2020 – Page 2 – rise International

2020

IN LOCO FELLOWS BLOG SERIES #13: MAKING THE DREAM A REALITY

February 23, 2020By RISE INT0 comment

YOU CAN DREAM, CREATE, DESIGN AND BUILD THE MOST WONDERFUL PLACE IN THE WORLD, BUT IT REQUIRES PEOPLE TO MAKE THE DREAM A REALITY – blog by Bokang TJakotja, in loco fellow 2019 cohort

He who works with his hands is a laborer. He who works with his hands and his head is a craftsmen. But an artist works with his hands, head and his heart. With my experience through the in loco fellowship program I’ve learned that anyone can become an artist.

In 2018, before I joined the fellowship program I was a freelance carpenter when I first heard about the fellowship through my ex-colleagues from college who also happened to be part of the in loco fellowship alumni and always went on and on about the opportunities the fellowship presented.

Bokang Tjakotja aka BK – **in loco** fellow and athor of this blog

I started following rise’s social media pages, and in May 2019 I heard that rise was looking to recruit recent graduates to design and build a rehabilitation center for youth living with intellectual disability and autism. As the saying goes “it is in our hands to create a better world for those who live in it” and I made a pledge to work towards creating a better world making an impact in the lives of underprivileged communities and so I applied for the fellowship and I was admitted.

The first two weeks of the fellowship was about the participatory design workshops and the transect walks to better understand the needs of the client and community so as to design and build what works for the client and not what we think will work for them.

BK in front of the IDAL superstructure back in August 2019

After finalizing designs, construction immediately started, and my favorite part about the fellowship is being given a chance to learn about different roles within a short time. I was appointed as a plant and logistics manager then health and safety office and finally I was to oversee the whole construction process as a site manager.

I acquired both soft skills and technical skills during the fellowship, my communication skills, public speaking improved and I acquired some management skills, sometimes making unpopular decisions which are in the best interest of the project and not individuals and developed some sharp problem solving skills. In the business part we held business trainings every Friday which helped us to perform well in our businesses and become better entrepreneurs.

I believe that all growth depends upon activity, and there is no development, physically or intellectually, without effort and effort means hard work.

BK spray painting the external walls of the IDAL Centre

in loco fellows blog series #12: “A love in motion and a work in progress”

January 16, 2020By RISE INT10 Comments

Everything we build ends up building us too, I feel that me being part of a social responsibility project to design and build an income generating facility centre for the youth of IDAL- Intellectual Disability and Autism Lesotho is showing love to others and a great platform for me to learn as a young Architect.

Starting from the beginning, my aspirations to study and practice architecture started at an early age in primary school after I won a second prize award of the Cashbuild Art at Heart primary school competition and ever since then, I knew I wanted to be nothing but an Architect.

Alongside that love of craft and passion, I felt I was destined for greatness in this field. However, life being life, with nothing guaranteed or served on a silver platter, studying was not a breeze as I had imagined. I thought I had the right formula for it and had things under control but things were tough. Despite all my difficulties, I managed to manoeuvre through it all and managed to acquire a degree in Interior Architecture from Limkokwing University of Creative Technology.

After graduating, the pressures of life continued to press on, it’s been tough and stressful out here on field. In the practical world, one would find that the government and the private sector cannot provide jobs for everyone and that causes a lot of havoc.

Lesole Putsoane (sitting) with other fellows expecting an imminent storm

Being from an institution of Creative Technology, where I was taught from day 1 to create my own job, I started thinking of ways and strategies to escape poverty and I figured I could continue with freelancing as an Architect. It was something I was already doing while I was in school to make some extra income while I learn but projects would not come in as I wished, sometimes a month to 3 would pass by without a new client so I decided to use my time wisely when I still had it and started registering an Architecture and Construction firm (Far Beyond Imagination PTY LTD.)

This kept me busy but most projects would not be given to me because I was considered a rookie in this game so I had to scrape by and feed off the bottom of the chain. While in the process of proving myself and trying to win over clients one of my brothers sent me a poster of the rise in loco fellowship application and when I applied, I was fortunate enough be given an opportunity to be part of the 2019 design and onsite training fellowship programme.

Lesole Putsoane with the IDAL centre in the backgound

The 2019 cohort entails 13 recent graduates from different tertiary institutions and different fields of study (Architecture, Civil Engineering, Construction management, Water and Environmental Engineering, Carpentry, Education and Agriculture) who were given a chance to design and build a facility centre for the youth of IDAL from inception to completion. The most amazing part of the project was that it was a participatory design process so we had to know our clients well. The project kicked—off and as time went by things got tough because of the challenges on site, pressure and distance travelling to and from site. However, I have been learning a lot, enhancing my design skills and also obtaining experience on-site and learning how to use different tools and machines. During the fellowship I had the chance to work in 3 different roles each for 2 months, Plant and Logistics Coordinator, Site Architect & Health and Safety Officer which have exposed me to different disciplines too.

Almost every Friday we have business trainings as a way to guide us into better future entrepreneurs, and to become job creators rather than job seekers. Not only have I learned technical but also soft skills that include public speaking, negotiating and many more.

Finally, there are a couple of projects that I also got a chance to work on during the fellowship apart from IDAL which have also contributed in developing my design and detailing skills. My experience with rise International has been a great journey and a great learning platform for me and I’m grateful for the opportunity.

in loco fellows blog series #11: Sojourner’s reflections

January 12, 2020By RISE INT0 comment

As a civil engineering final year student my greatest disconcertment was becoming one of the rising unemployment statistics in Lesotho, inexperienced in a country where you need to have experience to find a job, and need a job to get experience, which is pretty much a catch-22 situation. I first learned about rise’s in loco fellowship program through Lerotholi Polytechnic 2019 open day expo where there was also a call for fellowship applicants, without any hesitation I submitted my application and I got admitted into the program. Fearful of being an inexperienced graduate faded away, as the program presented recent graduates with opportunity to work on a project from inception to completion.

Being a fellow in the in loco program gave me a chance to build my capacity which is an essential prerequisite to both personal and career growth, being equipped with abilities to perform in a complex environment. I was privileged enough to work with wonderful individuals from different disciplines and crafts, when working in this kind of environment I developed not only the technical skills but also the soft skills of which the importance is often undervalued and far less training is provided for them but are rather useful personal attributes. I have developed strong work ethics and leadership skills, which will play a key role for me as a young and aspiring entrepreneur.

Selebalo Tseko in loco fellow & author of this blog

Five months into the program have been both interesting and intense as we had to work on the design, manage the construction and also be the labour on site; however the burden of responsibilities was not to torture but to shape me into a capable leader. We have had “HaHa” and sad moments on site but we all knew the importance of working collaboratively as a team to achieve the common goal which is to finish the project on time.

The greatest thing for me about rise will forever be the social impact it has on the communities and the entrepreneurship program aimed at shifting job seeking mindset to job creating mindset.

Selebalo (right) with two other fellows Mojalefa (left) and Retsepile (centre)

Five months into the program have been both interesting and intense as we had to work on the design, manage the construction and also be the labour on site; however the burden of responsibilities was not to torture but to shape me into a capable leader. We have had “HaHa” and sad moments on site but we all knew the importance of working collaboratively as a team to achieve the common goal which is to finish the project on time.

The greatest thing for me about rise will forever be the social impact it has on the communities and the entrepreneurship program aimed at shifting job seeking mindset to job creating mindset.