Comments on: What is the future of volunteerism?

By: Magi Matinga

Magi Matinga — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 13:02:57 +0000

My hope has always been that the elite in developing countries will volunteer more in their own countries. I think we do not do this much. In my former post as a University lecturer on Sustainable Development, we had our students going to do volunteer work and naturally with mixed result although most did a good job. Actually, a GREAT job! Now, in many places I see posters of volunteer tourism. This scares me! Well, a bit but increasingly so. Quite a few of these “volunters” are naive people with good intentions but no conception of how the other cultures live. Their information comes from the highly sensationalised and partial TV reports. Some of these bright eyed volunteers then equate volunteerism with drinking exotic local brews on the beach, posing pictures cuddling poor babies, flaunting cultural norms because “everyone has to understand I’m foreign” and “having fun”with an exotic man or girl. This can increase racially imbedded feelings of superiority and inferiority as well as decreasing the value of volunteerism. In one case, an organisation said they no longer wanted young volunteers because they only land them in trouble with the police or are extra work because staff have to babysit them to ensure they dont get into trouble. Still considering the huge amounts of good work that volunteers (the sensible ones) have done in the past and continue to do, I have high hopes for volunteerism. My only plea to those of us that assist in any way to get young volunteers abroad is that we should ensure they undergo some sort of cultural orientation that emphasises 1)respecting others’ culture and laws no matter how strange they seem (“Eeeuw!” as half my students would say) 2)Being aware of how helping across cultures can make or break stereotypes and that they are a part of it and 3)Particularly for their mental well-being, also realising that they cant change the place in one trip so not to be too hard on themselves.

I have of course contributed to this discussion mostly from what I’m familiar with. Western volunteers in developing countries. Well prepared volunteers may indeed be one small contribution towards fairer international co-operation. Particularly the young whose ways are not set and who are future leaders

By: Danielle Lecointre-Erickson

Danielle Lecointre-Erickson — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 17:42:11 +0000

Volunteering is so important in todayâ€™s world. People need to come together in order to make things happen. One person can make a difference, but a group can do so much more. Volunteerism, like everything else, is evolving. With peopleâ€™s modern individualistic attitude and as busy as they are, they consider that they do not have time to invest personal effort or money in something they feel will not give back to them.
The idea of volunteerism has to be adapted to modern needs. Organizations have to show members, and especially future members, what they have to offer: business contacts, new friends, professional experience, personal fulfillment.
This aspect is one of the most important ones to take into consideration, especially in organizations where volunteers refrain from taking on responsibility or where membership rates are dropping.

By: Shirley Randell

Shirley Randell — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 22:05:54 +0000

I can share information about a wonderful group of volunteers who have helped with the establishment of the Centre for Gender, Culture and Development in Rwanda. In 2009, between April and December, we had nearly 30 volunteers, including six Rwandans who gave their time to work as administrative assistants and library workers to catalogue the book donations which have come from around the world. Professors from Old Dominion University, Virginia, City University New York, and University of New York- El Paso have helped us to develop the Bachelors, Masters and Certificate of Continuing Professional Development programs. Interns from Canada, Australia and US have worked on research projects, curriculum development and media. Marion Gibson from Ireland and Denise Gray Felder from Communication for Change delivered courses. We would not be in the position to begin the centre this year without the work of such volunteers.
The Rwanda Association of University Women has also benefited from the support of interns. Three young university students staffed the office between appointments of Office Managers. One Canadian assisted with the development of the strategic plan. This has been a wonderful opporunity for people to learn about gender and development in Rwanda.

By: Kathleen Laurila

Kathleen Laurila — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 20:45:21 +0000

We generally recognize that availability of time for volunteer activities today is scarce. So, what we now need is less formal structure to have to maintain if volunteers are to be attracted to the actual work of a mission they support. Letting go of enough structure and gatekeeping is a difficult step for most organizations facing a changing environment.

It does mean that greater trust among participants needs to be developed so that individual members are free to make decisions about what actions to take, or service to provide. At the same time, the profession of volunteer management needs to be enhanced and encouraged so that when one does volunteer their time, the “system” is efficient enough so that the volunteer can be the most effective using their talents in the endeavor.

We need to continue to emphasize the benefits of volunteering for the greater good –defining this is concrete terms — is “what one gets for their money” — and that the skills, contacts, friendships developed will contribute to their profession and their own human development.

By: Marja Liisa Toivanen

Marja Liisa Toivanen — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 15:16:38 +0000

It is a fact that many womenâ€™s organization face the situation that number of members decreases. But perhaps it has very little to do with attraction of voluntary work. The answer is demanding every day life. Young women do not have time. But fortunately whose who retire have better health and education than before.
Women do not feel that fund rising is enough. They want to do something more visible. We in Finland have very good experiences from a voluntary project called Lets learn together. It was started by local UNIFEM branch and idea is very simple: retired Finnish women teach once a week (illiterate) immigrant women to speak, read and write Finnish. Students are elderly women or mothers of big families who cannot join programmes offered by the authorities. Most important is coming together and learning from each other. And interesting enough, not only project succeeds, but both UNIFEM and UW have got among â€œteachersâ€ many new members. Seeing the problems in your neighbourhood opens the eyes to needs far away.

By: FranÃ§oise Sauvage

FranÃ§oise Sauvage — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 15:26:18 +0000

In countries like France, voluntary work means also those people who , at retirment, proposes their expertise to help countries in need; For example, doctors, teachers. They are not paid but expenses like travels and lodging are taken in charge by the organisation

By: Beatrice Hale

Beatrice Hale — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 21:53:09 +0000

in the past we had neighbourliness, people who lived nearby who would visit, shop, help, care for children, cook, …. mostly women who knew from their own experience the difficulties of everyday living with poverty and ill-health. Now. although this neighbourliness still exists, the spirit of helping and giving is organised into a far more widespread this type of neighbourliness has been translated into ‘volunteering’ , a far more widespread form of ‘gifting’. We can now reach people in need right across the globe, as well as those in our own community.
But why volunteer? and who are those who volunteer? One essential aspect is that of sensitivity – and for many of us that comes with knowledge of our own pain, how we have handled it, and how then we can reach out to others.
Volunteers are often those who have experienced significant pain in their own lives – and use this knowledge to help others.
Good for them!

By: Louise

Louise — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 20:56:59 +0000

What would we do without volunteers in our communities? It is the gift of time work in my community that keeps the real links between people in our street, our city and our wider community. Volunteers often do basic tasks like delivering meals, helping take library books to the hospital patients.

Social inclusion and participation, learning and sharing skills and contact locally, and globally are the benefits beyond price.
Each person has to manage their time between paid work, gift work , family and friends and time for self. I do hope volunteering grows as it essential for human beings.