Part 1 – The First Steps: Our Journey to a Meeting with the Chairman
Every great initiative starts with a core group of people bold enough to believe in an idea. For the Positive Mindset Initiative (PMI), our journey began not in a formal boardroom, but with a handful of us gathered at the local government office. Our first meeting on this plan was a mix of anticipation and determination, a day without our usual Corps Development Service (CDS) routine, but full of purpose. Our first point of contact was the Local Government Inspector (LGI). When we met with her, there was a brief moment of surprise; she didn’t expect to see us turn out in such numbers. She listened intently as we shared our mission. Her feedback was both encouraging and grounded in reality. She spoke about the chairman’s efforts in the community and then with a directness we appreciated, she laid out the central challenge: funding. “That’s the main thing,” she told us, emphasizing that having the resources was the primary obstacle. She even gave us an analogy about going to the market, underscoring that our ideas, no matter how good, needed money to be realized. With her guidance and a renewed sense of purpose, we set about the essential, though hectic, task of administration. We needed a formal acknowledgment letter to present at the chairman’s office. This involved a series of back-and-forth trips to a local cafe to print the letter on the NYSC letterhead. It was a small but crucial detail that highlighted our commitment. The LGI signed the letter, entrusting us to get it acknowledged and dated, a symbolic stamp of approval on our ambition. With our letter in hand, we set off for the chairman’s official residence. We navigated our way through the building, asking for directions until we met a lady who could guide us. While we didn’t get to meet the chairman that day, we left with a clear directive: to return for a key contact on our next visit. That first day was a testament to our team’s determination. It was filled with small triumphs and minor setbacks, but every step was a vital part of the story.
