Jalawelo Spotlight: Meet Joelle
Joelle, a Program Development intern, shares why she finds her work so rewarding.
Joelle served as an intern who helped with program development! Here’s a bit about her:
Quick Facts About Joelle:
Name: Joelle Rattray
Faith: Christianity
Country: Jamaica
Studied: Anthropology
Dream career field: International development
Why did you pursue a career in human development?
I grew up in a very safe, sheltered environment. During high school, however, I had an experience that changed things. The incident allowed me to see firsthand the crime that I had so often heard about in the news. I’m grateful to God for letting me escape that scenario mostly unhurt, but it left me wondering about the countless others who hadn’t. For the first time, I started becoming more interested in the news; watching to see any stories about people who faced similar situations. This woke me up to the realities around me and stirred in me a desire to help those in need. This included not just those hurt by crime, but also those who are suffering from poverty, mental illness, desertion... the list keeps growing.
The desire to help others in a very direct way, along with my love of cultures, is what spurred me into the field of international human development.
Why Jalawelo?
I was drawn to Jalawelo primarily because they checked all the right boxes for me. I was most impressed that:
Jalawelo doesn’t have a "Savior complex"
Jalawelo shies away from taking all the credit for transforming lives. Instead, they believe that much of the power to change a life lies within the person themselves. They encourage people to contribute their own ideas and energy towards bettering their own lives. Jalawelo is simply there to help them along.
Jalawelo offers Real, Sustainable Help
I was impressed by their “real help, not handouts” stance. They want to encourage a mentality in others which supports hard work and personal drive, as opposed to expecting things to be handed to them. So, although they offer help, Jalawelo expects individuals to work hard towards meeting their own needs.
Jalawelo has a passion for God
Jalawelo doesn't just offer practical help, but also spiritual help. They understand that people need the life-giving message of the Bible even more than physical necessities. Their faith is what drives everything they do.
How has it been working with Jalawelo?
It has been an amazing experience! I love that I’m given diverse, interesting tasks to do each day which I genuinely enjoy doing. It allows me to become more comfortable in areas I didn’t have much practice in before, like public speaking. Working with Jalawelo also helps me to work on my people skills. This job is extremely collaborative, so it encourages me to share my ideas as well as be more willing to listen to the ideas of my team members.
Why do you think others should get involved or volunteer with Jalawelo?
Volunteering is new to me. It has opened my eyes to many of the positives that come with helping people. Volunteering helps me to:
Think Outside of Myself. To be frank, I’ve been quite self-centered and lazy for most of my life. So, the idea of willingly spending my time and energy on someone else was faaar from my mind. Volunteering is a great cure for that. It causes you to momentarily focus on someone else’s feelings and needs instead of your own.
Make a Direct Impact on a Life. I know that if I help someone, it might have a lasting effect on them. Plus, if a change occurs in someone’s life, it could create a ripple effect. More lives could be touched than you could even begin to imagine.
Form Relationships. You get to make connections with persons from all different backgrounds. Humans are humans. You can find a connection with anyone. This might even be the person you help.