WE ARE CHANGE AGENTS (PT 2)

Welcome to the part 2 of this article.

In the previous part of this article, I tried to explain that some members of the society care less about the society in which they live in, yet these are the people who complain the most when things are not right. I also called our attention to the fact that we are change agents since we habour the passion of making a difference in our society by our involvement in NGO and community development activities.

In this part, I shall be suggesting ways in which we can contribute to the society and why it is important for us to be change agents.

So, in what ways can we contribute to the society?

1. By creating awareness on certain issues of concern- not by escalating the issues, but by enlightening the public and recommending solutions where possible.
2. Helping with International Days sensitization and emphasizing the need to look into such issues.
3. Getting involved in projects that will ameliorate or solve problems in the society.
4. Identifying problems that need to be addressed in the community, advocating for them and making recommendations to appropriate authorities and stakeholders.
5. Looking out and applying for grants that can support and us to solve a problem in your community.
6. Volunteering with NGOs that focus on areas we are passionate about and want to take action on.

In every society, there are critic agents and there are change agents. There are those who will go through life as if they never lived and there are those whose footprints would be stamped. Change agents live, they don’t merely exist. They look for problems to solve while critic agents look for problems to nag about.

Why should you be a change agent?

1. As a change agent, you would have a sense of fulfillment– that you are making the world a better place gives you inner joy and satisfaction.
2. As you serve others and your community, naturally life will serve you too. Life will pardon you and make rooms for you in your daily activities. And because you are directly or indirectly putting smiles on the faces of people, in your own affairs, you too will keep smiling. This works! The natural law of sowing and reaping is one that is so evident in reality. As a change agent, you will make progress in your personal affairs.
3. You are building experiences: Experiences you get from solving social problems and engaging in community development services cannot be gotten anywhere else. Sometimes, they take you to places you would never have been and make you see life in the rawest form.
4. They make you become open-minded and adept in reasoning: As a change agent, you would be opportune to know in the detail the causes of problems through investigations and enquiries from those directly involved; getting to understand the reasons for lapses, understanding their own challenges and judging from a neutral ground. You will be more knowledgeable, factual and have the “so what can we do?” rather than criticizing mentality.

We are a few, but we are the change agents! The rest of the society awaits our decisions, our innovations, our bold steps, our actions. The fate of our communities lies in our hands. Let us therefore act as those saddled with responsibilities to bring lasting and sustainable change. Let us think development.

Let our eyes be quick to see beauty in ugliness, let our mouths speak positivity. May we be strong to carry on, even when we get no encouragement; that in the end, our visions and struggle for a better society may materialize because we are change agents.

Dear friend, in what area are you or do you want to become a change agent? What is your vision for your community?