Caesar Molabatsi keynote at the 20th IAVE World Volunteer Conference, Panama 2008

In recent years we have seen a widening gap between the rich and the poor, between rich and powerful nations and the poor ones in the developing world. This gap is often seen only in light of the myriad of statistics that denotes faceless people and thus many of our compatriots remain aloof and unmoved. What volunteerism does is to experience this phenomenon as a reality, with real people, facing real problems, for whom we believe there are real solutions. These solutions can only be mediated effectively through the selfless and unrelenting commitment of a value-driven volunteer.

In the world of globalization, it is always important in gatherings like this, to establish, from the onset, what we mean when we use such lofty words as volunteerism…

Definitions
For the worlds to be meaningful, meanings must be contextually derived, and not behave as if one definition fits all. Context in this case is key.

Poverty

1. Poverty then, in any context is the state of having little or no resources and few or no material possessions.
2. Poverty is a condition in which a person or community is deprived of , or lacks the essentials for a minimum standard of well-being and life.
3. The condition of being without adequate food, money, influence, networks and access to materials.
4. A situation in which a person or household lacks the resources necessary to be able to afford a reasonable minimum of goods. The minimum consists either of food, clothing, housing and other essentials (moderate poverty) or of food alone (extreme poverty).
5. The World Bank holds that poverty is a state of living on less than $2 a day.

These concepts of poverty are what is very well known, and to some extent accepted by most practitioners and volunteers, but tonight I would like to add another perspective that is often overlooked in discussions around poverty, and that is the process of impoverishment. Often in the sea of prosperity, people, communities and sometimes nations, spiral into the abyss of abject poverty that has resulted from: 

1. The erosion of assets, both national and personal (sub-prime mortgages in the US, oil in the Sudan, timber in most parts of equatorial Africa.
2. Lack of resourcefulness as a result of poor education, organization, discipline, and planning.
3. Feminization of poverty thus further disempowering already disempowered women and the girl child.
4. Disregard of the efforts of the beneficiaries. Volunteerism and activities of self giving happens all the time in the poor communities, the difficulty has been to systematize those activities, such that they can have global significance. To ignore this phenomenon, has created a culture of givers and receivers and has stifled any mutuality, whereby the givers ultimately suffer from “donor fatigue”.

When you are volunteering in an impoverished situation, the principle of mutuality enables you to be empowered by the people to whom you have brought empowerment, because you are able to feed from each other’s plate. No matter how poor a person might be, they will always have something to give, a kindness, a show of gratitude, advice, creating an environment within which your gifts a as volunteer will be appreciated and maximized. Because in many situations, people who need help, happen to know what help they need.

What do we mean when we talk about solidarity?

1. Solidarity refers to the feeling and fostering of unity based on common goals, purposes, interests, and sympathies. It is an activity that promotes and helps to create socials relationships based on justice and equality. It is not possible to be in solidarity unless you develop the ability to empathize, to walk in someone’s shoes and see life through their eyes. Solidarity leaves no room for feelings of superiority, but humility that refuses to be trapped in the murky waters of cultural imperialism.
2. Solidarity has the idea of “standing together”, entering into each other’s sufferings, with empathy, being committed to establish the alternative for the disadvantaged, disempowered, depersonalized, and the dehumanized in our society.

Volunteerism
Volunteerism on the other hand is the willingness of people to work on behalf of others without the expectation of pay or tangible gain. Volunteers can be specialists with training as rescuers, guides, assistants, teachers, missionaries, amateur radio operations and writers.

So when one gives or offers to give assistance voluntarily, perform or offer to perform a service of one’s own free will, or do charitable or helpful work without pay, one is considered to be a volunteer.

Definition of formal volunteering
Formally, volunteering is an activity which takes place through “not for profit” organizations or projects and is undertaken: 

• to be of benefit to the community and the individuals; at the volunteer’s own free will and without coercion; and for no financial payment; but the return for such a volunteer would be a sense of good being accomplished and acknowledged as such.

Principles of volunteering to consider in addition to the many that are in your various volunteer training manuals include: 

1. Empowerment must be at the top of the thinking of a volunteer, the idea of working yourself out of a job must apply at all times, volunteering is not an opportunity to have a sustained involvement that gives the volunteer a sense of value, volunteering must benefit the community.
2. Since volunteering is out of choice, it must have a sense of mission about it.
3. Volunteering respects the rights, dignity and culture of others therefore must embrace the idea of accountability not only to your donors, but to the people on whose behalf volunteering is undertaken.
4. The purpose for volunteering must always be upper most in our minds …we are to deal with the gap and give poor communities the opportunity to take their rightful place in the community of nations. It is not necessary for me to reiterate the gaps that exist in the world, since they are well known.

The gap
The worst aspect of this gap is the extent to which we are ignorant of what is really taking place in the world, what our neighbors are going through, how the situation in many of these instances is getting worse and not better and more devastatingly, how we might be unwitting contributors to the widening of this gap because of our lack of knowledge. An old sage in the Old Testament of the Christian Bible, lamented that … “My people perish because of lack of knowledge…”

When we get caught in supporting the geo politics of our nations that seek to ensure our success and prosperity and security at the expense of the poor and downtrodden, when we cease to be that voice that stands up in the face of rampant globalization that impoverishes nations and destroys fledgling democracies, we are guilty of widening the gap.

This gap is maintained by feeding the publics with sanitized news sound bites that are meant to bolster the political fortunes and economic opportunities for the powerful.

Countering the gaps
How do we counter, and fight against the gap? Through volunteerism.

What kind of volunteerism?

1. Radical volunteerism: what we are suggesting here is that there is no longer room for ‘business as usual’ volunteerism, we need to show and commit to an aggressive volunteerism that is a s powerful as any army ever assembled on earth to combat evil anywhere with the resolve of a people under threat
2. Purposeful volunteerism, a goal based on a vision for, and of, the world, in other words, what kind of world do we strive for and why?
3. Volunteerism driven by solidarity.

How do we counter, and fight against the gap? Through a call to solidarity…What kind of solidarity? 

1. Solidarity that goes beyond the public demonstration, settling for the long haul. Solidarity to be enduring must be lifted up beyond the current short term orientation of a lot of NGO work and plans. We must treat our volunteerism as an investment that needs time to mature, so that even as we are going wide, we create an atmosphere where the roots of what we have done and are doing will go deep. And produce fruit that lasts.
2. Solidarity that believes in mutuality. That says “… with us, and not just for us… nothing for us without us …”
3. Solidarity that has the idea of “standing together” entering into each other’s sufferings, demonstrating the ability to empathize, being committed to establish the alternative for the disadvantaged, disempowered, depersonalized, and dehumanized in our society.
4. Solidarity that is not driven by the temporal ideals and objectives but informed by values and principles that transcends our geo politics and self interests but steeped in a sense of justice, righteousness and mercy. A morality, a sense of right and wrong that is moved by the things that moves the heart of God, a solidarity that cries out, here I stand I can do no other, I’d rather die, because when we have something to die for we will have something to live for. 

Finally, we must have volunteerism for human development. What does it mean to volunteer for human development?

If we understand that development is not about building toilets in the fields, making provision for feeding schemes, running ambulance ministries for disabled, disenfranchised and dehumanized, all things that are important and must be done but that development is essentially about creating an environment for capacitating through:

• Educating
• Enabling
• Organizing individuals and groups to determine and participate in their own sustainable economies and environments. This would mean orientating people towards growth, self-motivation,
• Disciplining, and
• Planning while
• Promoting the possibilities and
• Envisioning and giving people purpose

… Keeping hope alive
As a volunteer you are supposed to keep hope alive. Moving people from survivalist mindsets to a mindset of co-creation, where the volunteer and the beneficiary, sits together to do long-term plans that will give a reason to look forward to the future, e.g. the Olive Tree Campaign. We as volunteers have a task as volunteers to light millions of candles in the darkness so that the rays of a better future shine bright for people of the world.

Thank you!!!