James Tongo, a young man from South Sudan and a graduate of the Asia Plateau Internship Programme and Harambee Africa Leadership Programme,shares of his experiences in IofC and Action for Life 5 that concluded in April 2011.

The Action for Life programmes have been instrumental and motivational to me ever since I got to know Initiatives of Change (IofC) in 2009 after interacting with the AFL alumni.

I was honoured to participate in the Asia Plateau Internship Programme in 2009, then participated in the Harambee Africa Leadership Programme in Ethiopia later in 2009 and later attended two conferences organised by IofC Africa. This was followed by AFL5. These combinations left me with less time for fun but gave me more time for life's realities.

Having unexpectedly encountered visa problems which led to my missing-out on the first two months of AFL5 in India, my action group did not drop me out but allowed me to join them in the action countries; Kenya, Uganda and South Sudan.

I wondered what a late arrival like me would learn from this programme, but, having worked really hard to see what it could offer, I had no regrets. Week after week, we  reached out, travelling to various locations in order to visit people who are taking initiatives to make a difference in their society. We shared our experiences with institutions, communities and government officials.

I learnt that there are challenges in taking initiatives but being a visionary leader is the paramount key to success for people who wish to make a difference. The interactions with the change-makers were inspiring and motivating, hence making me feel more responsible for the world challenges.

While in Kenya, I felt the need to practice agriculture and to own my personal piece of land. My vision of engaging in agriculture became clearer when we visited a change-maker in Uganda, and again I felt provoked to further my education to back-up the vision.

After the programme came to an end, I visited my village and shared my vision with my relatives. They supported my idea and gave me a piece of land which I now call the ‘Challenge 2011’. I keep wondering why for so many years I kept investing in other aspects of life rather than agriculture. Today I own ‘Challenge 2011’ , two square kilometres, which will have to be developed into a plantation farm land.

To me, Initiatives of Change's ideas, values and philosophies are worth living. They were deeply rooted into our cultures and traditional values but are getting degraded. Therefore, having a functional IofC chapter in Sudan is my ultimate goal but it does not stop there. The January 2011 South Sudan referendum has made it much clearer and easier for the young man’s effort to walk through the 10 states of the republic of South Sudan.

Today, a committed group of young people are meeting twice a month to share, plan, think, ‘cry’, and ‘weep’ together for change. I believe that if a few of us commit to change and live by it, and engage others with time, the change we desire for will eventually come.

The richness, in the Action for Life programme, is not just a dream but a reality. I am now rich with ideas and inspiration to keep me moving in my life and to support my society.