Joyce Banda at Masintha Rally for 1 Year of PP Government in Malawi

Discover Your Passion: Volunteering Opens Your Eyes to New Career Paths

“Jambo! Jambo!” yells a young girl, greeting us with the traditional Swahili welcome. She runs towards us, a huge smile on her face despite the fact that she is barefoot and her dress is tattered. She’s just 11 years old, but Rebecca will not only teach me to have an open mind and an open heart, but also inspire me to pursue a career in journalism.

“Opportunity isn’t a chance, it’s a choice,” said Mia Farrow during a Me to We presentation to hundreds of youth from across North America, including myself. In August 2011, I made a life-changing choice to travel on a Me to We trip to Osenetoi, a small village in Kenya’s Maasai Mara region.

Me to We, a social enterprise created through the charity Free The Children, offers youth volunteer trips to Kenya, Ghana, Nicaragua, Ecuador, India and Arizona. Activities on the trips range from building schools in underprivileged communities, to learning about issues such as the need for clean water and sanitation and the cycle of poverty. Outside the confines of the classroom, we were able to see for ourselves how important the things we take for granted, such as clean water, are for children like Rebecca.

I met Rebecca when we set out to collect water for a local village. Many women in developing countries make this journey several times a day. I was astonished at how dirty the water was, and how grueling it was to carry the jerry cans on our heads back to the village. When we arrived with the water, the people of the village were singing and dancing as if we had given them an incredible gift. Rebecca had tears in her eyes as she grabbed my hand to include me in the celebration. She was determined to do something to repay us, and although she had very little to give, she presented me with a bracelet that I still wear today as a reminder of the true sense of community I felt there.

I began the trip unsure if I would even attend university the following year, but the afternoon I spent with Rebecca and her family gave me the drive and passion I needed to make the decision to study journalism. We experienced such profound gratitude for the three jugs of water we brought to Rebecca’s family that I realized I want to ensure these people’s stories are told. I want to make sure that Canadians can understand the need to work together with developing countries, and begin to break down the stereotype that they are unable to help themselves.

Jenny Dadswell, a fellow volunteer, was also influenced by her experience in Kenya. “We think we know ourselves, but you don’t truly know yourself until you go on a trip like [that]. Everything is stripped. You are raw. You learn who you are and what you like,” says Dadswell, who learned that she is passionate about human trafficking and hostage negotiation, which led her to study criminology at Simon Fraser University.

Mallory Hilkewich, Me to We’s Kenya manager of leadership, has seen how these trips completely change the participants’ view of the world.

“I think this quote by Lilla Watson, an Indigenous Australian activist, says it best: ‘If you have come here to help me, you are wasting our time. But if you have come because your liberation is bound up with mine, then let us work together,’ ” says Hilkewich, indicating that it’s important for youth to understand the difference between charity and social justice—to see that people living in poverty aren’t helpless.

Experiences like my trip to Kenya make you aware not only of the world and other cultures, but of yourself. You learn that if you’re privileged enough to do what you love, you should pursue those dreams. You also learn that your life should not centre on the things you have, but rather the people that fill your everyday life—whether they be family, friends or people that you may only know for a short time.

Volunteering abroad also gives you the opportunity to become passionate about a specific issue. In my case, this was the lack of clean water and sanitation in many developing countries. I was astonished to learn that more than 780 million people around the world, including Rebecca and her community, do not have access to safe drinking water. For my friends in Osenetoi, the water they drink every day is murky and brown. Without a reliable source of clean water, water-related diseases become a reality.

Unfortunately, a small percentage of the world’s population consumes the majority of the clean water. While in Osenetoi, I learned that if we are part of the problem, we can choose to be part of the solution. To reduce water usage, we can take staggered showers and encourage our friends and family to be accountable for their water usage. It is my hope that the lack of clean water for villages like Osenetoi ends with our generation. This is our opportunity to take action.

You can look at life as full of opportunities or challenges—it all depends on your outlook. Everyone I met in Kenya saw every day as an opportunity to appreciate their lives and the people in them. This is one of the main reasons that volunteering abroad will radically change your perspective of the world. If you choose to take the opportunity, go in with an open heart and you will gain so much more than you can give.for more info, check out avant career

Atauro Island

Atauro Island is a small island situated 25 km north of Dili, East Timor, on the extinct Wetar segment of the volcanic Inner Banda Arc, between the Indonesian islands of Alor and Wetar. Politically it comprises one of the subdistricts of the Dili District of East Timor. It is about 25 km long and 9 km wide, about 105 km2 in area, and is inhabited by about 8,000 people. The nearest island is the Indonesian island of Liran, 12 km to the northeast.

Atauro Island becomes favorite spot for snorkelers, divers and green tourists. You can see local divers seek for fish by using traditionally hand-made goggles and spear guns. The accommodation is quite enough with eco-ledge facilities and bamboo cabins. It is relatively quiet beach so you can enjoy your escape by relaxing, enjoying sunrise, sunbath and sunset. You can find beautiful and diverse reefs by diving sea.

Royal Kangra - Forts of Kangra

The Kangla Fort of Manipur was to be found on both edges (western as well as eastern) of the Imphal River. At the present it persists simply on the western part of the bank. Now a day simply the shell stay behind. The name Kangla stands for "dehydrated ground" in previous Meitei (an ethnic group of Manipur). The fort was the customary place of the precedent Meitei sovereigns of Manipur.

Kangla has been the earliest capital of Manipur from the olden period along to the year 1891 AD. It is positioned at the midpoint of Imphal town approximately crossed with 24°N Latitude, 94°E Longitude and it is an elevation of 2,619 feet (798 m). It is located on the west land side of the Imphal River.

Kangla is the very imperative sequential location of Manipur. The empire of Manipur was recognized and urbanized at Kangla. Moreover, a spot of opinionated and spiritual centre, Kangla has developed into a terrifying fort metropolis throughout the periods. As of this capital, the Ningthouja tribe progressively manipulated sufficient political and armed command and raised up to be the prevailing tribe in Manipur state. The regal record provides lots of allusions to the creation of Kangla through consecutive swaying rulers in Manipur.

How to Reach

By Air

The Airport of Imphal Tulihal is placed around 8km from the hub of the town and is fine linked straight from the most important metropolises of India specifically Delhi, Kolkata, Guwahati and other big metropolitans of North Eastern States that is Aizawl, Silchar, Dimapur and so on through Daily/bi-weekly/additional source through the home Air facilities similar to Air India, Indigo, King Fisher, Jet Airways, Jet Lite, Spice Jet, Air Deccan and so on. Further important urban of India are linked toward Imphal through Kolkata/Guwahati.

By Road

Manipur is finely linked through all divisions of country via a high-quality network of nationwide and state main roads. Normal bus facilities are worked via state transportation business starting from Imphal to further towns in the Manipur. One can also acquire way from nationalized main road no. thirty nine and fifty three to arrive at state.

By Rail

State is not fully linked with additional divisions of nation through railway network. The adjacent railhead to arrive at Manipur is Silchar in Assam.  Separately from it, positioned at the boundary of north east zone of Nagaland, Dimapur is one closer railhead to get to Manipur. Imphal, which is the capital town of Manipur, is merely 215 kms far away from Nagaland. One can get both taxi as well as bus to arrive at Manipur in nine to ten hours, once reached Nagaland by train. Therefore if anyone wishes to arrive at Manipur in that case trains are obtainable upto Guwahati, Silchar, Kohima and Dimapur and from there one can get road facilities to arrive at Manipur.

Royal Kangra, Forts of Kangra, Kangla Fort of Manipur, Monuments In India, Kangla Fort

President Joyce Banda urges positive partnership with the private sector

President Dr. Joyce Banda has said a positive partnership between government and the private business sector in the country would bring in a good impact to the development of the economy.
The president made the remarks during an interactive dinner with southern region based private sector companies on Friday, 21st March, 2014 at Sanjika Palace in Blantyre.
“Time has come when government and private sector should come together for economy growth of the country. Recently, we have heard of reports indicating that Malawi is on position 73 out of the 163 African countries that are speeding up the growth of their economy and today our economy, the crop in the fields, foreign exchange are looking good whilst inflation and interest rates are going down,” said Dr Banda.

Her Excellence Dr. Joyce Banda sharing out her government achievements in 2 years and plans for the next five years.

She added that her government led by Peoples Party is the only one which has put 2014 to 2019 as years to create an appropriate growth of the private sector.
“In our manifesto, we have left legacy of the past and our focus is on how tomorrow should be developed,” she said.
Minister of Finance, Dr Maxwell Mkwezalamba said government has managed for the first half of the budget period from 2013-2014 to perform within the resources that have been available.
“We have been able to implement the budget and this has restored micro-economic stability and we did not seek recourse to domestic borrowing and this shows government’s commitment to make sure there is fiscal prudence looking at what we have,” he said.
He said there is need as a country not to wholly focus on donor funds and that is to say if donors bring in their help that should be a bonus.
“We need to develop strategies together so as to enhance the development as well as sustaining our economy. We need to improve the quality of the public expenditure as well as maintaining the forex position that is very health at the time,” he concluded.
Minister of Industry and Trade, Sosten Gwengwe, said there is much that his ministry is putting in place so that the private sector feels at home and for the growth of the country’s economy.
Among other things, Gwengwe said that the reforms that as government put in place will not be left just as the way they are but that will be followed and enacted. There are reforms on business registration systems in Malawi, online business reforms that are expected to complete by April 2014, the Business Centre also will complete by end March, 2014.
“Business licensing regulators are working with the Ministry of Justice and are expected to complete by April 2014. We are also working with the Tanzanian government in setting up a one stop shopping centre in places of Kasumulu and Songwe and this will see offices of the Immigration department, Malawi Revenue Authority (MRA), Agriculture, Malawi Bureau of Standards (MBTS) in the border post.
Government will work very closely with the private sector in order to find win to win solutions and though there have been challenges on the business resident with the private sector, the Immigration Department and Ministry of Justice have looked at the issue in order to reform,” concluded Gwengwe.
In his remarks, Minister of Economic Planning and Development, Ralph Jooma said upon government taking over in 2012 they have managed to remove the hard tax the private sector paid and currently the better fruits have started to show off when it can clearly be identified that both government and the private sector have brought back the economy of the country.
“The meeting is expected to be rewarding both to the private sector as well as government on the improvement of the economy. This is not the first time government is meeting the private sector, as we have met them for some time now as one way of appreciating the role they are playing in developing the economy of the country,” he said.

Glacier National Park in Montana by Anjimile Banda

Glacier National Park is located in the U.S. state of Montana, south from the Canadian borders of Alberta and British Columbia. The park encompasses over 1,000,000 acres (4,000 km²) and includes parts of two mountain ranges (sub-ranges of the Rocky Mountains), over 130 named lakes, more than 1,000 different species of plants and hundreds of species of animals. This vast pristine ecosystem is the centerpiece of what has been referred to as the “Crown of the Continent Ecosystem”, a region of protected land encompassing 16,000 square miles (41,000 km²).

The region that became Glacier National Park was first inhabited by Native Americans and upon the arrival of European explorers, was dominated by the Blackfeet in the east and the Flathead in the western regions. Soon after the establishment of the park on May 11, 1910, a number of hotels and chalets were constructed by the Great Northern Railway. These historic hotels and chalets are listed as National Historic Landmarks, and a total of 350 locations are on the National Register of Historic Places. By 1932, work was completed on the Going-to-the-Sun Road, later designated a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark, which provided greater accessibility for automobiles into the heart of the park.

Scotland Travel Place by Anjimile Banda

Riddled with lochs and crested by moody Highlands, Scotland adds to its already considerable outdoorsy appeal this year. In April, the John Muir Way, named for the conservationist originally from Scotland, will expand to 134 miles from 45 miles, newly spanning the farmland and forests of the country’s midsection. Organizers estimate it will take eight to 12 days on foot or four to six by bike to complete the coast-to-coast route running from Muir’s boyhood hometown Dunbar west to the Loch Lomond area. The attractions extend beyond amateur workouts.

This summer, Glasgow will stage the 2014 Commonwealth Games, Olympic-style competitions for Britain and the former British colonies, and in September Gleneagles resort in the Highlands will host the Ryder Cup golf competition. Sports and hospitality will meet at Cromlix House Hotel, a 15-room resort that the tennis champion and local hero Andy Murray plans to open in April in a Victorian mansion in Dunblane.