Any
activity carried out for the benefit of society without payment and out of a
person’s free will is considered as voluntary work.
This usually takes place in some organized context.
In most cases voluntary work comes out either from a Christian
philanthropy tradition or from a perception of what is perceived as a socially
desirable end. The fields of activity are various and include sports, leisure,
culture, environment, humanitarian aid, development, education, social welfare,
youth, religion and health.
Locally
voluntary involvement in certain sectors, such as in the social field, has been
with us for quite some time, providing services for disabled persons, youth,
older people, families, and poor people. More
recently other specific groups such as prisoners and refugees have also been
included. Initiatives related to the labour market are less common, although the
opening of Malta’s first and only fair trade shop L-Arka in Valletta
in 1997 has hopefully paved the way for similar voluntary projects. Other
initiatives, such as those aimed at improving relations between generations,
although common in Europe, are still not to be found locally.
Volunteers
make choices about which causes they want to devote themselves to and with
whom they would like to work. Because there are so many worthwhile causes and so
much to do, voluntary organizations often end up competing with each other
to attract volunteers. Internal divisions within organizations are also common,
either due to ideological differences or due to a lack of clear structures that
can cater for the various needs of members.
Many
organizations would like to benefit from the new opportunities being presented
to them through the various EU programmes. Some find themselves embroiled in
dubious partnerships. Others do anything to try to obtain extra funds or to have
the opportunity to participate in initiatives abroad at greatly subsidized
rates. Still others try to impress their European partners or obtain funds by
grossly exaggerating their membership and telling untruths about their
structures and major issues currently being tackled. A case in point is a local NGO, run exclusively by voluntary
unpaid workers, who on the website of a European partner are claiming to have
various employees and to be dealing with almost every imaginable cause on earth.
There
are also numerous examples of good practice. Three environmental organizations,
the SSCN, Arbor and Verde, have decided to team up and make better use of human
and other resources to present a united and stronger front as Nature Trust. A
fourth organization, the Marine Life Care Group, has just joined the Trust. In
the meantime, three development organizations, the Third World Group,
Koperattiva Kummerc Gust and Kopin (Koperazzjoni Internazzjonali – Malta) are
in the process of forming a similar structure. They will be coordinating their
work and furthering their aims together while respecting each organization’s distinctive characteristics
through the Forum for Justice and Cooperation.
Participating
in exchange visits is proving in most cases to be enriching both for the
individuals concerned and for the organizations themselves. New coalitions and
networks are being formed, providing an international perspective, and
effectively participating in campaigns that would have been totally ineffective
in isolation. A case in point is the participation of the Third World Group and
Kopin in the Jubilee 2000 campaign.
The
lack of any clear government policy on voluntary organizations has hindered the
sector from reaching its full potential. We all hope that in the near future the
situation will change. The
oft-promised white paper on NGOs might be a step in the right direction,
although we still have to wait and see to evaluate the core principles of this
proposed law. The voluntary sector
ought to start preparing itself for such an eventuality, not only by analyzing
its own structures and ensuring that they are accountable and transparent, but
also by starting an internal debate on what should and should not be included in
such a law. This will ensure that when the white paper is published, the
voluntary sector will be in a position to react and propose. The minimum one
expects from such a law is social recognition for a sector that has been
providing services for countless years, often silently and against all odds.
This recognition ought to come not only by thanking volunteers for their
involvement but through concrete measures such as harmonizing tax regulation for
charities and increasing funds. A positive recent development is a national
employment-training scheme organized and paid for by the ETC in which unemployed
persons can give their services to NGOs who in turn provide training and work
experience.
The
current major challenge for voluntary organizations is to become more efficient,
more able to set goals and evaluate the work they are doing, and better at
generating and seeking funding – in other words to become more professional.
This professionalisation carries two inevitable risks - the risk of losing the
characteristic value base and flexibility currently associated with voluntarism
and the risk of being used as non-paid labour. These and other pitfalls can best
be avoided by providing training for volunteers and investing in the
capacity building of organizations.
Vince
Caruana
July
2001