We all have a passion in life - some people are passionate about their sport, others enjoy playing music, or something entirely different. For Belinda, her passion is to do volunteer work, and according to herself, she has her childhood and upbringing to thank for that.
With her mother passing away when Belinda was only four years old, she and her sister were raised by their grandmother. Their grandmother supported them, encouraged them, and helped them build a better life. Belinda is very aware of the impact her grandmother and her support has had in her life, so Belinda has made the decision to make a difference for other people whenever she has the chance. “I told myself that I turned out to be this kind of person because of that support. So, I'm going to help anyone, like every person who needs my help. It doesn't matter if that person is rich or poor, able or disabled”, Belinda explains.
Besides being a law student, Belinda volunteers for an organization called Right and Rain that educates the public about reproductive health. She’s also a volunteer interviewer for Benabi Discovery, a streetism campaign that investigates how to get kids away from the streets. Sometimes she also volunteers as a business consultant for SME’s, as a fundraising officer for NGO’s, and she even volunteers to paint schools. Belinda also has tons of previous volunteer experience. At her former university, she would volunteer as a peer counselor, and during her holidays she would travel to the Volta part of Ghana to volunteer as a teacher.
As if all of this wasn’t enough, Belinda was online looking at other volunteer opportunities, when she discovered Be My Eyes. She downloaded the app, and after about three weeks, she received her first call. The lady on the other end had dropped the cap to a bottle, and she needed assistance locating it on the floor. “The call was very short, but the impact was massive. I felt so fulfilled, something I've never experienced before in my life”, Belinda says.
This app is the one. It's the one to help so many impaired people in our communities. I am so happy that I'm part of it.
After that call, Belinda knew that a lot more people could benefit from using Be My Eyes. She therefore contacted the office for students with special needs at her former university to tell them about Be My Eyes. Together with the special needs office, Belinda has introduced the sight impaired students to Be My Eyes and how they can utilize it in their daily lives.
Every time Belinda misses a Be My Eyes call, she instantly feels bad for missing the opportunity. But it consoles her to know that another volunteer will get a great experience helping through Be My Eyes - maybe even for the first time. “That person might experience something even better than what I felt when I had my first call”, Belinda states with hope.
