My Life at HopeCore
My name is Christine Mwende. I am twenty-five years old and I joined Village HopeCore as a volunteer receptionist in May 2011, one year after I finished my O level. As it was my first time working in an office setup, it was not easy for me. I was very naive and I had no training in front office duties but I knew that if I brought the right attitude to the difficult tasks, I could only be successful. I first heard about Village HopeCore through a member of the very first HopeCore loan group, The HopeCore Pioneers. I wanted to learn more about HopeCore and find an opportunity to work with the organization.
My journey of working with Village HopeCore started when I heard about a vacant position for the position as a volunteer receptionist. I applied for the post and got the job. Some of my responsibilities as a receptionist were cleaning the offices, printing, and photocopying, and welcoming visitors among others. While working as a receptionist, I was privileged to get a chance to train as a peer provider for sexual and reproductive health matters. We would visit primary schools, form health clubs, and offer health education. To improve my workplace performance, I enrolled in a course on secretarial studies.
My role within HopeCore changed in 2016. During the month of March, the Public Health Department was recruiting for 15 posts which included 3 nurses, a Clinical officer, 3 educators, YPP assistant coordinator, and 8 CHWs. As part of my regular duties, I often organized the applications received during recruiting periods. This time was different, there were hundreds of application letters and it was crucial to have them filed and computerized which I had to work on within a short duration.
One of the Public Health Global Fellows at that time was impressed by my timely delivery of this data and recognized my talents could be better utilized in that department. In the month of April, I was given the task of confirming 2015 data entry and entering health data for 2016. I quickly proved that I was very skilled in this area. And that is the story of how I changed my title from a Volunteer Receptionist to a Data Clerk and Office Assistance in the Public Health Department.
As a public health Data Clerk and Office Assistance, my main roles are data entry and report writing. Currently, I am responsible for both the weekly and monthly reports for the department. Additionally, I do action planning, prepare the department's weekly budget, distribute petty cash, and file. In this role, I have learned new skills and gained a lot of experience, especially in report writing.
Special thanks to our CEO Dr. Kajira K. Mugambi for bringing HopeCore into existence and offering me an opportunity to work with you. Thank you, Anne Gildea, for realizing my potential in data entry, and to everyone who has touched my life in a positive way. I thank you all so much.
