Leave for Change By Shivon Raghumandan


I was privileged to have participated in Leave for Change© in July of 2011, a volun- teer program offered by Uniterra. Uniterra is a major Canadian voluntary cooperation and international development program jointly established by World University Services of Canada (WUSC) and Centre for International Studies and Cooperation (CECI). Leave for Change is a corporate volunteering initiative that enables employees from participating organizations, including Humber College, to contribute part of their vacation towards a volunteer assignment in a developing coun- try.


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I volunteered at Stepping Stones Interna- tional (SSI) founded by Lisa Jamu, located in Mochudi, one of the largest villages in Botswana, situated 37 km northeast of Gabarone (the country’s capital and largest city). SSI is a non-profit, non-governmental organization that provides an afterschool program for youth ages 12 - 18+. SSI works with local school counsellors to identify vulnerable youth, defined as, but not limited to: youth who have poor academic perfor- mance; have lost one or both parents; have experienced abuse at home; are caring for a family member; and/or whose basic needs are unmet. SSI’s primary mission is to facili- tate healing from childhood atrocities and foster the growth of their youth into self-suf- ficient young adults. It uses a holistic model and offers a range of programs in the areas of life skills training, leadership, academic advancement, and psychosocial support. SSI also engages community members such as the Aunties & Uncle’s Program, where aun- ties and uncles of participating youth edu- cate and advocate on issues of child abuse & neglect, trans-generational dating, safe sex, and incest. SSI also provides each youth with a meal each day, often times the only


VOL. 44 NO. 4 | FALL 2012 meal of the day for these at risk youth.


The focus of my volunteer assignment was to increase the capacity of the psycho-social department at SSI. As part of my mandate, I researched, developed and delivered train- ing modules in the areas of Suicide Interven- tion & Assessment; Rebuilding Self-Esteem after Trauma; Working with Victims of Sexual Abuse; and Women Abuse & Gender Equality. I put to test my newly developed “managerial and human resources skills” to develop a Policy & Procedure Manual for the psycho-social department which turned into a rewarding challenge! I also networked with community organizations and was particularly fortunate to find a rare resource, Tsedisa, an organization in Gabarone that focuses on the well-being of mental health professionals. I am happy to report that con- nection has resulted in Tsedisa agreeing to support the counsellors at SSI by providing weekly clinical supervision through a local psychologist for FREE! A service I am sure we’ve all daydreamed of when we’ve felt challenged and overwhelmed in our prac- tice. Additional highlights of my mandate included accompanying Mosa, a counsellor, on several home visits, providing support and supervision to the counsellors and staff on various client and personal issues, and meeting with some of the youth and their families.


This assignment was a great opportunity to both challenge myself and grow profession- ally. My ability as a counsellor to provide culturally appropriate therapy was chal- lenged, transformed, and enhanced. Based on my previous education and work ex- perience, I felt fairly comfortable working within my clients’ cultural framework. My education in the areas of women’s studies


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