By Farma Maiga (YES 2014-2015, Senegal, hosted by CIEE in Hawkinsville, GA)

As an alumna, having the chance to go to the United States and learn about American government, society, and their sense of volunteerism has always been an inspiration for me. In fact, I had the chance to learn a lot more about the importance of giving back to my community and making a change.

As a newly elected volunteer YES alumni representative at Assane Seck University, my aim is to work as hard as I can to help not only my college, but also the city of Ziguinchor where my college is located. It is a place full of potential and resources, but it has its problems, too.

Recently I implemented a project to equip two unused classrooms at my college. I noticed that they were sitting empty and it occurred to me that they could help solve the lack of classrooms in the college if they were functional. Three of my classmates helped me realize that there were unused tables almost everywhere around the college--under trees, in front of other classes, etc. So we decided to collect them. We talked to our Geography department administration and they helped us by providing a vehicle and four staff members to help us collect and transport the tables to the empty classrooms on January 20.

By the end of the day, the two previously empty classrooms were operational. They are now used for about three classes by more than 100 students every day!