Patch Talk: Hamala Sharma On Guyana, Brandon and the Peace Corps

From Guyana to Brandon, with jaunts to Brazil, Columbia, Peru, Bolivia, Venezuela, South Africa and St. Lucia in between, Hamala Sharma is a tourist in her new home and she wouldn’t have it any other way.

A former Peace Corps worker, Sharma moved to Brandon to be with her family and has spent her first five months in Brandon exploring her new home as would a tourist. Or, more specifically, as a Peace Corps volunteer might do it, with a “community assessment.”

“I was motivated to do what Peace Corps teaches its volunteers to do,” Sharma said. “What I did, for instance, when I came here, I took a walk around the community. I went to the different malls, I went to , I went to the . I talked to different people, I asked about the potential of jobs, what jobs are available, and volunteer opportunities.”

New to Brandon, without a job and without a car, Sharma set out to go “into the field,” getting to know any and every “NGO” (non-government organization) that could help her learn more about her new home “and also to meet people.”

“When I first got here I needed a driver’s license, a car and a job,” she said. “Here in Florida you can’t walk to get a job, you really need a car.”

She has a car now, and a job, part-time at Macy’s. She also volunteers at the Center Place Fine Arts & Civic Association, which shares space in the Sandy Rodriguez Center with the Brandon Regional Library.

It was there, after a volunteer shift at Pat’s Corner, the Center Place gift shop, that Sharma, who lives nearby, talked about her experiences with the Peace Corps, which this year celebrates its 50th anniversary.

“Peace Corps is a wonderful organization, it helps countries that the volunteers work in,” Sharma said. “When they come back, they’re changed emotionally, physically and even spiritually. It tests you at every level. It makes you somebody better."

After almost five years as a locally employed Peace Corps worker in Guyana, Sharma moved to America.

“I love Guyana but my parents are here, my family is here, and I want to be with my family,” Sharma said. “I want to be close by.”

As for her first assessments of Brandon, Sharma was impressed.

“You have access to everything here,” she said. “I went to the park, I went to all the malls, I went to the shops, there’s  lot of competition. I went to six different hair salons to decide where is the best place to thread my eyebrows. So now I can make a comparison, make recommendations to people. This one charges seven dollars, this one charges 12 dollars, it’s a difference of five dollars, why not save the money? I found that all by walking around. I realized that everything is within walking distance of where I live."

As for her parents, they were used to driving everywhere, but not walking much, so Sharma told them: “It’s time for you to get to know your community."

“Sunday at 7 o’clock we walked all the way to Campbell’s Dairyland, just to get ice cream, and it was relaxing,” Sharma said. “In Guyana, I was used to working from 8 to 4:30, then volunteering, so I basically had no time to sit home and do nothing. I came to America, I’m home watching TV, helping with the house chores, but beyond that it was like a prison. I decided to walk around, to get to know people."

Sharma’s best advice, to newcomer and old-timer alike?

“Be a tourist in our own community,” said. “You’ll learn all the little cracks, places you can go to get things cheap. You see different parks, different shopping centers. You find the deals as well."

As for Sharma?

"Overall I’m an adventurous person,” she said, "so it fits me perfectly."