Volunteerism – can we truly embrace it?

Feb 26, 2017 News

---

By Sharmain Grainger

In some countries volunteerism is a way of life. As the word suggests, it entails the act of volunteering one’s time and effort towards activities, mainly for the upliftment of the society, without looking forward to any form of material

compensation.
But for some individuals, right here in our homeland, it is perhaps a tall task to embrace this notion. In fact many of us, especially the young members of our society, may never be able to accept this concept of availing one’s self to a worthy cause without expecting something in return other than the smile on a beneficiary’s face or to hear a heartfelt thank you.
In fact there are many young people, some graduates of the University of Guyana (UG), who are barely willing to accept the beginner’s salary offered by some organisations. Not that we all shouldn’t aspire for the best at whatever we put our efforts to, but sometimes the key factor in our evolution is to ‘learn as much as we can’ before we can ‘achieve as much as possible’.
Many youths in other countries, especially the developed world, understand all too well the concept of ‘learning as much as you can’ through volunteerism.
It was just this opinion that struck me recently when a batch of Peace Corps volunteers from the United States was welcomed to our shores.
Although young in age, many of them are already educated well beyond their years when compared to the locally acceptable standard for our local youths. However, these volunteers are still aspiring to advance their knowledge before delving into a full-fledged career. Moreover, they’ve opted to take a break to engage in some volunteer work here so that they can further embellish their résumé to make it all the more enticing to their future employers.
But what was particularly surprising was the disclosure of Peace Corps Guyana Director of Programming and Training, Ms. Melanie Ingalls – that the volunteers have all graduated from universities in the United States and some of them already have achieved Masters Degree. “Several of them have brought some extraordinary skills and know-how,” said Ingalls of the members of the batch of volunteers.
They have chosen to come to Guyana to volunteer for two years within the education and health sectors and, from all indications, they have no inclination to be placed in top level positions, although their qualifications could easily outstrip some of our local personnel.
Twenty-one of the 38 volunteers will lend support to the health sector and the remainder will assist in education, and they will all be placed throughout our vast country.
I couldn’t help but ask Ingalls how exactly volunteering here could help this batch of very qualified individuals who more than likely will return to practice in their respective areas of expertise in their developed country.
Without thinking (it seemed), Ingalls replied, “Collaboration with a country like Guyana is a huge honour and privilege for the volunteers. Through this programme they are given the opportunity to think of health care in a global way.”
According to her too, “A partnership like this allows them (volunteers) to really get on the ground and get people to help them understand the reality of some of the things they have been studying. For them, this is a tremendous benefit, and we hope that for Guyana it is a tremendous benefit too.”
As if the foregoing was not enough to convince even a volunteerism detractor, Ingalls further pointed out that by working with local individuals, it will give the volunteers an opportunity to not only gain additional experience, but help them to understand some things from a totally different perspective, even as they share what they already know.
“Sometimes it is just an extra set of hands or eyes on a problem that is needed to have the ability to solve a problem and think of creative responses,” said Ingalls, as she noted that “[issues such as] teenage pregnancy, suicide or any number of things, perhaps [require] another set of eyes and ears, and someone who has the time and energy to work one on one with young people…”
But while the service offered here by overseas volunteers is undeniably of tremendous benefit, it begs the question: ‘what about our own?’
I do recall local Non Governmental Organisation, Youth Challenge Guyana (YCG), has over the years been extending the call for the service of volunteers to lend support to the delivery of public education in some outlying areas.
A number of retired head teachers, who have already racked up years of experience, have been answering this call. But the majority of our young people are looking for a “paying” job and can easily make a case for not having the time to engage in volunteer work.
However, given the fact that many of our youths are ill-prepared for many of the professions that they seek after, even with their UG degrees, maybe a national initiative could be implemented to encourage volunteerism, by offering youths an opportunity to volunteer in various fields, so that they can gain ample experience that could add to the academic qualifications they have.
This move could possibly allow them to not only produce a well rounded job application that shows that they not only understand issues theoretically, but also in the practical sense, which essentially is what most jobs require.
According to one theory, “Volunteers are the most important resource community organizations have. The ability of people to work willingly together for the betterment of their community and themselves is a valuable resource”. A volunteer could by extension become a very crucial asset to any workforce, since they are instilled with the desire to make a difference and not simply earn.
As she applauded the willingness and desire of the Peace Corps volunteers to give their service in a foreign land, Minister of Public Health, Dr. Karen Cummings, amplified the importance of volunteers with a quote from Sherry Anderson: “Volunteers don’t get paid because they’re worthless, but because they’re priceless.”
She added, “You come from many different backgrounds; you have many different life experiences; and yet you all have at least one thing in common: your willingness to give your time to help others. It takes a special person to make this kind of offer.”
In continuing her remarks which suggested that she too was in awe of the whole volunteerism process, the Minister added, “I am humbled by your generosity of spirit and your compassion for your fellow human beings. It is all of you who would so generously give your time, your warmth, your humour and your caring, that contribute to making this world a significantly better place.”
It may not at all be farfetched to speculate that a national initiative could be fast-tracked by the very Public Health Minister because, based on her speech, she gets the ‘awesomeness’ of volunteerism.

---

---