A little bit about me

by Corbyn Small

I'm taking a break from the usual current events style of my blog posts to let our readers know a little more about myself, your regular Tuesday Plant With Purpose blogger. I graduated from Point Loma Nazarene University last year with a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration and a goal of finding work at a local San Diego marketing firm. About three months before graduation things were looking grim in the job market and my curiosity in the non-profit world was peaking. With a newfound interest in international community development I worked with my first non-profit organization in Mexico and Armenia, followed by a five month search to land me at Plant With Purpose. From the time when I first heard about Plant With Purpose I had a lot of learning to do before I would understand what true community development work is and why it is something that I would fall in love with being a part of.

I see my current position as Outreach Coordinator as a support role to the programs and indigenous field staff who are teaching individuals to plant, create savings groups, disciple communities, and take charge of their own lives. My job is to spread the understanding of sustainable community development, and to show people that the word sustainable isn’t a word that has come into existence just in the last 5 years.

As an expert in the field of Community Development (CD) and a good friend of Plant With Purpose has defined, "CD is the process whereby people learn to take charge of their lives and solve their own problems." CD is empowering individuals to change their lives. The simple, yet effective, age old quote goes like so, “Give a man a fish; you have fed him for today. Teach a man to fish; and you have fed him for a lifetime.”

While we are on the topics of fish and sharing more about myself though… I have three fish

tanks at my apartment in Point Loma, San Diego. My roommate and I have a nice collection of African Cichlid fishes that come from one of three main lakes in Africa, Lake Tanganyika, Lake Malawi, and Lake Victoria. All of these lakes happen to be in Tanzania and Burundi, regions where our Plant With Purpose programs are located in Africa. What started off as a simple 10 gallon fish tank set up has turned into nearly 100 gallons of freshwater tanks with fish ranging from the size of your thumbnail to the size of your palm. It sounds like an obsession, but I don’t think most people have realized the added benefits of fish tanks in your home.

1. No cable/ no problem: fish provide literally hours of entertainment.

2. Conversation pieces: with creative names like Mrs. Peabody, Cornelius, Rafiki (pictured above), and Sergeant Pepper soon people will want to know the names of all your fish.

3. Class: there is a close relation between a good looking fishtank on your mantel and a mahogany bookshelf filled with books.

4. Satisfaction: though they aren’t quite like having a pet dog you will be happy to raise them up from little fry to a being a good looking healthy fish.

5. Low maintenance: a thirty minute cleaning every 4-5 weeks!

I have been taught a lot about teaching a man to fish and that is great because I love fish!