A youth advocate and administrative secretary of Young Female Influencers (YFI), Miss Linda Dassah has said active volunteerism requires an individual to be committed beyond just being passionate about the cause they volunteer.
She said commitment to the cause is what would make the individual to achieve greater impact and sustain their activities for steady progress.
Miss Dassah said this in a conversation with show host Vivian Danuor on Info Radio’s Youth Hub program, a talk show that focuses on advancing the cause of young people’s development, in Wa.
“You know, one, we cannot do it alone but you can imagine if everybody is willing, ready and committed because your passionate alone is not enough at the end of the day. But you need that kind of commitment in you, to be consistent,” she said.
She indicated that the myriad of problems that confronted society could be progressively solved with the inculcation of the spirit of committed volunteerism by young people.
She, however, lamented that there were a number of young people in our communities who were not interested in volunteering because they were preoccupied with monetary gains which is against the principles of volunteerism.
“In my line of work, volunteerism is one thing I have realized is not easy, especially in community development,” she admitted, “because you don’t get many young people who are ready to volunteer without being paid.”
She encouraged young people to imbibe in themselves the spirit of volunteerism as she indicated that volunteerism helps the individual to develop their leadership and interpersonal skills while building networks and alliances with other people.
“Personally, through my engagements with the girls, I get to learn things I didn’t even know about me myself and even how to better my leadership skills because inasmuch as I volunteer, I also do a lot of leading young people, so it helps me to build my leadership skills and even my personal life,” she told host Vivian about her experience volunteering.
Miss Dassah intimated that young people has the onus to make the society a better place and encouraged them to step out of their comfort zones in leading the processes to make the needed change they desire.
“Go out there and make the change. You don’t have to wait for any politician or any other person outside there to come and make the change, you have to take that step and they will push you along,” she urged.
She expressed concerns about the worrying trend of community members often expecting to be financially compensated each time a project or an outreach activity is carried out in their community.
“That thing, we have to do away with it. We like money a lot, money is good; but if somebody is coming to make an impact in your life and you ae still expecting the same person to pay you, for what reason? No, we can’t continue this way. I think that is why we don’t get a lot of people coming to help,” she explained.
She, therefore, urged communities to be self-supporting and eschew negative attitudes that drive away support systems.
Young Female Influencers is a group of young female volunteers who are working to address some of the pressing needs and bridge the gaps that militate against girls and young women (GYW)’s development in the Upper West Region.
Story by:
Aminu Ibrahim
[email protected]
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