[img]HOW TO FIND A NEED AND MEET IT:
NEEDS: What are they?
What about Wants?
Do they have similarities or anything in common?
Basically, there are several ways through which needs could be found, assessed and met. They include:
1. Interaction with community people.
2. Interaction with traditional, social and religious leaders and workers in the community
3. By self evaluation of the community.
TYPES OF PROJECTS TO EMBARK ON:
Life changing projects are mostly what attract awards. Such projects are mostly needed and appreciated in the rural areas where they are hardly ever present; and most seriously needed. Such projects will include:
SECONDARY AND PRIMARY SCHOOLS
1. There are students from less-advantaged homes. They go to school without uniforms, writing materials or even shoes – this is a great opportunity for you as a corps member to make an impact on the life of such a student. I tell you, he/she will live to remember you for the rest of his/her life.
You can identify such students through the principals or teachers in schools especially public schools because that is where the children of the less privileged are. It does not cost much to get a uniform sewn some places even have the uniforms sewn already and are available for sale in the markets. Books and pen or pencils on the other hand are cheap but not affordable to some poor families who have a plethora of challenges to face. Shoes (sandals) are available in the markets at cheap and affordable prices, which you can purchase to make an impact on the life of such pupils.
2. Some public schools have library buildings in place but lack the books, shelf, or both. Others have few books (usually donated) but have no physical library structure to accommodate them. That is a need! You can take up the responsibility and source for funds form development partners or companies through their corporate social responsibility departments – together you will solve that need.
3. Other teaching aids may be lacking in the schools. Such things like chalks, black board, markers, visual aids (for nursery schools pupils). These are things which often look small and unimportant but the lack of them can negatively affect teaching and learning.
4. Skills acquisition/capacity building is a very important project, which has enormous multiplier effect – it has the ability to change lives in a chain reaction. One life you affect today has the potential to affect several others in the future. Skill acquisition can take several forms. You could teach persons how to engage their time, energies and abilities for self sustenance in things like; cake making, fish farming, poultry farming, Grasscutter farming, fashion design, interior design and decoration; others are welding, hair barbing salon, hair dressing (for ladies), sewing and knitting, carpentry, roasting fish or other culinary skills. You can train people yourself if you have such skills to impart on them or you can make arrangement for them to be trained at highly subsidised prices through skill/vocational acquisition centres who in most cases are very willing to assist in training.
5. Some schools lack adequate classrooms and chairs for effective teaching and learning to take place. Some other schools lack classrooms hence seat under trees to take lessons and instructions. This is a very uncomfortable and inhumane conditions which is not favourable for teaching and learning. As a corps member, you can take up the initiative and get the necessary support from NYSC authority in your secretariat, then approach companies and NGOs who are always scouting for such opportunities to invest their monies, time and efforts. You share the credit for such laudable projects.
6. Public conveniences (toilets) are a very vital part of any structure that is made to be used by humans – we are sure you understand what we mean. Facilities like that, despite their importance are lacking in most public places – schools especially. In some other schools, such facilities exist but are not in conditions suitable for use – they need renovation. Some of them need just minor repairs or renovation (some may have blown off roofs, others need repainting, while others need minor work on the slab). The students of such schools will thank their God that an angel like you passed by their school! You may not realise this, but be assured that you are playing a very large role in assisting toward the global fight against poverty and preventing common diseases like (malaria, diarrhoea and vomiting, and other contagious diseases).
7. Water is life. So the saying goes. This an attestation to the fact that human beings cannot exist without good, clean water for different uses. Schools have a great need for water. This is to assist the students maintain their toilets and keep them clean at all times, and ensure proper hygiene especially in the area of washing their hands properly after using the toilet so as to avoid the spread of diseases. Drilling of a borehole within a school in need of water is therefore an excellent project. Aside from the fact that it helps in maintaining healthy environment and self cleanliness, it is needed for drinking to sustain life. Think about this and look around you!
8. Extra-mural lessons can be organized for students to assist them in subjects they have difficulties understanding. This will go a long way in enhancing the learning abilities of students and will in turn encourage them to do same to others when they have the opportunity to do so.
9. Guidance and counselling is an important aspect of the primary and secondary schools. This is where students are guided and guided on the available careers and skills needed to be successful in such careers. Students will then be well informed to make career decisions based on their skills, interests and abilities. You have therefore saved someone from making the wrong choice in life by the simple act of your guidance and advice.

THE LARGER SOCIETY
The larger society is simply the community within which we reside: here, people have different needs and wants. As a corps member, it will be great if you can identify one of them and meet it – leaving the community better than you met it. Some of such needs existing within communities are:
1. Within such communities are people who are not literate to certain extent. They cannot read or write. There is a need for education! What you therefore need to do is to ask yourself whether you have the skill necessary to meet this need. If you don’t, how can you then involve others to help in this regard? Involve others (your friends, colleagues and agencies who have the skills needed to meet this need). They will be more than willing to assist you achieve this goal of lifting the educational level of people within your community.
2. Environmental sanitation: this is particularly true of market and motor garage environment where most traders care less about the environment, they throw dirt and garbage even on the streets within the market, in front of market stalls and stands. As a corps member, you can organize a community sanitation to keep the market or garage clean where traders will spare a few minutes to keep their surrounding clean. Dust or garbage bins can be made available too, to avoid throwing garbage anyhow. In motor garages, passengers and the officials are not always conscious of the environment, they throw garbage on the ground. It is common to find people buy drinks and other snacks and throw the cans or package on the ground after having their snacks or drinks. In such environments, when they are made aware of the dangers f such acts, they will certainly desist from doing so, but as we stated earlier, dust or garbage bins must be provided. They should also be let to draw the attention of offenders and direct them to drop garbage at the right places – the garbage bin.
3. Water as said earlier is life. Within most communities, there is evident lack of good, clean drinking water. The solution is obviously to provide a source of clean drinking water – a borehole. Approach corporate bodies, NGOs and companies with the detailed need you’ve identified and what solutions you are proposing. They’ll take up the financing aspect of the project and sponsor it!
4. Self-empowerment/skills acquisition: Skills acquisitions can be organized at the community level when the need for such has been identified. Skills in tailoring, knitting, welding, baking, making soaps, detergents, snacks and soft drinks like sobo etc. Other skills that could be imparted are barbing, operating a hairdressing saloon. By so doing, you have empowered community people to gainfully make use of their time and energies. You can train them in skills you are good in or you enlist the support of friends and colleagues who are good in such ventures.
5. Within communities are hospitals, dispensaries and clinics which in most cases lack the basic items needed in an ideal health centre. Such things like drugs (anti-malaria, antibiotics, analgesics, anti retroviral drugs, anti-snake vaccines, paracetamol, iodine, gauze, hydrogen per oxide and spirit), needles and vaccines. They are very essential to the day-to-day activities of such centres. A corps member can identify clinics, hospitals and dispensaries where such are lacking and provide succour to inhabitants of the community. Proposals towards this project can be submitted to health NGOs and local government authorities who in most cases are happy and willing to provide these since you are in real sense helping them do their work at a greatly reduced cost.
6. In some communities, clinics, dispensaries or hospitals are completely lacking, therefore, community members travel far distances to access health services. As a corps member you can identify such communities and offer to provide or bring such services closer to the people. You can equally submit such proposals to NGOs, they will be glad to carry out the project – you have through this, saved many lives that would have been lost in transit to access the health facilities in other villages or towns.
7. As a youth corps member, you are a professional in your field. You can provide such professional service free. It is true that most rural dwellers cannot afford the service of professionals like you (agricultural, medical, dental, physiotherapy, legal, environmental, catering, microbiologist, engineering consulting services). Free medical attention to a community of people will never be forgotten and will forever be made reference to. Who knows, you could be seen as a mentor to the young boys and girls within that community. They will be inspired to contribute to the global fight against poverty, and deadly diseases.
8. Corps members within their communities can carry out public health education, immunisation and healthcare awareness campaign. Here they are to educate the community people on ways to prevent themselves from coming down with diseases and the importance of cleanliness, proper ways of handling food and vegetables and immunization. It costs less but does much in the area of development – by making less people having a need to visit hospital with serious or common diseases.
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good job bro , God bless ur memory n fill you more......am presently serving with a teaching hospital, I wish to make things happen there but everything seems to be OK there.....pls I need more ideas on what could be done to make life better there.. thanks for your assistance..... am looking forward to your favourable response.

God bless u 4 dis