International Volunteer Day 2016
International Volunteer Day 2016
Volunteers are the bedrock of the humanitarian sector, willingly giving their time, efforts and resources for the benefit of others. In recognition of those sacrifices and the immense work done by these unpaid men, women and young people across the world, the United Nations has mandated December 5 as International Volunteer Day (IVD).
The UN regards it “as a unique chance for volunteers and organisations to celebrate their efforts, to share their values, and to promote their work among their communities, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), UN agencies, government authorities and the private sector”.
“IVD 2016’s theme #GlobalApplause – give volunteers a hand, recognises volunteers worldwide and all they do in making peace and sustainable development a reality,” says the UN.
Islamic Help was founded on the enthusiasm and dedication of volunteers, young people who wanted to make a difference to the world for the better. They are the cornerstone of our work and without them, and the support of our donors, we would have been unable to improve the lives of millions of people across the globe.
Whether it is helping combat poverty, providing essential aid in emergencies or delivering the platforms for sustainable development and environmental improvements, the work of our volunteers is invaluable.
In the UK, volunteers are constantly fundraising for good causes or volunteering their time to take part in our hands-on projects that will ultimately improve life for beneficiaries. Among many other things, they man our call centres during our busiest times of the year and fundraise by climbing mountains, parachuting, staging bike rides, car washes, taking part in 5km or 10km walks and half-marathons and full marathons.
Our Mission Possible deployments to Tanzania are a life-changing experience for the volunteers who take part. Not only do they fundraise for the deployment and the aid they directly deliver but they meet the beneficiaries face-to-face and witness first-hand the difference that their efforts have made.
Each deployment, which lasts 10 days, benefits thousands of people in need. The latest deployment, in October 2016, delivered aid and long term sustainability projects to benefit more than 5,000 people.
The work ranged from building water wells, rainwater harvesting systems and school toilet blocks to distributing livelihood projects, school stationery, tree planting and environmental and sustainability awareness training.
This winter, we will be taking volunteers on deployment to Jordan to deliver emergency winter aid to Syrian and Palestinian refugees. It is just the latest in a series of programmes where volunteers directly deliver aid and witness the plight of people they have pledged to help.
These volunteers are making a real difference - so can you. Volunteering with Islamic Help is simple and can take any form that you wish. It can range from helping with office or admin support duties to carrying out bucket collections; from community clean-ups to taking part in Mission Possible, the humanitarian experience of a lifetime.
To all our volunteers, we give our many thanks.
Why not join them? Sign up for one of our volunteer programmes today.
Find out more about volunteering with Islamic Help here
For more about Mission Possible or to sign up for the deployment, see here
