No matter which are the circumstances, volunteers from all over the world, from all ages and social backgrounds, always end up making the difference.
From natural disasters like the recent earthquake that hit central Italy where the actions of volunteers strikingly resemble the courageous gestures of Nepali citizens in the aftermath of the quakes in 2015 to the ongoing Paralympics games in Rio de Janeiro, the power of volunteers is undisputable and yet at the same time, their contributions are hardly recognized and properly celebrated.
It is quite easy to think of volunteerism or service as it is often called in the United States as “use and throw” emergency toolkit that, while always making the difference, is also easily disposable.
After all, over the world there are not many countries that have set in place a proper regulatory framework to govern the volunteering sector.
While on the one hand, the governments around the world are always appreciative of the services provided by volunteers, on the other hand, most of them are always quite short at formally and most importantly substantially recognizing and celebrating the achievements of volunteers.
Certainly there are exceptions to this trend, especially in developed nations. For example in Canada, the Governor General, the representative of the Queen in the country and de facto the head of state, every year, awards the Sovereign Medal for Volunteers, the highest service recognition in the coutry.
To remain within the Commonwealth, Australia, a nation with an incredible high number of volunteers, has a strong and vibrant tradition in celebrating and recognizing the gestures of volunteers.
Many of its states and territories have specialized agencies, born out of partnerships between local governments and charities, to foster, support, evaluate and recognize local volunteering actions.
This means that the Australians were able to invest in a so called “volunteering infrastructure” that offers the highest operating standards to promote and implement volunteering actions, from legislation to financing, making it possible an extensive localized volunteering support centers.
In the United Kingdom, you will find the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service that every year recognizes hundreds of individuals and not for profit organizations promoting positive social changes through the mobilization of volunteers like the Emmaus Salford active in the homelessness sector or Veterans at Ease who offers services for veterans and their families.
The American President is also very active through the President’s Volunteer Service Award (PVSA) and the entire administration is supported by a specialized service promoting agency like the Corporation for National and Community Service, mandated by a strong body of legislation, in facilitating volunteerism throughout the nation in partnerships with the states ‘own initiatives promoting service locally.
The most important aspect of all these initiatives is that oftentimes they are targeting small local organizations run by volunteers themselves with zero or very limited overheads rather than the big not for profit organizations.
The awards are themselves symbolic: for example in the case of the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service, the winners get a certificate signed by the Queen and a domed glass crystal.
This feature is very important to consider especially for developing countries like Nepal who are lagging behind in terms of promotion and recognition of volunteering efforts.
The message is clear: to boost the morale of volunteers and celebrate their contributions to the nation, you do not need monetary remuneration or financial awards.
In countries like Nepal, we should really break with a tradition of” allowance dependence” when we want to gratify local volunteers that actually, in many cases, act not as volunteers but as unpaid or underpaid workers in a clear violation of their rights.
It is also true that often times persons are so desperate to get connected or engaged with an organization that do not really mind to pass as volunteers even if they are not.
This scenario could change if we try to replicate the examples of volunteerism celebrations seen earlier.
For example, the last big event that happened to promote the sector was the launch, at the presence of then President Ran Baran Yadav, of the State of the World's Volunteerism Report in 2011 published by UNV, the specialized UN program on volunteerism.
The time is ripe for a serious introspection of what can be done in the promotion of volunteerism in the country.
There are plenty of not for profit organizations, national and international who mobilizes volunteers in the country.
Organizing a national version of volunteering award, could offer the opportunity to re-energize the sector and set forwards a new roadmap to unleash the truly untapped power of volunteers for a more developed and inclusive Nepal.
There are ongoing discussions about organizing the award in Nepal and hopefully the initiative could be a watermark for volunteerism in Nepal.
The National Development Volunteering Service, NDVS, is the only national program entirely focused on volunteerism but its mandate needs to be revisited and strengthened.
UNV, together with other international bilateral and not for profits and national organizations promoting volunteering, is in the best position to assist the govern to create the conditions for a stronger national framework supporting volunteering.
The organization of the award could offer new momentum and therefore all efforts into this ambitious endeavor should be praised and encouraged and possibly the private sector should join the initiative.
The idea of an award in Nepal is certainly not new but it is undoubtedly the right time to put it into practice not just as standing alone event for the upcoming International Volunteer Day, celebrated on the 5th December of each year, but as the beginning of a new journey to make Nepal a truly service inspired nation.
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