texts weekly from the mentors asking how they could support me in any activities that were coming up. They were so excited when I invited them to help me host a Boys Respecting Others (BRO) Camp.

Throughout the camp planning process, the mentors continuously communicated the importance of managing the small details that are often forgotten and shared new ideas that were fun and engaging for camp participants. They 100% had my back.

Their leadership qualities surpassed my expectations. They handled registration. They handled consent forms. They handled all debate sessions and their assigned students. They handled time management, the kitchen, and sanitation checks.

I’m telling you, they handled almost everything!! It was incredible. THEY. ARE. INCREDIBLE!

As the person, now on the ground, the mentors frequently communicate with me about Jess’s fundraiser. They tell me that they are praying every day for a successful fundraiser. They are so humbled and thankful.

Trust me when I say, I understand that each of us see a lot of GoFundMe pages. And each of us don’t always want to read loooonnnngggg posts about them. I’ve been there. But Jess is an individual who always gives 100%. Every day she has been committed to posting new content and finding ways to engage new donors. We have so much belief in these young men. If given the opportunity, they will make all of us so proud!

There is no reason we cannot reach our goal by the end of this year. Please find it in your heart to donate. And please understand that $50 is valued at a little over K1200 (Zambian Kwacha)!

Keep donating, keep sharing the link, and keep the momentum going. You will be changing these young men’s lives forever.

Thank you for reading this far. I hope you enjoyed it.

I also hope Jess will promote me after this.

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