Children as young as eight should be co-opted into volunteering projects, and youths encouraged to dedicate a year of their life to voluntary work in the community, Caritas director Victor Grech said yesterday.
Volunteering allows people to shed their egotistical shell- Archbishop
The Maltese voluntary sector needs to make better use of the human capital at its disposal and come up with ways of involving retired professionals and youths in volunteering, Mgr Grech said.
Professionals nearing retirement had much to offer, he added, and the voluntary sector ought to tap into the wealth of experience available.
Mgr Grech was speaking at a Caritas seminar on social volunteering in Floriana yesterday morning, which brought together volunteers from a number of Church organisations, commissions and voluntary groups.
The monsignor said the Church should create a database of volunteers and undertake an audit of the various needs of those who approached Church organisations for help. Doing so, he said, would allow for more specialised volunteer recruitment and allow voluntary organisations to better respond to specific societal needs.
Voluntary organisations had to be flexible, Mgr Grech insisted. Climate change, the “tsunami” of mass migration and “hidden” poverty in developed countries were all examples of the ways in which societal needs were changing: organisations needed to find ways of responding to these emerging issues.
Mgr Grech felt the European Social Fund could be put to better use, offering young people volunteering opportunities which could help them integrate into the labour market. According to the president of the Council for the Voluntary Sector Robert Farrugia, voluntary organisations face two significant challenges.
Organisations have to safeguard their independence even if they are recipients of public funds. They must also strike a balance between fundraising and service provision.
“It is very easy for an organisation to find itself spending most of its time trying to raise money.”
Mr Farrugia said the CVS was in the process of negotiating the establishment of a National Volunteering Centre. Such a centre would provide NGOs with a space in which to meet as well as provide technical assistance and volunteer training.
Archbishop Paul Cremona wrapped up the seminar with some reflections on the nature of volunteering.
“Volunteering allows people to shed their egotistical shell and share their true nature with others,” he told the audience.
He also had some advice for the volunteers present: “It is the person being helped, not the helper, who is the fulcrum of any volunteer effort”.