December 5 is International Volunteer Day (IVD), something which I know a lot about, as I’ve been a CUSO and VSO volunteer since March 2009. For most of my adult life I’ve worked in the NGO and local government sectors in the United States. While living in the US I spent many hours volunteering; whether it was serving on various boards of directors, assisting with the local farmers’ market, serving at a food cooperative or coaching my son’s basketball team. (I never did make it as a “den mother” for my daughter’s girl scouts, ke garne?)
Volunteering, was something that, for whatever reasons, became part of my life at a very young age. I remember wanting to become a dentist and immediately start serving in the Peace Corps. This wasn’t necessarily, as President Kennedy said, “Ask not what your country can do for you, but for what you can do for your country”, but had more to do with something deep inside of my soul.
My father has been a “volunteer” role model for me and continues to be as, at 84, he has been volunteering for the last 14 years on an annual fundraiser, “Fun with Chalk” in Orange County, California, in order to raise needed funds for school art programs. But my father is always willing to take “up the cause” and in June 2013 was able to gather donations of 50 kg of children’s books which I brought to Nepal to give to two VSO Education volunteers in Myagdi in order to start a library. My father is continuing this quest to get more English children’s books to Nepal once he resolves transportation issues.
My son, who is a monk, volunteers in another way, through serving. This has inspired me to think more about why I volunteer, again in a deeper way, i.e. through serving humanity. It isn’t so much about taking care of others. But has more to do with given my “privilege” in life, of having been raised in a middle class family in California, having been provided with the opportunity to attend graduate school and good jobs, now being able to take my life skills and help others with what they feel they need.
Due to my volunteer experience, thanks to CUSO and VSO, first in India from March 2009-February 2012 and now in Nepal since June 2012, I feel more connected and have more of an understanding of diversity. To me, international volunteering is just as challenging, if not more, than my work was in the US. In fact volunteering is more than a job as I’m constantly finding new opportunities to help and I don’t take things for granted.
Through volunteering for three years at the National Trust, Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Government of India, I was able to facilitate the very first India wide disability awareness raising campaign, Badhte Kadam, now in its fifth year, was able to travel all over India conducting NGO capacity building workshops and led the development of numerous strategic plans. I also was able to facilitate an international wheelchair basketball clinic with Wheelchair Athletes Worldwide. In Nepal I’ve worked on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) issues and done a tremendous amount of media work, blogging on Huffington Post-UK and Sharing4good.org, as well as writing for the local press and hosting a TV Show on Nepal TV. I’ve also taken up co-coaching the Nepal Army Wheelchair Basketball Team, am involved with starting up new teams and mentoring young Nepalis in becoming coaches, which I find to be true development work.
International volunteering has enabled me to become a world citizen and make friends from all over the world, something which I will always treasure, something that has helped to enrich my life in ways that I might not even be aware of. It has also provided me with incredible opportunities which never would have come about in the US. Mostly though I’ve learned to think more broadly and most importantly can ask others, what is it that they need, rather than me telling them what I think they need.
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