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There is no "I" in Team but there is a "u" in volunteer! And There is no "I" in Team, but we sure are glad there is "u" in our volunteers!
by Debbie Weir
Everyday across the globe, millions of people are involved in a myriad of activities as health workers, in construction, as care assistants, as social activists, and in a multitude of other direct activities to strengthen their communities and the civil society in which they live. The common factor shared by all types of volunteers is a commitment by the individual to the common or public good, in that they work not merely for their own interests but for the benefit of others.
The scale of volunteering worldwide crosses cultures and political systems and makes it one of the most powerful elements in development and relief. But despite the major contribution of volunteerism to development, it has yet greater untapped potential for local and national capacity development.
The United Nations has played a particularly significant role through the adoption of specific resolutions on volunteering. The first in 1985 invited governments to observe 5th December each year as an International Volunteer Day for Economic and Social Development and the second in 1997, sponsored by 126 countries, proclaimed 2001 the International Year of Volunteers. Both resolutions noted the critical role of governments in supporting and encouraging volunteering
The contribution made by volunteers is regarded as crucial to the achievement of the eight Millennium Development Goals (MDG) set in 2000 for achievement by 2015.
volunteerism as a key means to achieving desired results. by virtue of the mass of people involved and the networks of like-minded organizations engaged, volunteering is a capacity development multiplier
Meaning of Volunteer
The word Volunteer, comes from the Latin word valo or velle, meaninghope, determination, or willingness.
In the western countries, people believe volunteers are the ones who work not for personal benefits, nor are they forced by law to labor, but work for free to improve society and provide charity to others
The majority of volunteers in some countries are engaged in social and welfare services under local government administration. These include health, education and other welfare services for the disabled, the sick and the aged. The voluntary associations and individual volunteers which keep schools, clinics, hospitals and residential homes functioning are innumerable. Another significant area is the contribution of volunteers at national government level where, for example, many of the national consultative groups, called upon by the move towards democratic governance, usually operate on a voluntary basis.
According to the American Social Work Board, a group of people who are willing to work together to pursue public benefits are called voluntary groups; individuals who participate in the work of these groups are called volunteers; and this kind of group work is called voluntary service.
The Volunteer Association of China puts forward this definition of volunteers: People who are willing to provide services or assistance to society or to others, not for material gains, but from a sense of conscience, faith and responsibility. In China, they have different names in different places for volunteers. In Hong Kong we call them YI GONG (workers of duty), and in Taiwan we call them ZHI GONG (workers of will). Today, in China, the development of voluntary services has become a symbol of civilization and social progress. Volunteers can be found in every walk of our lives.
We are convinced that volunteering enjoys widerange people participation, and the benefits from volunteering encompass all ages, gender, religion, cultures, nationalities or socioeconomic status.
Beijing Declaration, International Conference on Voluntary Service, 2728 May 2002
The Red Cross has long recognized the need for voluntary action within countries where its member societies operate, and enshrined this value in its found-ing statements in the nineteenth century. Thus, many millions of people have worked as Red Cross volunteers. To ensure that National Red Cross societies maintain adequate levels of capacity in key areas (e.g. dealing with local emergencies/ first aid etc.), there exist several programmes to develop the volunteerbased character of the national societies. Some of these programmes are coordinated by the International Federation, while others are the products of local initiatives.
Values associated with volunteerism which can reinforce capacity development include the following: commitment and solidarity value-based programmes belief in collective action for the public good commitment to human rights and gender equity
It is the individual farmer or fisherman who decides to adopt sustainable cultivation or fishing practices The active participation of rural people in pursuing sustainability objectives can best be promoted through local community organizations. Such organizations are based on voluntary membership and may include community councils, peasant unions, water users, pastoral groups, workers associations or cooperatives. UNDP/FAO 199612
2. Social Mission
Voluntary service originates from charity donation. Todays volunteers carry forward this mission and actively respond to the calling. In many ways they devote themselves to this work and blessings to others around. When volunteers work for the public interest, they not only contribute themselves, but they also establish an active interaction with society. They stimulate peoples sense of duty to society. When they demonstrate a spirit of humanism and service, they also help reduce responsibilities of the government, solve social problems, and they are in fact changing society. Again as Albert Einstein said, Only in devoting oneself to serving society, human being will discover the meaning of his short and risky life.
3. Knowledge Learning
When a volunteer serves, he/she is not only helping others, but also learning new knowledge and skills. This will help them mature and build good character. Voluntary service is team work. In the team, volunteers learn how to establish good relationships with others, as well as how to strengthen a spirit of teamwork and effective team coordination. This is especially helpful among young volunteers because they can improve their professional skills in the process of learning good teamwork. They will know society better, understand the theories (which they learned from school) better, and also receive inspiration and education. Todays voluntary service is becoming more professional and more formal. Before beginning their work of service, volunteers have to receive formal training. This is a very important aspect toward a comprehensive improvement in the quality of voluntary service.
6. Mental Well-being
Voluntary service can help volunteers cultivate a joyful heart and a more active mentality. When caring for and helping others, volunteers own mental stress is relieved and more wholesome characters are built. We learned the story of Katherine Pener from an introductory article on American volunteers. Katherine, as a volunteer, counseled cancer patients for 22 years. She writes, I can guarantee that all the volunteers will feel better emotionally, physically, and mentally, no matter whom you are and what you do. All the volunteers I know are always smiling. Through serving voluntarily, people build good character of self-respect, self-reliance, and independence, all of which contribute to sound mental health.
Surprisingly the departure of the Americans did not spell doom. Subic Bay was converted into a commercial zone largely through the efforts of some 8,000 residents of nearby Olongapo City, under the leadership of their mayor, Richard Gordon, who volunteered to protect and preserve 8 billion dollars worth of facilities and property from looting and destruction. Subic has since been transformed and became a model bases for bases conversion into commercial use
Subic Bay, the Philippines continues to be one of the country's major economic engines with more than 700 investment projects, including the 4th largest shipbuilding facility in the world (Hanjin Heavy Industries and Construction (HHIC)). Currently upgrading its port facilities through the Subic Bay Port Development Project and forging ties with the Clark Special Economic Zone in Angeles City, Pampanga to form the SubicClark Corridor via the 45-kilometer Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway, these once bastions of western military might are now being positioned to become the most competitive international service and logistics center in Southeast Asia
CNN quoted him as saying: "Serve, serve well, serve others above yourself and be happy to serve. As I always tell my co-volunteers... you are the change that you dream as I am the change that I dream and collectively we are the change that this world needs to be."
FILIPINO-AMERICAN midwife was named by media giant CNN Inc. on Sunday as its 2011 Hero of the Year for her leadership of a group helping poor women in Indonesia have healthy pregnancies and births.
"Every baby's first breath on Earth could be one of peace and love. Every mother should be healthy and strong. Every birth could be safe and loving. But our world is not there yet,"
1. Alexis Belonio He created a cooking stove designed to help poor people have access to hot meals.
2. Jean Enriquez She is the head of the Coalition Against Trafficking in Women-Asia Pacific, which vigorously fights sex tourism, the mail-order bride trade, pornography, and sexual exploitation.
3. Jay Jaboneta His advocacy Zamboanga Funds for Little Kids has raised money to buy bright new yellow boats for kids in Layag Layag, Zamboanga who had to swim to get to school everyday.
4. Tomas Leonor She organized StepJuan and volunteered to travel without any motored transportation to raise funds for cancer-stricken children at the Philippine Childrens Medical Center.
5. Heidi Mendoza She made headlines and risked her life to expose supposed corruption in the military, allegedly led by ex-Armed Forces of the Philippines comptroller Carlos Garcia, Heidi Mendoza photo by www.cfamedia.org
6. Anna Oposa She initiated the Save the Philippine Seas campaign to combat the massive coral reef destruction.
7. Tzarina Saniel She collects and preserves old Filipino books, even original manuscripts from Jose Rizal, in her attempt to keep Pinoy literature alive..
Presently, there are more than twenty thousand cooperatives operating in the country with a total membership of more than seven million people farmers, fisherfolk, women, workers, lumads, small vendors, people with disabilities, teachers, government employees, the military, and even former commanders of the Moro National Liberation Front mostly people from poor and disadvantaged sectors who believe in cooperativism and seek to build a better life for themselves and their families through association and cooperation. These people have pooled together their meager resources and harnessed their collective potentials and experiences to help one another and make their cooperatives work for the common good. Starting with a pooled fund of a few hundred pesos, these cooperatives have grown and prospered through self-help, mutuality and service to the members as their prime objective. Presently, the countrys more than twenty thousand cooperatives have combined assets of PHP 158.6 billion.
The Department of Agriculture aims to increase the farmers' income and to reduce poverty in the Philippines by harnessing the country's agricultural potential towards economic growth. Through its Medium Term Philippine Development Plan, it plans to develop over two million hectares of land to use for agribusiness purposes and to reduce the necessary costs required to enhance productivity, to make the logistical processes of the agriculture industry more efficient, and to effectively distribute the resulting agribusiness commodities. The Department also implements a number of Administrative Orders and Memos regarding the utilization and the development of the Philippine's agricultural sector.
Agricultural Development.
Agricultural Development. We will continue to pursue full self-sufficiency in terms of food production next year to support the larger demands of our growing population, as well as to maximize the agricultural resources already at our disposal. More importantly, however, food self-sufficiency will decrease our nations dependence on the importation of grains and give local farmers more opportunities to contribute to the local economy and to their own financial success. We have provided the Department of Agriculture (DA) with a budget of P73.6 billion in 2013, which is 19.9 percent higher than the current years P61.4 billion. Of this amount, P15.3 billion has been allocated for our banner agricultural programs. This amount will go towards helping our farmers improve their incomes and produce 20 million metric tons (MT) of rice next yearthe amount we need to attain rice self-sufficiency, as well as 8.4 million MT of corn, 5.4 million MT of fishery products, and 3.13 million MT of coconut-based products.
Agricultural Development
This Administration will allot P7.4 billion for our banner rice program, while P1.5 billion and P1.75 billion will go to our corn and coconut development programs, respectively. Meanwhile, the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources will receive P4.6 billion, a sizeable increase from the P3.0-billion budget given them in 2012. Irrigation development will receive an allocation of P27.3 billion. These funds will be used for new irrigation systems for 61,215 hectares of agricultural land, for the restoration of irrigation systems over 42,219 hectares, and the rehabilitation of systems over 112,699 hectares. Farmto-market roads will also receive an allocation of P7.0 billion, which will translate to 750 kilometers worth of roads.
http://www.gov.ph/2012/07/24/2013-budgetmessage-of-president-aquino/
Workshop?
How can the DA strengthen and sustain volunteerism?
At the heart of volunteerism are the ideals of service and solidarity and the belief that together we can make the world better. In that sense, we can say that volunteerism is the ultimate expression of what the United Nations is all about. Kofi Annan, Secretary-General, United Nations
Sources:
2002 UN Volunteers Volunteerism and Capacity Development Sha Cordingley. Strengthening and sustaining volunteering in Australia 2000 Volunteers and Volunteering. Beijing 2008 Mark A. Hager,Jeffrey L. Brudney. Balancing Act: The Challenges and Benefits of Volunteerism. December 2004