Intern Profile: Odeke Emmanuel

 Emma is helping with our programs in Soroti

 

 

My name is Odeke Emmanuel.  I am 20 years old and I come from Katakwi district in Eastern Uganda.  I would like to study either civil or electrical engineering at university.  I would like to study one of these because they are in high demand, and there are jobs available.  Before I go to university, I am participating in the Cornerstone Veritas internship program.  As an intern, I hope to learn how to serve and help people living in the world today. 

During my time at Cornerstone Leadership academy I was inspired by the principles of Christ Centred Life, Be Proactive and Seek First of Understand before being Understood.  This is because they have challenged me to live my life for Jesus, and improved the way that I relate to people around me.

I have enjoyed teaching the leadership development material which I learned at school, to other people during my internship.  Finally I want to appreciate Cornerstone Veritas for this great opportunity given to me.  I have learned and am still learning more basic skills in life and I am being molded into a responsible person. 

Jumpstart!

Jumpstart is a course for young leader which the Cornerstone Veritas team hosted at the Cornerstone Head Office.  It was open to anyone who wanted to attend and took place from February 19^th to 21^th. This course was facilitated by Anthony Elliot of Youth With a Mission and his team of 3 others.  It was attended by all the Cornerstone Veritas interns and the staff, as well as a number of other guests.             

 

 According to Anthony, he described this course as a personal potential discovery experience. He used a Mr. bean Clip to illustrate how a fainting man was jumped to life using an electric shock. He further explained that we may possess abilities, skills and talents but that we have not received the Jumpstart (knowledge)  we need to use them.  We need to be inspired and encouraged to maximize our potential and use what we have to live purposeful and fulfilled lives. This is what the Jumpstart course is about. 

Finding focus:

Anthony explained that when we are still young, it is very difficult to know what we want for our lives.  This specifically means that we don’t have a clear set of goals and a personal vision. Young people struggle to achieve goals because they lack clarity and direction.  However, as we grow older we should work hard to clarify our personal vision and goals for our lives. He used a dart game illustration his point about age.  3 people stood in a line; the youngest in the back, the next in age was in the middle and the oldest was closest to the dart board.   The youngest threw his dirt from far away, it did not get very close to the bullseye. But the oldest, who was nearest to the board, hit the target. The explanation was that as we get older, we gain a clearer understanding of what our life goals and vision should be.

 

 Identification of our gifts and talents:

This course also enables people to thoroughly evaluate and discover their talents and gifts. Anthony took us through an exercise that considered the talents and gift of our family members, so that we could see where we have come from and what we may have gained from our family. In the end we learned that our gifts and talents can originate from those of our family members.

We also took a series of long tests, during which we had to decide how we would behave in certain situations, and which words best describes who we are.   These tests helped us to discover our physical abilities, metal capacity, and spiritual gifting.  We also played a game where we had to move based on the answers to different questions, this helped us to get an idea of where we fall in the DISC personality test. 

  Defining your ideal motivational environment:

Jumpstart also defines the different working environments that exist and also describes the different individual characteristic which make up our personality types.  It then combines and understand of work environment and personality to help people learn their ideal motivational environment. 

Mission and Vision Statements:

Finally, the course helped each participant to use all of the information they had collected about themselves to write their personal mission and vision statement.  Each person had the chance to share creatively about their mission and vision statement, as well as create goals which will help them achieve what they have set out to do.  It was a great time to learn about how everyone is different, and were designed uniquely for a specific purpose. 

Overall, Jumpstart was a great success.  To enjoy time together, on the Wednesday during the program Noelle made us all dinner at Cornerstone and we played games.  It was a great time of laughter and fun. 

The whole Cornerstone Veritas team, as well as our guests, enjoyed the program and learned a lot from it.  We look forward to running it again next year.   

Jumpstart was great for everyone who attended! 

Intern Profile: Kizito Tadeo!

Greetings Friends!  My name is Kizito Tadeo.  I am 20 years old, and I am from Central Uganda, Luweero district. My home village is called Ndejje. I am a Muganda by tribe. I want to study Social Administration at University. I want to get this degree because I need to learn more about the way people live, work, and relate to one another.  Then I hope to work with the Red Cross Society, using what I have learned.  I want to work with the Red Cross, or an organization like it, because I feel that I should serve the needy, especially those afflicted by war.  I feel there are many people who need help throughout the world, who unfortunately do not have access to the help they need.  I feel I would like to be a part of extending the services needed to such people. Also, I am currently discerning the call to priesthood, specifically as a Franciscan Friar.  I hope to be of service to all people, no matter what work I am doing.  

Through my internship with Cornerstone Veritas, I hope to learn many new things.  I would like to learn computer skills; specifically improving my typing and how to use different programs on the computer. Also, I am excited to gain a deeper understanding of Character Development.  Finally, I hope to improve my public speaking skills through the training I will receive during my internship.  I am glad to be an intern! 

Intern Profile: Jovia Kirabo

Noelle's Note:  From January to August each year, Cornerstone Veritas carefully selects 4-6 students to participate in our internship program.  These students have finished high school from one of the Cornerstone Development schools, and have a 9 month break between high school and college.  We help them to make the most of that time, providing them with skills, travel experiences, and mentorship.  The following posts will help you to get to know these wonderful new members of our family! 

Jovia Kirabo: 

"I enjoy being part of Cornerstone Veritas, 

and look forward to continuing to work with them in the future."

My name is Kirabo Jovia. I am 20 years old and I come from central Uganda in Nakasongola district. I was born on December 2^nd, 1992. I am a high school vaccist from Ekitangaala Transformation High school. I hope to do business administration as my course at university. Business Administration fits with what I studied in high school. I want to do this course because it is the course that can help me become an accountant. I would like to be an accountant in the future because I think I am trustworthy and I can manage  people’s money well. 

                                                                

During my internship with Cornerstone Veritas, I would like to improve on my inter-personal communication skills and also learn more about leadership. I also look forward to learning how to teach more effectively, so that I can influence audiences in the future.  While at Ekitangaala Transformation High School (Cornerstone School) I enjoyed my leadership and character development classes.  They helped to mold me into a woman of virtue. Finally it has helped me know how to put first things first and the importance of beginning with the end in mind.  I hope to be able to continue to learn about and put into practice what I learned in high school during my internship and beyond.