Michelle Lowton’s Story

Michelle Lowton went to Botswana as a Leave for Change participant in 2010.

I volunteered at Stepping Stones International (SSI) in Botswana, Africa for three weeks. My role was a Human Resources Advisor, with emphasis on developing an Employee Manual, Performance Evaluation tools, and making sure employee files were up to date.

SSI is a small organization that works with youth that are impacted by HIV and AIDS, which has devastated much of sub-Saharan Africa, and especially Botswana. This volunteer experience was even more than I had expected it would be. I met so many interesting people working in the field of international development and was able to see the local impact of global politics first hand. There are so many stereotypes about Africa and it was fantastic to get a view that the media overlooks. I left Africa with a deeper understanding of how I can make a difference in the world.