How should you volunteer?

Since we have covered WHY you should volunteer, let's cover HOW to volunteer? I'll be covering Volunteering etiquette. NGO s receive tons of volunteer applications from students and after speaking with many NGO founders I've come to know that most of the time volunteers end up wasting their time instead of helping out unintentionally so hopefully this article will help prospective volunteers know how to help NGOs. I've included statements from Trishul's CEO, Mr Asif Ebhrahim Mahzad and his views and experience with volunteers.

It is wonderful that you want to volunteer. But first, you should know how much time you can commit. Do you want to volunteer for only one day, a couple of hours, once in a week for a duration of few months or volunteer on all working days working 6 hours a day for a month or two, so-on-and-so-forth? If you want to volunteer for one day then look out for cleaning drives, tree plantations, one-day awareness campaigns etc.

But do note, in such one-day events, crowd management, managing resources and communicating effectively is sometimes difficult. Instead of complaining about how things could have been better managed, make the best use of the space available to make yourself useful.

Regular Schedule in Volunteering

If you want to volunteer more regularly, first ask yourself, if you have the time and will to commit consistent volunteer support for 2-6 months at the very least. Then assess if you have the skills that match your NGO’s needs. It creates havoc when volunteer turnaround is high. Because every time a new volunteer comes in, he/she has to be trained, guided in the area of work, and it is exhausting for the NGO staff/team to put in time and energy to train volunteers who won't commit.

I remember trying to connect some of the student applicants from a degree college background who wanted to volunteer at Trishul Learning Centre to conduct few Math and Science teaching session for children. The first thing I was asked was about the length and regularity of the volunteer time. I was surprised that she was hesitant. Later I realized that students in the Centre come to learn with passion and when the volunteer-teachers don’t show up their energy sags.

-Mr Asif (CEO of Trishul)

Just Volunteer—Don’t Expect Returns

''When you begin volunteering with an NGO, please do not expect them to be grateful to you and shower you with flowery praises. It is wonderful you are giving your time but so are they.''

They have often committed their careers and personal life to the cause. This is especially true for small NGOs with limited staff support. One staff person often has multiple jobs and is stressed for time and energy.

I am often exhausted with the number of questions and the constant tugging on the sleeve that happens when an over-eager volunteer shows up. Buddy, I thought you were here to help, not become an extra set of chores.

Recently, I connected few volunteers to our Trishul Women Empowerment Program - Program Head (TWEP mainly focused on Skill Development and Livelihood Generation). I found that the program coordinator as very hesitant although was an experienced in working with NGOs. The reason was, helping the student volunteer to transition to the new cultural norms and then be able to provide useful service to the organization takes a long time and drains the resources and energy of the NGO. After being assured that the intern would get adequate cultural training, the coordinator relented.

- Mr Asif Cultural Sensitivity

As a volunteer, if you enter specific communities like HIV-infected children or the disabled population or a slum area, please first study the issues thoroughly and understand the cultural etiquette of the group. NGOs ideally should organize diversity orientation workshops to sensitize volunteers to the community culture—the need to respect different ways of being and living.

For example, the children living in slums or orphans do not want to be pitied. Rather, you behave with them the way you would with any other children from economically well-off society. Cultural sensitivity is super crucial when volunteers travel to slums or rural areas or work with marginal populations.

I once had taken a bunch of student volunteers on a project in a poor neighborhood without adequate training. I went on to regret it because students entered the community with a “know-it-all” and “I-will-save-you” attitude and it deeply offended the community representatives. I once shuddered when a young man gave a speech in a village which was something along these lines: “Today is a wonderful day for you all. People from the cities who work in big places have taken time off to come to your village and explain how this issue affects all of you. Hence you must listen carefully.” Don’t people in the village work? Is their work anyway lesser than ours? Aren’t the farmers the backbone of our country? Isn’t it true that we get to eat at reasonable economics because of them? The point is, we need to remember each person has their place in the world.

Volunteering brings joy to your life. It helps you find like-minded friends and community. It makes evenings and weekends more purposeful and happy. Find an NGO today and offer your time and skills. Change happens, one step at a time.

How to Win Trust

I have learned through many failures that the first step to enacting change is to win the trust of the community that you are working for. You cannot show off your knowledge, your “liberated” status, your clothes, or your lifestyle. Instead, you become humble and adapt to their clothes and lifestyle without giving up your core values.

What helps is listening, empathizing, caring, and doing hands-on work. When you are allowed to become a friend of the community, then you can suggest changes. But again, your suggestions may be accepted or not. You need to persevere.

When you enter into volunteering, please do not expect significant impact to occur in your term or sometimes even in your lifetime. Change is slow, painful and complex. Sometimes change happens years after you leave. But know this that every push, every sweat has made its way to make that change possible.

Volunteering also requires shedding of ego and willingness to do the most menial of tasks. It helps if you use volunteering as a detox process and spiritual growth.

Fundraising

Most NGOs that are doing real work need funds. That’s where they need volunteers. But if you are fundraising, make it a point to follow it up to see if the money has been used properly and prefer to see documentation in this regard. You should be insistent on this point and never raise funds for a group or project where systems of reporting back or accounting is weak. The money needs to go to the beneficiary—there must be results.

Volunteering is a wonderful way to mature as a person. As much as you give, you also receive within. You become calmer, less depressed, and more joyful. You also become more skilled in interpersonal and networking skills, in teamwork and in managing rapidly changing situations. I become a better person every time I volunteer.

If you are not already volunteering, please give it a try. It definitely is worth your time!