Tripartite report emphasises volunteerism role in development
THE Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport, through a collaborative effort with Voluntary Services Overseas (VSO) and United Nations Volunteers (UNV), yesterday made public a report on the analysis of volunteering in Guyana.
The publication offers strategies to be implemented with the aim of quantifying and enhancing volunteerism locally and is the result of the three agencies working together, through research, to find and recommend what could better volunteerism.
Speaking on the occasion, at the Umana Yana, in Kingston, Georgetown, Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport, Dr. Frank Anthony maintained that volunteerism is important as it relates to a country’s development.
He said it is his belief that more can be done in this sector, noting that yesterday’s programme brings with it an enabling opportunity.
“Volunteerism works are not quantified… this here is the opportunity to do so, to discuss ways in which we could quantify and how we can quantify among others,” Anthony explained.
He pointed out that volunteerism is not new to Guyana, since it has been happening for a very long time. “While we have the traditions, there is need for better coordination of efforts…we need to focus and divide our resources in the highest way.”
Anthony said, during the research, they spoke about building a platform that led the team forward in this direction, as they already have in their possession the theoretical proposal to move ahead.
He mentioned two instances when volunteerism stood out in Guyana, at the time of hosting World Cup Cricket and CARIFESTA X.
“The hosting of Cricket World Cup we could not do it by ourselves, we had to bring in persons to help us. We had to get 300 persons to work in and around the stadium, providing seats and hospitality among other things,” Anthony disclosed.
He said that, with the 15,000 people expected in Guyana during that period, the job could not have been done without the right number of persons. “Since we were expecting lots of visitors, we wanted them to learn more about Guyana and so we started to train an additional 1,000 persons to assist in this regard.“

Success              

Anthony said, through volunteering programmes, enough persons came out, which led to the success of the event.
“These persons worked all day without anything but the uniforms from us and, because of their tremendous help, Guyana was recognised by the International Cricket Council for having the best, in terms of hospitality, among the other countries that were used as venues for the World Cup Cricket,” he revealed, adding that the volunteers did rise to the occasion that time, among many other times.
About CARIFEST X, Anthony said Guyana decided to do something on a different scale, which would include a minimum of 100 events per region for ten days.
According to him, “People said it was impossible and it was a difficult task. We weren’t paying people but we were encouraging people to volunteer and we had literally more than 1,000 persons working with us and we were successful.”
He said, if the job had required payment of persons to get it done, it would have been highly impossible, since there was not enough resources.
“It is for this reason that Dominica didn’t go through with it, because they hadn’t enough resources to work through the challenges and so they gave it up,” Anthony stated.
He said the power of volunteerism has been recognised and it is this support that makes the world a better place, little by little.
“People come out and give their support and make it successful. There are other little events we can talk about, too. People have been working in these little organisations and all make a difference,” he said.

Difference 

Anthony posited that, while these volunteers may be doing small tasks around the country, it still makes a difference in the lives of many in the long run, even if it is not seen.
“Later on, it will benefit the child and the input will be recognised by the country or the people of the communities,” he remarked.
Anthony said that this is something Guyana should have more in its society, since it is proven to be a positive factor in the country’s development.
He said that his ministry will be working with the VSO further to ensure that strategies are implemented to upgrade volunteerism in Guyana and it is his hope to see this sector ahead of things in years to come.
Anthony said that volunteer involving organisations in Guyana have a wealth of experience based on the grassroots learning, community mobilisation and a long history of tradition and experience of collective actions under the difficult circumstances.
While volunteerism is fundamental to and sustains the Voluntary Sector, it also reaches into public and private sectors. In a truly enabling environment, relationships are built on collaboration and respect among all three sectors, he reflected.
The Minister observed that volunteers have, over the years, been working across a range of thematic sectors including education, youth, children disability, health, HIV/AIDS, livelihoods, social welfare and disaster preparedness, among many other areas.
He said the Voluntary Sector has been contributing, significantly, to all the UN development goals and Guyana’s national development goals. They focus, primarily, on delivering non-technical social services, including training in vocational, livelihood and life skills, literacy, school support, income generation projects, among others.
Volunteerism has made and continues to make immeasurable contribution to Guyana’s development, nationally, regionally and in communities. But there is a definite opinion among volunteer involving organisations in Guyana that volunteerism could be more involved, be more effective, access greater potential and increase its impact and influence on development strategy by moving to a higher level.