UN: Volunteers need better networking to solve problems
UN: Volunteers need better networking to solve problems
JAKARTA (JP): Better networking among organizations of
volunteers is needed to share experiences to solve common
problems such as funding and overlapping, activists said on
Friday.
Program officer of the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) Menchie
O. Caramat told The Jakarta Post, "There are actually many
corporate sectors who are willing (to help with funding) but
other volunteering organizations don't know how to approach
them."
She was a speaker at a workshop focusing on voluntarism in
Indonesia, facilitated by the Jakarta office of the United
Nations Development Program (UNDP).
Networking will also avoid the overlapping of areas and places
in which organizations work in, Caramat added.
Caramat cited that volunteers from UNV overlapped with others
from the Indonesian chapter of the international Voluntary
Service Overseas (VSO) during an assignment to Eastern Indonesia.
This was due to a lack of communication, she said, without
elaborating.
UNV programs in Indonesia include improving sanitation
facilities, upgrading vocational and technology training,
promoting health care, maternal care and child nutrition.
The workshop highlighted various volunteering activities in
the country. These include the distribution of food to the urban
poor, informal education for street children and day care for
babies in slums by the Youth End Hunger organization, and the
improvement of the quality of life of HIV-positive people by the
Spiritia Foundation.
The workshop was held ahead of the International Year of
Volunteers in 2001.
Jens Behrendt, the program specialist of the UNV headquarters
in Bonn, Germany, said the celebration of voluntarism reflected
actions coming from people's initiatives throughout the world,
without waiting for government instructions.
Anne-Birgitte Albrectsen, the UNDP deputy resident
representative, said voluntarism was important given Indonesia's
"tremendous transitions".
Rinto of the Voluntary Team for Humanity described how command
posts for victims were set up spontaneously following various
tragedies in the capital since July 1996.
This was when many people went missing after the violent
takeover of the headquarters of the Indonesian Democratic Party.
The team was formed after the May 1998 riots and the shooting of
students at Trisakti University which preceded the fall of former
president Soeharto.
The volunteers, who were reportedly targets of harassment,
among other things, distributed medical aid and logistic support,
and also provided information about the latest developments for
the May victims.
Caramat said more exposure of volunteering activities was
needed to help mobilize people to join.
The president of the Jakarta International Association for
Volunteer Efforts (JIAVE) Nurhayati A. Assegaff said that "many
of these activities have gone unnoticed due to their low
profile".
Caramat said people should know how important and rewarding it
is to voluntarily work to promote other people's lives.
"I'm a Filipino and I've been working for the UNV in Indonesia
for more than three years. I have had no regrets at all once you
see the fruits of your efforts," she said. (08)