The title of
this post says it all; yes, I am joining a new place of work. The Department of information and Media, MOIC, as it is called. So I am here and it is what it
is. I embrace it.
Surrounded by
new people in this new office, understandable anxieties aside, I expect to face
new challenges. At the same time, I excitedly hope to learn new experience and
skills.
However, the
reality is that I have joined the agency with a complete different mandate and
work. I feel like a new nervous man in the town. And I believe that it will
take some time for me to adapt here.
By the way, I
chose to change my office not because that I didn’t love my previous work or
the people there. The Department of Youth and Sports (DYS) was a fabulous
organization with a wonderful group of staff.
Never did I
imagine that I would leave it this soon. Sometimes our life is like a book that
its chapter ultimately closes and we have to turn a new page to keep reading. Exactly
why, the chapter of my life at DYS was all that. Closed. Done. At least for
now. So here, I have just opened a fresh chapter of my life.
Today as I
stepped into this new life, I am replaying the whole memory of the past five and
half years. On May 10, 2010, I had first joined the office as a gelled-hair
boy, young and raw. It was absolutely for the sake of employment and livelihood,
I confess.
Oh goodness,
instead of studying the office I started looking for beautiful girls. Strange,
isn’t it? But gradually, surprisingly enough, my outlook towards work and life had
changed, for the better. Making one small step at a time, I worked hard (sometimes
forgoing normal office time).
I was not a
typical yes-man civil servant. On several occasions, I failed to obey the orders
from my bosses which ousted me out of their good book. It put me in a string of
unsavory situations. But at the same time, I had learned to work through mutual
understanding and respect.
During my stay
at DYS, there were hard times both in my personal and professional life where I
felt uncertain, bruised and low. No matter what, my supportive colleagues close
by had been always transformative. They are friends whom I met through work.
The destiny brought us together, but now it is all in our hands to keep it.
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| Some of the programs I had conducted |
I had learned
a lot from the people at the department, more than the words can say. The DYS
provided me a platform to serve the Tsa-wa-sum, particularly to bring positive
change in the lives of youth. A few activities that I had initiated failed, but
there are many activities that I am proud to say that I had carried out and some
of them are:
1. Promotion of youth volunteerism: When I first
joined the service, the awareness level on volunteerism among Bhutanese youth
was very low. After I took over a youth group called Harmony Youth Volunteers
in 2010, youth volunteerism had considerably picked up in Thimphu and other
dzongkhags. My hard work and sacrifices paid when the group was institutionalized
with proper guidelines and office bearers. Today, eight different Youth Centers
have their own youth groups which totaled to 463 volunteers.
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| Strengths of youth volunteers in different years |
2. Celebration of
International Youth Day: The celebration of
International Youth Day was one of the important projects of DYS and I had
coordinated it from 2010 to 2014. During the time, the approach of the
observation had been shifted to more intellectual from fun and cultural
activities. Many important issues (youth migration, youth development and
mental health) were highlighted during the observations through comprehensive studies/surveys
making the national headlines.
3. Sustainability of youth programs: Most
of the programs/projects were funded by the donor agencies. And it was a serious
concern. Realizing this, the Harmony Youth Volunteers was trained to be a
self-sustaining and independent youth group. Also, some Youth Centers started conducting
programs for youth mobilizing only the local resources.
4. Publications: I had coordinated development
of three important documents. These documents enhanced proper functioning of the
office’s works and programs. They are:
i.
‘Directory of Youth Services’
(2012)
ii.
‘Operational Guidelines of
Harmony Youth Volunteers’ (2014)
iii.
‘Orientation Manual of Youth
Center Managers’ (2015)
I knew that I
blew my own trumpet loud, huh. In fact, I am doing it only to record my
achievements (though small) on my blog. My supervisor and manager, my
colleagues, and the participating stakeholders and youth - all of them deserved
a huge share of praise too. Without their guidance, support and participation,
I could do almost nothing.
The time spent
at DYS was not quite long, but it was one of the most significant and memorable
episodes of my life. Abraham Lincoln rightly said, “And in the end, it’s not
the years in your life that count. It’s the life in your years.”
As have I joined my
new office, I look forward to walking on next stage of my life, which I am sure
will be full of great moments. Hopefully. And I am eager enough to write here
on my blog about my new experience, new people and new life.
