– volunteerism helps build societal trust and cohesion
COMMEMORATION of World Volunteer Day which was observed Thursday last was used as a platform to advance consultations for the establishment of National Centre for Volunteering, which is expected to not only coordinate voluntary efforts but also inspire volunteering among Guyanese.

Agreeing on the importance of such an initiative stakeholders from different sectors gathered at the National Library’s Conference Room for a roundtable discussion on volunteerism and its contribution to development in Guyana.

The roundtable panel comprised representatives from non-governmental organisations; Minster of Amerindian Affairs, Ms. Pauline Sukhai; Technical Adviser to the Minster of Education, Mr. Olato Sam; and Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport, Dr Frank Anthony.

A National Centre
Dr Anthony said the Guyana volunteer programme has been lauded by many and pointed out a National Centre would assist in mobilising a database of volunteers.

“We see a real need to provide some formalised structure…Also we can work towards putting some enabling legislation in place to allow volunteering to take place within a specific framework,” Dr Anthony said.

He said the database would not only assist on a national level but would also allow for the creation of a framework that can facilitate the allocation of resources to projects that the individual volunteers might have on hand.

Underscoring the unequivocal contribution of volunteers particularly at major national events, such as CARIFEST X and Cricket World Cup, Dr Anthony asserted that the establishment of a centre would help to streamline a wealth of information pertaining to volunteerism in Guyana.

Speaking of the national events that saw the involvement of hundreds of volunteers, Dr Anthony said, “You felt the camaraderie among people…It (the voluntary effort) helped to build a lot of trust and social cohesion in our society.”

He said too that Guyana has built much capacity but the task remains to utilise this capacity to confront other challenges that are facing Guyana.

“With the capacity that we have built so far we have done well,” the minister said.

He also called for volunteer organisations to scale up their efforts by transferring their skills to other areas of need if they are to remain relevant in the future.

He explained that volunteering should not only been seen only as an opportunity to ‘Give back’, as it has been traditionally, but rather recognised for the benefits that the volunteer is exposed to.

Dr Anthony also highlighted that volunteers are given the chance to meet people; they are given opportunities that they would not have had otherwise; they become more employable; and they enhance their skill set.

To this end he said, “Whatever skills set you have, you can work with like minded people to support the community.”

Volunteering in Guyana
Country Manager of the Voluntary Services Overseas (VSO) Guyana, Ms. Kim West, in an invited comment stated that presently in Guyana the voluntary contributions of international organisations, like VSO, is geared specifically to support local efforts.

“We would rather support local organisations to do what they are doing on a larger scale. So maybe now there is a need for those international efforts but hopefully over time there won’t be,” she said as she explained the need for a National Centre.

Additionally, she pointed out that Thursday’s discussions were important since, according to her, Guyana is at a pivotal point as it relates to the role of volunteering.

West said, “We talked a lot about the significant history of volunteering in Guyana…It is entrenched in the Guyanese society but what we are seeing now is a shift towards volunteering for social development and volunteering to support the lives of poor people in Guyana as well as a way of supporting peace and less violence among younger people and social cohesiveness generally.”

To this end, the VSO Country Manager asserted that the more Guyanese can be encouraged to be involved in their community and feel proud of their community, thereby advancing local volunteering and also emphasising the need for a National Centre for Volunteering.

Mr. Ganesh Singh, Vice-President of the Leonard Cheshire Young Voices Guyana, reiterated these sentiments and added that voluntary efforts are integral to the success of groups like his which work with persons with disabilities.

“Most of our members are isolated from society because of the stigma attached to disability…The disability movement, which has little or no funding, volunteers are integral to our success,” Singh said.

Ms. Manon Bernier, a programme specialist with the United Nations (UN) Volunteer Programme, adding to what Singh said noted that the most important contribution of voluntary work is how this participation changes the perception of, not only the partner’s country, but also how the partner views their role in contributing to development.

Another representative, Mrs. Geraldine Maison-Halls, the National Adviser to the Community Based Rehabilitation (CBR) programme, stated that non-governmental organisations which engage volunteerism do so on different levels.

According to her the successes with volunteering are seen at the individual, family, community and system levels.

Additionally, all the panel members, while acknowledging the challenges, concurred that many advantages have been realised due to voluntary contributions at the individual citizen, social and economical levels.