A volunteer is a person who gives her time freely to commit to a special cause : environmental cause, education, medecine, human rights… He responds to a special need, and his role is, in general, to improve the well being of the population by further education, creating infrastructures to welcome poor people, or refugees… The volunteer is a humble and available person and his commitment can take different shapes.
European Voluntary Corps, International Voluntary Service, Woofing, Workaway, there are a lot of ways to become a volunteer. Volunteering with first-hand experience in organic farms for a few weeks to several months with the Workaway and woofing or volunteering work with NGO, social or environmental associations with the European Voluntary Corps or the International Voluntary Service. Most of those volunteering can be done abroad but also in your own city, a lot of associations are looking for volunteers a few times per week to give food to people for example.
Some volunteers are directly in contact with the danger like “The white helmet”, a volunteer organization that operates in parts of opposition-controlled Syria and in Turkey. They are symbolized by their white helmets, they are bakers, engineers, teachers and they left their employment to rescue the population and evacuate them from the dangerous areas. They risk their life for human rights, for liberty.
Becoming a volunteer is just a question of dive, it’s not a question of diploma or money. Everyone can become a volunteer, You, Me, Us and Them.
As an actual volunteer, I will recommend this experience to everyone. It’s the best way to know more about yourself, and about others. Feeling useful while learning new things, it’s a life lesson that everyone should experience. On The 5th of December 2022, the entire world would celebrate the “International Volunteer Day”. The occasion to shine a light on this human role which fights inequalities and social inclusion.