A Volunteer's Handbook.

1. WHAT ABOUT VOLUNTEERING?
Many people have asked these questions constantly, what is volunteering, why do I need to volunteer, where can I volunteer, what’s in it for me if I volunteer, would I get paid for volunteering? Volunteering in very simple terms is giving your time, resource and skill towards serving and adding value in the community and environment without expecting any financial gain in return; although some organizations may choose to give stipends. This may sound very strange to understand especially since you are not getting paid for your efforts. The benefits that come with volunteering are immense. The US secretary of labor Hilda Solis has this to say about volunteering “volunteerism can be a way to help unemployed workers expand their network of contacts, improve their résumés, and make a positive impression in a competitive job market.” I understand that the economic situation in the country makes volunteering very difficult, in all sincerity the pros that come with volunteering outweigh the cons. I also didn’t find it very easy when I started volunteering but passion kept me going. A lot of people want to volunteer but they need to see reasons why and they need to also understand what’s in it for them. The impact volunteers make in communities is so enormous that the international community celebrates volunteers with a special volunteer day on the 5th of December every year.

2. WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF VOLUNTEERING?

• It creates opportunities

Thanks to volunteering you come in contact with lots of people in the community, many of them highly placed people. I tell you volunteering opens doors and creates opportunities. For instance thanks to my volunteering experience I have become a volunteer with the African Union (AU) under the African Union Youth Volunteer Corp (AU-YVC) awaiting deployment with the corp. The AY-YVC is a yearly volunteer program by the African Union where you work with the AU for a year as a volunteer in another part of Africa.
When applying for opportunities they usually request for community activity and these are things that count for community participation because you have taken up responsibility in your community.

• It is “work experience”

Many people graduate from school without the requisite work experience especially in our society where you need a minimum of 2 years work experience. Through volunteering you get to be under authority and work with other people in teams, handle assigned tasks and take up responsibility. These are the core attributes organizations want

• It is added value

Volunteering isn’t just about giving time, it is adding value. You not only give value, you also get value. You build capacity, you develop your skills.

• It creates a platform for networking

Thanks to volunteering you get to meet a lot of people from several spheres of life. Many of them professional people with excellent careers. Through volunteering you meet passionate young people who are change maker and development leaders

• You build friendships

This is one of the easiest ways to build friendships especially outside your circle of friends and community. You make friends from different backgrounds who share similar interests and goals

• You develop life skills

There is so much the classroom cannot teach you; especially life skills like the ability to work in teams, respect the opinions of others, make friends, handle pressure etc. through volunteering you build life skills that are essential for your personal and career development.

• It is fun

I remember the first time I got on a canoe to makoko with slum to school Africa, singing education education is my friend. That trip lasted maybe about an hour till we got to the floating school very close to third mainland bridge. It was an amazing experience I tell you. Volunteering is a lot of fun.

3. VOLUNTEERING DOS AND DONTS

•    Do not allow anyone take advantage of you because you are a volunteer

•   Do not go to volatile places where your safety is not guaranteed

•   Have a clear understanding and agreement of the volunteer agreement before embarking on the volunteer role

•   After your community also put yourself next because while you add value to the community you add value to yourself

•   Volunteering is not a platform for eye-service for the world to know you are serving it is a platform for community service

•   If you are going to volunteer think of sustainability

•   Value yourself, don’t let anyone treat you like you mean nothing

•   Socialize!!!! Don’t stay in your shell, come out and socialize

•   Develop new skills

 

4. HOW DO YOU SUSTAIN YOURSELF FINANCIALLY WHEN VOLUNTEERING? Sustaining yourself financially can be challenging sometimes. It is advisable to take on volunteering either as a part time role and not full time. There are also a few other organizations that provide stipends for volunteers. However, this is largely dependent on the policy of the organization. Before you choose to volunteer with any organization, please understand what the policy regarding volunteers in that organization is about.

5. HOW DO YOU WRITE GOOD APPLICATIONS?
Writing a good application requires time, patience, understanding and research. You need to understand the concept and context of the opening, job, role, conference etc. before applying. This would help guide your application. You do not start an application and finish it once. You will need to have several drafts that you can review severally. Research on the topic of discussion or program and apply your findings to your application. It would help greatly. Properly construct your sentences, avoid using a lot of “I” and “my”. Ask someone else to help you review your applications as well.

6. HOW AND WHERE DO YOU FIND OPPORTUNITIES?
 

• There are several sites that you can search for opportunities. These are a few of them

www.pro-volunteer.com
Www.opportunitydesk.org
Www.opportunitiesforafricans.com
Youthhubafrica.org
Mladiinfo.eu
Heysuccess.com
Youthop.com
Chances4.me
aisec.org
Officialchange.com
Peacechild.org
Idealist.org
Polscijobs.info
Tigweb.org
Voicesofyouth.org
Peacerevolution.net
Aeyco.com
Youthpolicy.org
Scholars4dev.com

• For free online courses

Usip.com
Edx.org
Coursera.org
Alison.com

• Examples of Organizations.

A. Mercy corp
B. VSO Nigeria
C. United Nations Volunteers (UNV)
D. Slum2School Africa
E. StayInSchoolNg
F. HOPE
G. One African Child
H. Dreams from the slum
I. Aid for Rural Education Access Initiative (AreaI)
J. Beyond The Classroom
K. Atlas corp
7. PLEASE RECOMMEND PLACES TO VOLUNTEER IN ABUJA
At the moment I don’t know any opportunity in Abuja, the options listed above may however, provide you with information as to volunteering opportunities in Abuja.
8. HOW DO I KNOW WHAT OPPORTUNITIES TO APPLY FOR?
Your interests would help to guide the kind of opportunities you apply for. The opportunities span through different areas of our lives, education, health, justice, information , technology and so on. Carefully study the available opportunities and pick based on your interest or willingness to try new things which is very important.
 9. ARE ALL VOLUNTEERING OPPORTUNITIES UNPAID?Not necessarily. You can find some that are paid.


PLEASE NOTE THAT THE DETAILS PROVIDED ABOVE ARE  BASED ON MY PERSONAL EXPERIENCE AND ARE NOT CAST IN STONE OR AN ENDORSEMENT OF ANY OF THE ORGANIZATIONS LISTED ABOVE. PLEASE BE GUIDED. 

We look forward to seeing your volunteering testimonies on the blog. 
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COMRADE OR FOE

Partnership For the Goals

Much has been said about the global goals, a lot has been done and guess what? So much more can be done.

Many still do not understand the relevance of the goals or why the UN and its agencies expect everyone to take actions on these goals. I had an argument with someone this week who went on and on about how nobody has a duty to fulfill any of these mandates as the actions many take especially nations to this extent are purely political (to what extent is this true )? Before we get carried away with the political undertones and the ensuing shenanigans, it's important to take a careful look at the goals, the supporting facts and targets here. You will find out that they are clear representations of all the challenges we face as humans in our daily lives regardless of race, gender or geographical location. For this reason, it is important that we all,that is; everyone pays attention to these goals to get them to their promised land by the year 2030! Can I get an Amen?!

EVERYBODY? Now that's a big question? Who is everybody? Lol. The government ?✖️, Adults ?✖️, Youths?✖️Children ? ✖️Women?✖️, Men?✖️so who? A Combination of all these people? Absolutely ✔️💯. You inclusive! Yes YOU.

Your partnership for the goals needs not be expensive, you can simply take action related to any of the goals in your environment or on a large scale depending on your ability and understanding of the need to meet these goals. The world stands in a delicate position if these goals are not met. Our love for the environment and gratitude to the Creator of the world and the blessings we have received from the world should prompt us to take action! ( aww! Look who's getting all sentimental!).

The beauty of the trees, the oceans, the food (my best friend ❤️), money you've made in your years of existence (don't say you are broke please! Lol!), beautiful cities and scenery, beautiful people all around you! Family, friends and most importantly, unborn kids! Should propel you to act, to save the world no matter how little. The beauty of little actions is that they cause great change!

You can take these easy steps;

1. Find a goal that you are interested in or one through which you will like to make a change. (Example, Goal 4 on Quality Education).
2. Research the status quo as regards the goal in your local community. This will give you insight into the lacuna and what can be done. (Children hawking during school hours hence their absence in school).
3. Think of ways you can solve the problem. (Organise a talk on the imperative of education or a fun activity for the children on the need for education, or  Report to law enforcement agencies)
4. Can you do this alone? if yes! Brilliant! if no, talk to people around you who can work with you to create a change.
5. Be the change (Discourage hawking, do not buy commodities from children and discourage people from purchasing from children, create time during the week or weekends to teach the children without a fee).
6. See the change and do more.

All our previous posts highlight very easy ways to partner with the goals, please take some time out to go through the goals and the possible actions. You can do as little as pick up litter! How interesting.

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Hey! Water Waster!

Do you agree with me that there is no better feeling than having water in your life when you need it the most? What beats the feeling of a cold shower after a long day under the hot sun?! Or a nice hot bath when the weather is so cold you develop frozen teeth or better still cold water to quench a long term thirst! I need not go any further! You all get the feeling of bliss already.

Water is a basic need for every human being, it is so basic that many who have it fail to pay attention to the possibility of the lack of it. However, the embarrassing reality about water is revealed in a report by the United Nations published in commemoration of the World Water Day that "there are still over 3 billion people who lack basic access to clean water and proper sanitation – of those, 663 million people lack access to drinking water; 2.4 billion people lack access to improved sanitation and 1.1 billion still practice open defecation, spreading disease." I'm sure you agree with me that this is an embarrassing fact.

The need for everyone to take action no matter how little to reduce the embarrassing statistics as regards lack of water in the world can be met through collaborative efforts. Our efforts need not be too intense given our limitations as individuals to this extent we suggest 5 simple ways to reduce our water wasting habits.

1. Use no more than you need.
As soothing as that nice bath may be, do not leave the shower running while it's not  in use (figure it out, I can't teach you how to take a shower! Lol). If it's a bucket shower on the other hand, pour no more water than you need ( flee from the habit of carrying the bucket and pouring the water from your head! Trust me I know how beautiful it feels to do that).

2. Drink Enough not Excess.
Medically, the amount of water an individual needs per day has been stipulated, no matter how water greedy  you get, or how cold that bottle of water is do not drink it if your intentions are to have it just as you see it.

3. Recycle Water.
You can use the same amount of water for different purposes. Do not pour water away without thinking of something else that can be done with it.

4. Commit to providing water for a community that lacks it .
It may be by the provision of water for members of the community at strategic points in the community, or by advocacy through campaigns centered around getting leaders or concerned organizations to provide water for the community.

5. Effective Water Disposal 
How you dispose of your waste water is also important. Do not dispose water through channels that are hazardous to the environment. We must bear in mind the fact that as much as water is a blessing to anyone that has it, if not properly managed, it may become a curse a classic example is the wrecking effect of a flood.

Let us all rethink the way we use water and manage the waste we create from the use of water given its importance in the world and the harmful effects of the misuse and mismanagement of it. We are all necessary parties for the achievement of the SDGS, The achievement of Goal 6 on Clean Water and Sanitation is a mandate for everyone! Let's all work hard to get this goal popping!

Thank you for taking time to read and share this post. Should you have any questions, comments or suggestions do not hesitate to use the comment box.

Please visit and follow us on our social media accounts:

Facebook: The Nineteen Initiative
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Twitter: @19_thenineteen.

THIS BLOG claims no credit for any images posted on this site unless otherwise noted. Images on this blog are copyright to its respectful owners. If there is an image appearing on this blog that belongs to you and do not wish for it appear on this site, please E-mail with a link to said image and it will be promptly removed.