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Initiating change
01 October 2004 Bonn, Germany: Transferring skills to village volunteers in how to create and manage water bodies, and helping spread the spirit of volunteerism is all the reward I need to keep going on this tough road to drought mitigation. My dream is to make at least one village free of misery and drought." UN Volunteer Sanjit Kumar Behera, an agricultural engineer specializing in designing water-harvesting structures for low rainfall areas, successfully mobilized rural villagers in his native India to actively contribute to local disaster preparedness schemes for drought mitigation in 2003. "Early in my career, I volunteered to look after health centres in villages. I learned the most about people and how they give, especially how women sacrifice to help each other. Let us take this opportunity to reflect upon the role of volunteers in support of the UN’s goals. Just think about human rights, women’s rights, family planning, reproductive health and rights, refugee care, the environment and the clearing of land mines – all of these movements started with the focused efforts of individual volunteers... Many of these individual volunteer activists and advocates working against all odds jarred the world community into action. Indeed, largely through volunteer initiative, controversial issues of yesterday have become the norms of today – they are among the many issues UN member states grapple with on a daily basis." "UNV makes a strong and valuable contribution toward the maintenance of an enabling volunteer environment. This, in our view, is an essential core task at this time." "The UNV programme has shown itself to be an effective channel for volunteers and a powerful proponent of the values inherent in volunteerism. We see this role as vital in these complex times, and one which serves the best interests of humanity, especially the less fortunate among us." "It comes as somewhat of a surprise to Afghans to discover that I am a volunteer, but they are always so grateful that people have made the commitment to share skills and help develop Afghanistan for reasons not based on financial gain. Now is the time to show the people of Afghanistan that they can make a positive contribution to the development of the country." "Basungi volunteers, UN Volunteers and staff from international partners in Congo, built partnerships with local communities to strengthen education infrastructures with the goal of improving the quality of life for vulnerable children. The impact the Basungi [which means "those who are helping others" in the local Lingala language] project has left on the quality of education is reflected through the high attendance rate and school ranking in the area, and the faces of the school children expressing appreciation through giggles and meaningful smiles." "[Volunteers] help us carry out our work in sometimes difficult and dangerous conditions. They fight poverty and marginalization. They bring assistance to those in need and help us protect the global environment. Without their courage, generosity and dedication, the work of the United Nations would be much more difficult." "Back in Afghanistan, after 25 years as a UNV teacher, I am committed to bring the library of the University of Kabul to life. Besides my work at the university, I have set up my own volunteer organization `Afghans4Tomorrow´. Thanks to the cooperation of community leaders and villagers, we opened a training centre for girls and disabled children in Kabul, distributed supplies, clothes and teacher kits in schools, and built a mosque in Quarabagh. With Engineers Without Borders, we work together to provide safe water to Farza district in the North that is severely affected by drought. We are now building a school for girls in Wardack. Working with people has helped me understand their problems and their lives." "Online volunteering offered me a way of learning skills how to support social and economic development while contributing to organizations in many different ways. I would like other people to be able to learn about volunteerism and get involved in it." "UN Volunteers of UNMIK Health Care Centre are medical doctors, pharmacists or nurses. They write the newsletter the clinic publishes every two months to inform people about health risks or campaigns against HIV/Aids. The Ministry of Health welcomes the newsletter and translates it to Serbian and Albanian to make it accessible to a wide audience. No matter if it is medical or nursing care, laboratory tests or health campaigns, without UN Volunteers this clinic could practically not function." "I contribute to the Healthy Living radio programme, the parent educator’s group, organize elderly social interactions, seek funding sources for durable medical equipment and coordinate exercise programmes for at-risk youths. On weekends, my husband and I volunteer by teaching gymnastics for children, a class our four boys enjoy very much, too." "Volunteerism may well become an important component in working towards the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals. An example of the force of volunteerism has been demonstrated in the Global Polio Eradication Initiative where millions of people volunteered in their communities by actively participating in the immunization activities of 550 million children." "Taking our first steps into the 21st century, we – the global community – have set our sights on a more prosperous, healthy and educated world by striving to achieve a set of time-bound objectives called the Millennium Development Goals. Many volunteers have joined this massive effort, and indeed, it would be difficult to accomplish without them." "I have had interaction with women's groups and organizations in Afghanistan. Once, we had a meeting with one of the first women organizations in Badghis province. We met several times. And the group succeeded to plan literacy classes and life-skills trainings for 119 illiterate women. They celebrated International Women’s Day on 8 March 2003. The Governor and other male elders from Shura (village council) and the local Mullah also expressed their support for women’s day for the first time in history. A small but significant beginning." "The Millennium Development Goals (MDG) are owned by the people. The role of volunteers as MDG campaigners is essential in connecting the global community and its people around the goals." "We were astonished by the results that partners achieved thanks to the involvement of volunteers. Suddenly, we saw new activities being organized for children like painting classes and recreational sessions. The volunteers obtained sponsorship to build new bathrooms and a new kitchen. Instead of sleeping on the floor, the children now have proper beds to sleep in and lockers to keep their clothes. It will not surprise you that promoting volunteerism has become our main strategy towards development of new and better services for disadvantaged children." "Many important parts of life are immeasurable: the contributions volunteers give to their communities and environment, and the satisfaction you gain while making a difference. Intellectually, researchers may measure volunteer impacts, and thinkers on the sidelines may conceptualise it, but only active volunteers know the true value of volunteering." "A nationwide network of volunteer service organizations has taken shape in China. More than 24,000 service centres have been established across the country, which translates into more than 4.1 billion hours of voluntary service... Young volunteers stand as the main force of volunteerism in China today, whose work basically includes: the promotion of development and eradication of poverty ... community services and public welfare ... [and] environmental protection."
"Even if some assignments may sometimes sound mundane, they are the building blocks of big plans. Once we put everything together, you will see how much we can accomplish as a team." "There is a strong element of voluntarism in much advocacy work, as social activists often give their time and skills freely to various causes. And the best advocacy work is drawn from a thorough understanding of local needs." "On September 11, at 8:30 a.m. I was on the 30th floor in Tower Two of the World Trade Centre… I volunteer at Service Centres 1 and 2 located near Manhattan’s Chinatown. We provide family assistance (finances, health counselling, a smiling face, a comforting ear) to people who live or have worked in the Chinatown district and have been affected by the September 11 tragedy… The fact that we simply won’t let such a small thing as ‘language’ stop us from providing the best assistance we can, in my opinion, really has endeared us with the community ... Volunteering has been very rewarding and therapeutic for me since my experience on September 11th." "While serving in World Food Programme (WFP) operations, UN Volunteers have provided professionalism, energy and enthusiasm. They have generally performed extremely well, bonding with local communities, understanding the country context and helping WFP to provide good services to beneficiaries." "The peoples and nations of the world, acting in concert, have the power to turn back AIDS: to educate our children, protect our young people, end the shameful stigmatisation of people living with HIV, and secure the future for all those infected with, and affected, by HIV. We cannot delay." "Volunteering in its various forms is a plus for society, for it is a conduit for universal values in terms of human rights, democracy, combating racism, solidarity and sustainable development. When the underprivileged and the comfortably off join together in voluntary activities, innovative partnerships can be created and bridges built between the various sectors of society." "Volunteering is no longer seen as a ‘nice-to-have’ optional extra, but as the must-have building block of communities and civil society." |