by Henrietta Johnson

12 August 2012

Freetown, Sierra Leone: The Youth Volunteers club Instant Measures for Practical Accountability Commitment and Transparency (IMPACT) in Sierra Leone will embark from 16 August on the promotion of volunteerism among youth, in order to put in place a suitable framework that supports and expands volunteerism activities. This is in line with the UN Secretary General’s report on the follow-up of the implementation of the International Year of Volunteers 2001.

The United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme’s national coordinator for the tenth anniversary of the International Year of Volunteers (IYV+10) in Sierra Leone has endeavoured to provide a deliberate and systematic connection between volunteerism and mainstream development, through the concept of Volunteering for Development and its permeation into all facets of her work.

There are many manifestations that volunteerism in Sierra Leone is deeply embedded in the country’s long‐established traditions of sharing and mutual‐aid.

The youth IMPACT Volunteer club aims to address the needs of marginalized communities in Freetown and sub-areas by encouraging young graduates to use their knowledge and skills at the grassroots community level. The project aims to contribute to the peaceful coexistence of communities by creating environmentally-friendly livelihood opportunities in a selected number of communities.

In an effort to launch this IMPACT CLUB, there has been lot of mobilization among young graduates and undergraduates through the intense effort of the national coordinator to get these students on board. The objective is to extend good practices of volunteerism among students and elderly people. Those physically challenged would embark on agricultural projects as they would be guided by some of the Agriculture students at the Njala University College.

Last year, prior to the culmination of IYV+10 on 5 December, a meeting took place with the private sector, where plans and project proposals were put forward for potential sponsoring. The students showed great interest in volunteerism, and private sector representatives responded with their support through cash and kind. They also vowed to accept some of these students in their organisations to work as volunteers and potentially be integrated into their system of work.

On the other hand, the UNDP Country Director expressed great interest in the students’ affairs and wants to integrate this whole idea under the UNDP/UNV system.

There is also a joint cooperation project between the Peace and Development Corps (PaDCO) from the National Commission for Social Action (NaCSA), and the Youth Employment and Sports (YES) from the Ministry to grace the occasion, engage in the collaboration and make the IMPACT student club sustainable.

We hope to see Sierra Leone become a better place thanks to our volunteering spirit!