Tien Wah Press, one of the largest printers of high quality books in the world, has decided to adopt Goducate as their corporate social responsibility project.
I was invited to share about Goducate’s work to 50 of their staff earlier this week at a lunch time talk. From the response to the talk, it was evident that the staff were enthusiastic to be a part of Goducate’s work in helping needy Asians help themselves. Continue reading “Tien Wah Press raises volunteers as part of their CSR program”
Corporate Social Responsibility – Volunteerism or Voluntourism?
Charity organizations need volunteers to sustain their efforts. The life-blood of charity organizations are its donors and its volunteers.
However, with the advent of convenient and affordable travel a new breed of volunteers have emerged – who are more volun-tourists rather than volunteers.
What is the essential difference between a volunteer and a volun-tourist?
A volunteer’s main desire is to help the needy.
A tourist’s main desire is to see and experience something new.
A real volunteer often sees and experiences something new but this is not his primary reason for helping. It is a bonus.
A volun-tourist is excited before his trip, during his trip and shortly after his trip (when he is recounting his experiences).
A real volunteer is excited before his trip, during his trip, shortly after his trip (when he is recounting his experiences) AND long after the trip as he remembers the needs of the people whom he has met on his trip. He realizes that what he did on his trip was really “a drop in the ocean” and that the trip was more “an eye-opener” that helped him to see how he could continue to help these poor people.
A real volunteer desires to continue helping these poor people by telling others of their needs, collecting clothes or books for them, sending funds to help them. His desire to help them did not end when the excitement of the trip ended.
A real volunteer wants to help in whatever way he can – whether on the trip or after.
Are you a real volunteer?
Corporate Social Responsibility – sending company staff to visit the poor
In the last few years, there has been an increase in corporate social responsibility. More companies are sending their staff to visit and help the poor. This is good. However, before staff members are sent on such trips, it might be good to prepare them with some of the following advice:
1.Ignorance may insult
It is good to find out a little more about the recipient group before deciding to hand out freebies to them. For example, a well-meaning group of people went to help teach English to some teenagers in a poor country. These teenagers were poor in English but were not poor.
The group brought some cheap gifts and made the teenagers fight over these cheap gifts. Needless to say, the teenagers were insulted and were not receptive to the English training.
2.Help may hurt
It is common for company staff to go to a poor community and help build some infrastructure (eg. classroom). The well-intentioned team diligently goes about their job while the whole village watches them. The villagers are usually not allowed to help or even to touch the tools of the team. Though the village has now received a new classroom, the villagers have been made to feel “useless” and “untrustworthy” to even touch the tools.
3.Foreign help is often not sustainable.
The classroom that the foreigners built will eventually need repairs. However, as the locals did not have a hand in it, they do not feel a sense of ownership of the classroom. Often such projects quickly fall into disrepair – as the locals wait for the foreigners to return to repair it. Charity work must be sustainable.