Transforming Your Corner of the Globe
By Veronica Nkwocha
A tall order; to literally transform the world into the thing of beauty most of us dream it to be in our hearts. Half the time, one despairs about the many problems and the difficulties in matching them to much needed solutions. The genius is in finding creative answers that will cause a child to walk lighter of the burden of being born into poverty, a mother to actually live through childbirth, access to advice on rights and obligations, medicine, food, water, safe shelters or for books that will light up the eyes of a curious child and the list goes on, endless.
This week, 1-7 June, 2013 is ‘Volunteers Week’ in England. Here’s an excerpt and a link from ‘Volunteering England’
“Every year, over 20 million people across England and the UK volunteer, donating more than 100 million hours to their communities every week. It has been estimated that the economic value of this activity is worth in excess of £40 billion to our economy. Services and initiatives that are vital to the running of our country simply wouldn’t exist if it wasn’t for volunteers”.
It would be impossible to access much of the needed expertise and care were it not for individuals donating their time for causes dear to them. There are other benefits to volunteering; it is a ready source for those seeking work experience, it builds community cohesion and creates time tested channels for efficient solutions to some of the many socio-economic problems that would otherwise carry on unabated.
A robust culture of volunteering can help get us a step closer to seeing the world we dream about. It may not create the painting of our dreams but it would be a vital imprint on that blank canvass, every colour a worthy step towards creating that masterpiece.
Veronica 