in loco program

in loco fellows blog series #10: WE ARE THE CHANGE WE SEEK

December 17, 2019By 0 comment

Everybody can be great. Because anybody can serve. You don’t have to have a college degree to serve. You don’t have to know the second law of thermodynamics in physics to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love.” –Martin Luther King, Jr.

Drawing my inspiration from a strong belief that volunteerism is a powerful way of engaging people in tackling development challenges, I first heard of rise (Relationships Inspiring Social Enterprise) back in 2017 when they were calling for applicants to their first ever cohort in Lesotho. Unfortunately I could not apply at the time because I had just landed a new job at one of the design and construction companies in the country but that did not stop me from following rise on social media. It was through the social media platforms where my interest in the organization and its volunteer program grew greatly as I realized what the organization was doing not only for recent graduates through the entrepreneurship trainings but also for the disadvantaged children at God’s Love Centre and the surrounding community.

Finally, in 2019 another call for applicants into the second cohort was out. I did not have to think twice about submitting my application because by then I knew for sure that I wanted to be part of the rise family, so without hesitation I submitted my application and I got admitted into the program.

Being a fellow in the in loco program was a dream come true because as an Architectural Technology graduate I have always believed that great architectural design is a result of collaborative effort combined with innovative and sensitive values that transform spaces and places into creative and unique solutions for the betterment of people’s lives and earth as a planet.

What really fascinated me about the program is rise’s design approach, which involves the client from the very early design stage so that we can better understand the needs and problems of the client. This approach allows us to work with the client and come up with solutions that the client understands and has ownership of; in this way the designer acts as a facilitator while the client designs.

It has been four months into the program and I am proud to say that I have acquired so much knowledge about different disciplines. This is all due to the fact that the in loco fellowship programenables multi-disciplinary interactions between different professions in the built environment.

rise’s in loco-fellowship programis such a great platform because it also acts as a positive space where recent graduates can have fun, exchange ideas on how to build a better tomorrow,  help each other grow  while also serving their communities.

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in loco program

in loco fellows blog series #9: At school it’s just the basics. The real learning is on site by doing

December 8, 2019By 1 Comment

My name is Ntina (Peter) Makhetha. I am a 2017 Construction Management graduate. I first knew about rise’s in loco fellowship program in mid-2018 from one of my ex-tertiary colleagues who was one of the fellows in the first pilot program. Immediately after graduating we were all over the place looking for jobs. By the time I got to know about the opportunity applications were already closed. I saw how the in loco program gave them not only on site experience, but also the business training sessions turning them from being jobs seekers into job creators.  I couldn’t wait for the recruitment of the second cohort so I followed rise on social media to be updated about second in loco fellowship applications. 

Fast forward mid-2019 a post was published, I couldn’t miss it as I had been waiting for it, I applied and got lucky and was admitted. August came, we began our 6-month fellowship with my first ever experience, the participatory design workshop of the IDAL project, which was all about designing involving the client to understand and cater for their needs into the design. Within that 2 weeks workshop I took part in the Quantity Surveying Team, doing the Bills of Quantities. I learned more about teamwork as we had to work hand in hand with the design team and understand their drawings.

Later we went to site, for the commencement of the construction phase, as a Site Manager, it was such a huge opportunity and exposure to have taken a lead in the execution of a timber structure from its foundations to the top. Amongst all, the most critical tasks that I got my hands dirty on was setting out, excavation, levelling, reinforcement, concreting, raising up the pillars and roof trusses which are the major structural elements of the project. As the in loco program is about learning by doing, I switched roles 3rd month into the fellowship and took on the Events Coordinator. role I wanted to improve my soft skills, especially  my communication skills and be a confident public speaker which I managed to strengthen and now it’s safe enough to say I’m way better than before I joined in loco 2019.

 At the moment I’m working as a Plant and Logistics Manager as well as a Quality Control Officer. I did learn a lot of things in a short time. I learned more than I anticipated, multitasking and working under pressure. Many thanks to rise through its in loco program for all the valuable experience and entrepreneurship skills which has enable me to start developing my own Construction Company.

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