Meitzenheimer – Children are my biggest motivator

“SVG has thought me a lot, helped me grow as a man, (it has) brought me out of my comfort zone,” said Northern California native Kellan Meitzenheimer about his experience as a Peace Corps volunteer in St. Vincent and the Grenadines.{{more}}

Meitzenheimer, 26, has been in St. Vincent for the past 11 months, executing his calling to be a volunteer. He works in the community of Rose Hall, at the Rose Hall Primary School and also coordinates sports and exercise activities for community members on afternoons.

Speaking to SEARCHLIGHT, he admits that his time spent here has been a rollercoaster ride.

“It starts off great! Everything’s new and fresh and you’re meeting all these new people and all these different experiences and then you kinda hit this wall and you get homesick and you start missing your mom’s home cooking and McDonalds and all that stuff and start having some issues with the community – conflicts and cultural differences – and things, and after a while you get used to it and you adjust. Most of it right now is amazing, I love everything about St. Vincent right now.”

Meitzenheimer considered the Peace Corps after he graduated college and was looking for a way to help people. He had originally chosen to become a financial advisor, but put those dreams on hold after he discovered that life is not all about money and that he had a desire to make a positive influence in the lives of others.

Meitzenheimer said that his biggest motivator is the children that he works with, as he has discovered just how much he impacts their lives as most of them consider him as their best friend.

There are however a few issues that Meitzenheimer said needs to be addressed in his community. He identified that one of the major challenges is the lack of motivation from community members.

“It’s pretty hard to get people to want to get moving, and take it seriously. At women’s group, people want to talk all the time, or they use their phones or bring children to the class, which is a big distraction. It’s been difficult; motivation is definitely the hardest thing.”

Meitzenheimer said that he has brought on authoritative figures in the community who have assisted him in getting persons motivated to work harder.

He added that there is a general lack of activities in the area, which he hopes to rectify by starting a teenage boys camp, which will be focused on addressing the boys’ self esteem levels as well.

He is set to leave St. Vincent in October 2011 and hopes at that time to be more integrated with the members of his community. “I don’t want to be seen as a Peace Corps volunteer in the community. I want to be seen as a community member who happens to be a Peace Corps volunteer,” he said.

He also hopes to have several programmes up and running so that they can continue long after he has left.