A line from the movie, “Pearl Harbor,” speaks so well of the exigencies of the times, and it goes this way: “Nothing is greater than the heart of a volunteer.” In these extremely hyped-up times of global financial crisis and how it may have an impact on the Philippine economy, people are either turning spiritual and holding staunchly to their faith, or rely on each other in the spirit of “bayanihan.”
From the viewpoint of non-government and civic-oriented organizations, volunteerism is tantamount to “bayanihan,” believing that the latter is a value which puts the attitude of helping one another into action.
For most of these organizations, including the lesser known, even obscure ones, the dictum is simple – “The more we sweat in peace, the less we bleed in war.” Because Dumaguete City is known as a “university town,” these higher education institutions as well as other colleges and schools in the city have established a volunteer service program. It may be formally structured or organized loosely, but sanctioned by the school with the end goal of doing services for the benefit of the community and nearby areas.
Experiencing being with volunteer organizations that take the cudgels for the marginalized sector and the less privileged is like waging war against poverty and hunger. Once these obstacles are lessened, or hurdled, then there is empowerment.
The profile of those who can volunteer is diversified – those who are in the workplace or in the corporate setting; retirees; those who are on alternative sentencing; the professionals; episodic individuals; transitional and unemployed individuals; and, stipend or paid volunteers.
Most, if not all, these organizations are non-profit, getting support from philanthropic individuals or charities. Many who have experienced volunteerism have confessed a transformation by being part of an organization. Translated to heroism and nation-building, the experience calls for “the best for the least” – land for the landless, home for the homeless, and food for the hungry.
“We hope and intend to eliminate the more than five million Filipinos who are hungry. Poverty in itself is a scandal. How can we fathom the fact that more than 80 percent of our population is poor?” laments Ludivico Baltazar, who does volunteer work when he gets the time to be off from his work in an insurance company.
As former Environment and Natural Resources Undersecretary and former Silliman University President Dr. Ben Malayang III expressed in a recent community forum, he stressed that the Philippines is rich with economic, financial, and ecological assets. However, while we may have been focusing our attention at the economic and financial values of our assets, we have not monetized our social capital.
“We may have failed to capitalize on our social assets to make it work in its fullest and for the best like our people’s ability to feel, to care, and to do something for the least of our brethren,” said Dr. Malayang. He added that despite the many problems we may be facing as a nation, we are still very fortunate because of our rich natural resources. He shared that in a particular locality in Africa, one family spends at least one to two days a week just to acquire water for their use and consumption. This is because the land in Africa is very arid.
Moreover, according to Dr. Malayang, we may never be able to appreciate our gifts and resources until they will be taken away from us by force of circumstance.
In Tongonan, Southern Leyte, for example, where it is rich with geothermal power, a barangay, located some 35 kilometers from Tongonan and whose main source of livelihood is weaving abaca, does not have electricity because its source of power is hydroelectric. In the process, despite the fact that they may not be too far away from the location of their geothermal power, each family has to pay five pesos for electric consumption.
Anything is possible with the concerted effort of volunteers who will work hand in hand, side by side to merge brains, brawn, and sweat for the actualization of the “bayanihan” spirit in action.
Any volunteer’s vision is all-encompassing as they make their presence felt even in far-flung barangays and as they create a niche in the economic, financial, ecological, and social arena of the nation. | NWI
