Change

Initially I trained in Marketing Management, my first marketing job was hawking knives on the streets of Nairobi.Sadly I never got to sell even a single knife and my feet swelled due to the constant walking.Come evening, I was not paid anything as the job was commission based so I went home with nothing, I never went back.In school you are taught Marketing is fun, but when you go out , the reality is quite opposite.

I got an opportunity to get into Human Rights work, I secured a volunteer opportunity as an office assistant with an organization by the name Network of African People Living with HIV/AIDS(NAP+) , that was a turning point in my life in that I realized I was never meant to be a marketer but an an activist.When I first went to the organization, I never even knew how to type , typing a one page document was agony, with time I became an expert, I met various human rights activists from all over the world especially in the field of HIV/AIDS , I read hundreds of books on Human Rights and advocacy .At the Network of African People(NAP+), I got the chance of being trained in HIV/AIDS community based care and support services , I have been able to change the lives of many as well as make thousands of friends , it is very touching to facilitate attitudinal change among people especially grassroots communities .

For me the volunteer opportunity was the life changing moment , if I had remained a marketer, I would never have had the opportunity to connect with any of you my sisters at WorldPulse .

Leonida Odongo