This week’s blog post features reflections by Bonner Leader Tamanda Namangale ’26, whose work with the Harward Center has shaped much of her time at Bates. Since her first year, Tamanda has been deeply involved in community engagement through roles including Community Outreach Fellow, Bates Votes Coordinator, Annual Halloween Event Coordinator, Bonner Leader, and now Harward Center Community Engagement Intern.

In her Substack publication, “Learning That Ubuntu Is Not Self-Erasure,” she offers a moving reflection on what it means to belong to community in ways that are sustaining, honest, and fully human. Her essay speaks to the beauty and difficulty of care, and invites us to think more deeply about service, selfhood, and the values that sustain collective life.