02 October 2004

Bonn, Germany: In 1993, a group of 30 Nepalese ex-UN Volunteers formed the Returned United Nations Volunteers Association of Nepal (RUNVAN) as a way to continue volunteering at home.

Today, the association has 200 members and is one of Nepal’s biggest advocates and promoters of volunteerism.

Lalita Thapa, the association’s president and a former Nepalese UN Volunteer in Somalia from 1984 to 1987, says the fact that so many ex-UN Volunteers take up membership with the association proves that a volunteer experience, regardless of duration or activity undertaken, is something one cannot forget.

“Whether it has been for six months or for six years, once you serve as a volunteer, you remain a volunteer,” she says. “The culture, the attitude and the spirit one develops from this experience stays with you for the rest of your life.”

What also adheres, she says, is the willingness to continue helping others. “Our association has a wealth of highly trained professionals who devote their time and energy to various volunteer activities throughout Nepal,” she explains. “We have doctors, nurses, engineers, statisticians, mathematicians, policy developers and mediators willing to take time from their jobs and personal lives to help.” 
 
One such member is Biswa Nath Prajapati. A former UNV mathematics teacher in Yemen from 1980 to 1985, he now teaches Cambridge level mathematics in Kathmandu and has been a member of RUNVAN for six years. He says his involvement with the association’s activities enables him to give back to his community. For him, voluntary acts are a form of meditation.

“The sense of clarity and purpose I get when doing the activities, inspires me to continue volunteering and helping others without having a personal benefit,” he says.

This level of conviction held by members like Biswa provides the association with the energy to carry out many activities. One of the association’s biggest initiatives is its technical and professional development workshops for members and outside groups. Fifty women from various women’s groups within Kathmandu recently participated in a solid waste management course focusing on the effective disposal and collection of garbage. Lalita says these events enable RUNVANs members to share their skills with people who normally would not have access to such courses, especially for free.

Beyond targeting specific groups, the association also extends its reach to the community at large. Teachers within the association travel to remote villages to help adults learn to read and write, while doctors and nurses set up health camps in impoverished villages to provide free medical care.

Through its work, the association has become known as a ‘one-stop shop’ on volunteerism, be it in promoting International Volunteer Day (IVD), 5 December, organizing volunteer events, or preparing national strategic papers on volunteerism for development. The association’s contributions and volunteer activities have been recognized by the National Development Volunteer Service (NDVS), Nepal’s governmental body for volunteerism.

Lalita says the association also helps other volunteer organizations increase their understanding of what it means to be a volunteer. She says many of the country’s volunteer organizations – both sending and receiving – do not always give due credit to the value and work of volunteers. “It is not just the technical expertise that is required of volunteers,” she says. “It is the people and communications skills that make voluntary services effective and valuable for a society.” By working with the organizations to develop such tools as orientation kits and volunteer training manuals, she says the volunteers are more effective in their endeavours.

At one time, RUNVAN also assisted the UNV programme in Nepal with the briefing of UN Volunteers coming into Nepal and nationals leaving to serve abroad. While that role is no longer carried out by RUNVAN, Ignazio Emanuele Sapienza (Italy), the UN Volunteer Programme Officer for Nepal, says both organizations remain connected.

“We have been working together on celebrating IVD, promoting advocacy issues and improving the recognition of voluntary contributions to development,” he says. “Now, we are going to work together with NDVS and the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry to launch various initiatives promoting the idea of corporate social responsibility and volunteerism.”

Through these collaborations, he is often taken back by the members’ devotion to UNV and the mandate of volunteerism.

“The more I work with RUNVANs members, the more I realize that their commitment is genuine,” he says. “They face many difficulties and constraints, such as lack of funding, even a place to meet, but always manage to keep the organization alive and make substantial contributions out of enthusiasm and dedication.”

For Lalita, a lifelong volunteer, volunteering has become second nature. Despite her busy schedule and professional obligations as the Assistant Resident Representative with the UNDP office in Kathmandu, she says the time she spends with RUNVAN is definitely worth it.

“I do have a very strong feeling about my time as a UNV. It was more than just a job. It was an enriching experience that has remained with me. Even as a professional, you can’t make the difference that one does as a volunteer. Being a part of RUNVAN allows me to continue that spirit.”