Helping Hands Are Everywhere

BAXTER, a 15-year-old high school student, has an interesting way of spending his Saturday afternoons. He visits a group of older people, playing music and conducting sing-alongs at their retirement center. “He brings laughter, fun and the joy of life to the residents,” says Baxter’s teacher. Lucille, aged 78, performs a similar kindness. She distributes food among the needy and visits lonely hospital patients. A friend says of Lucille: “If the need is there and she can be of assistance, she’ll be there.”

Volunteerism Defined

This approach to life—‘Be there when the need is there’—is shared by many millions of people around the world. They offer a helping hand on construction sites and in offices, factories, nursing homes, hospices, refugee camps, centers for the homeless, fire departments, crisis centers, animal shelters, and more. They are virtually everywhere! They use their skills for activities that run the gamut from barn raising to fund-raising and from cuddling abandoned babies to soothing the terminally ill. They are volunteers—people who make a difference in the lives of those in need.

Volunteer work has been described as “a noble thought turned into action.” It involves such elements as commitment to a cause, a spirit of sacrifice, an absence of remuneration, and a display of altruism. “Volunteer service,” say two longtime volunteers, is “a giving of ourselves: of our time, our hands and feet, our ideas, our ability to help another person, our problem-solving skills, our professional knowledge.” Interestingly, such giving also benefits the volunteers themselves.—See the box “Volunteers Also Benefit.”

Growing Numbers—Growing Need

In the United States, an estimated 100 million people perform volunteer work—and their number is rising. “Our organization continues to grow at a tremendous pace,” Kathleen Behrens, executive director of the volunteer organization New York Cares, recently told Awake! “Last year alone, we had more than 5,000 new volunteers who joined our program.” European volunteer groups are seeing similar growth. In France, for instance, the number of volunteers has been growing by 6 percent each year during the past two decades. However, the need for more volunteers has not diminished. On the contrary, United Nations Volunteers (a UN agency) states that viewed globally, “the need for increased volunteer effort is greater today than ever.” Says a museum supervisor: “Volunteers are our life blood.”

Yet, there is a paradox. Even though many directors, managers, and coordinators working with volunteers feel that such ones are “worth their weight in gold,” much of the work of volunteers goes unrecognized. To begin to change that situation, the United Nations decided to use the year 2001 as a time for turning the spotlight on volunteer workers. The box “International Year of Volunteers” describes some of the goals the UN hopes to reach.

Meanwhile, changes are taking place in the world of volunteerism that present a challenge both for volunteers and for those who direct their work. Even so, there are still numerous individuals around the world who are willing to make a difference. What motivates them to do so? What do they accomplish? And how may they affect your life?

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Volunteers Also Benefit

“Reaching out to others has brought a deeper, richer, far more enjoyable reward than what I could have achieved by continuing to focus entirely on my business career,” says Michael, a part-time volunteer. Michael is not alone. Sharon Capeling-Alakija, executive coordinator of United Nations Volunteers, says: “Around the world people who . . . volunteer are fully aware of how much they gain from the experience.” Dr. Douglas M. Lawson, an expert on volunteer work, confirms that researchers have found that “often during just a few hours of volunteering a person’s general physiological demeanor and psychological well-being are so heightened that this has been nicknamed ‘The Helper’s High.’” And “helper’s high” is no fleeting feeling. Researchers at Cornell University in the United States studied a group of people for over 30 years and found that “those who volunteered were happier and healthier than those who did not.” Interestingly, the Bible states: “There is more happiness in giving than there is in receiving.”—Acts 20:35; Proverbs 11:25.

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International Year of Volunteers

On November 20, 1997, the General Assembly of the United Nations proclaimed the year 2001 to be the “International Year of Volunteers,” (IYV 2001). According to the UN, there are four objectives to be achieved during the year.

Increased recognition Governments are encouraged to recognize the importance of volunteers by studying and recording their achievements and bestowing awards on outstanding volunteer activities.

Increased facilitation Countries are urged to encourage volunteerism by, for example, accepting volunteer service as an alternative to military service or providing certain tax exemptions.

Networking The media are invited to assist more in publicizing success stories of volunteer work. As a result, such projects could be replicated, “avoiding the need for each local community to reinvent the wheel.”

Promotion Volunteer organizations are encouraged to arrange exhibitions to inform the public about the benefits that society is reaping from volunteer work.

The UN hopes that IYV 2001 will result in more requests for the services of volunteers, in more offers from people to serve as volunteers, and in more funding and facilities for volunteer organizations to tackle society’s growing needs. A total of 123 governments have joined in sponsoring the objectives of this UN resolution.

Volunteers at Work

EVERY Friday afternoon Sirley, a middle-aged teacher in Brazil, turns her living room into a classroom. About two o’clock, Amélia, one of the students, arrives. She does not miss a single lesson and is already reading better than many youngsters in high school. Amélia is 82 years old.

Amélia is following in the steps of the more than 60 senior citizens who have graduated from the free literacy classes that Sirley is conducting in her hometown. Recently, Sirley’s volunteer work was featured in the Brazilian newspaper Jornal do Sudoeste. After noting that she has made “a huge contribution to community life,” the newspaper article said that Sirley’s method of teaching the elderly is so effective that “after just 120 hours of classes, they are writing letters, reading newspapers, and coping with numbers and other day-to-day tasks.” The textbook that Sirley uses, adds the article, is the booklet Learn to Read and Write, prepared by Jehovah’s Witnesses.a

From Feeling Embarrassed to Living With Dignity

Another of Sirley’s students, 68-year-old Dona Luzia, relates that before learning to read and write, she was ashamed to talk to others. Even shopping used to be a challenge. “Now I write letters to my relatives in other towns, and I manage my own money. No one shortchanges me anymore,” she says with a smile. Maria, also 68 years of age, recalls how she used to feel embarrassed to sign her pension check with a thumbprint. “I felt like an invalid,” she says. But thanks to the literacy classes, Maria now happily writes her own signature.

Praise from students and graduates has made Sirley’s free program so popular that her living room is getting overcrowded. Soon the class will move to a roomier location.

An Award-Winning Program

Sirley is one of Jehovah’s Witnesses. No doubt you are familiar with the Bible education work that Jehovah’s Witnesses perform as a voluntary service. However, Sirley’s success is not unique. Literacy classes conducted in hundreds of Kingdom Halls throughout Brazil have already helped more than 22,000 people in that country to learn to read and write.

Similar programs of Jehovah’s Witnesses have yielded success in other parts of the world. In the African country of Burundi, for example, the National Office for Adult Literacy (a department of the Ministry of Education) was so pleased with the results of the Witnesses’ literacy program that it gave an award to four of the program’s teachers for “the hard work put into teaching others to read.” Government officials are especially impressed that 75 percent of those who learned to read and write were adult women—a group that usually shies away from attending such programs.

In Mozambique, 4,000 students are enrolled in the Witnesses’ literacy classes, and more than 5,000 students have learned to read and write over the past four years. One former student wrote: “I would like to express my sincere appreciation. Thanks to the school, I can read and write.”

Relief Aid That Is “Practical Rather Than Formal”

Relief work is another form of voluntary service performed by Jehovah’s Witnesses. Not long ago a warehouse near Paris, France, was a beehive of activity. Some 400 volunteers spent their weekend filling cartons with food, clothing, and medicine. By the end of the weekend, nine large containers full of relief supplies worth nearly $1 million (U.S.) were ready to be shipped. Soon thereafter, the shipment arrived in war-torn Central Africa, where local Witness volunteers swiftly distributed the supplies. Most of the supplies were donated by Witnesses as well.

One newspaper in Congo (Kinshasa) praised the humanitarian work of Jehovah’s Witnesses as “practical rather than formal.” Officials of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) have likewise expressed their support. One UNHCR official in the Democratic Republic of Congo was so pleased with the orderliness of the relief efforts carried out by the Witnesses that she put her vehicle at the disposal of the volunteers. Local people are also impressed. When onlookers noticed how swiftly relief supplies reached all in need, some asked in wonderment: “How are you organized to be able to reach everyone?”

The relief efforts by Jehovah’s Witnesses and their literacy programs are just two examples of the services that Witnesses have been performing around the world for decades. However, the Witnesses are also involved in another form of volunteer work—a service that makes a truly long-lasting difference. The next article will consider this.

[Footnote]

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The Changing World of Volunteerism

While Julie crisscrosses the globe on business trips, she manages to squeeze in some volunteer work—a few hours here and a day there. Recently while in South America, she spent an afternoon helping out in an orphanage near Santiago, Chile. She says that traveling opens up “great options” in volunteering.

Like Julie, a growing number of volunteers are giving time—but in ever smaller portions. “It’s a new trend,” says Sara Meléndez, president of a research group that compiles statistics on volunteer work. “People are volunteering, but when they do, it’s more of a one-shot deal.” As a consequence, organizers are feeling the pinch of what some decry as “volunteering lite,” and they are struggling to staff their programs.

“Flexible Volunteering”

Some organizers feel that this new trend—giving smaller amounts of volunteer time—is caused by a change in the attitude of volunteers. “The ‘I’m here as long as you need me’ type of volunteering is dead,” says Susan Ellis, a consultant for volunteer groups. “People don’t make commitments.” Journalist Eileen Daspin concurs. After interviewing several directors of volunteer groups about the shortage of volunteers, she concluded that “volunteerism is experiencing a severe case of commitment phobia.”

However, the director of New York Cares, Kathleen Behrens, mentioned earlier in this series, feels that those who are volunteering on the run do so, not because they lack commitment, but because they lack time. People who are juggling a 50-hour-plus workweek with care for children or for elderly parents simply cannot volunteer on a regular basis. “Yet, the very fact that these busy people still make community service a part of their life,” she says, “shows that their commitment is actually very strong.”

For such time-challenged volunteers, says Behrens, “flexible volunteering” is the answer. Many volunteer organizations now even offer one-day-only projects. “This allows people to volunteer in meaningful ways but to have the flexibility they need to do it on a semi-regular basis.”

Also, a growing number of people are volunteering from their computer at home, doing data entry and research. “Online volunteering,” notes The Wall Street Journal, “is perhaps the most unusual, and some say most promising, of what has come to be called ‘flexible volunteering.’”

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To the Rescue in Kobe!

When an earthquake struck the thriving port city of Kobe, Japan, in January 1995, the devastation was overwhelming. With over 5,000 casualties, it was the deadliest quake to hit Japan since 1923. Jehovah’s Witnesses in Japan and around the world immediately set about providing relief for victims. When a relief fund was established, over a million dollars was contributed in three business days. Relief supplies of all sorts came flooding into Kobe.

One Christian elder involved in the relief work found that his Kingdom Hall was soon stocked with more supplies than could be used. What was to be done with it all? He suggested donating some supplies to a nearby hospital. The Witnesses filled up a van and made their way through the debris. The trip took hours instead of the usual few minutes. At the hospital, they offered the head doctor their supplies—including blankets, mattresses, diapers, fresh fruit, and over-the-counter medicines. Delighted, the doctor said that the hospital would gladly accept anything the Witnesses could give. The fruit was especially welcome, as there was not enough fresh food for all the patients.

As the Witnesses unloaded the supplies, the doctor stood there quietly watching—despite the urgency of his work. Then he humbly bowed and thanked them. As they drove away, he continued standing there to show how thankful he was. The elder involved noted that this same hospital later became very cooperative with patients who are Jehovah’s Witnesses.

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Volunteer Work—A Power for Good

When a group of volunteers in Kabezi, a small community in Burundi, wanted to build a Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses, the local administrator made an unusual request. He asked if the Witnesses could fix the road passing by the proposed construction site. The Witnesses happily agreed to repair the damaged roadway, doing all the work by hand. The volunteers did the job so well that local officials expressed appreciation for their hard work and willing spirit. Afterward, the volunteers went on to build their Kingdom Hall, pictured above. Now they have a beautiful building that will help to promote Bible education for years to come. Indeed, volunteer work in its many forms can have far-reaching benefits.

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Sirley finds satisfaction in teaching others to read

[Credit Line]

Nelson P. Duarte-Jornal do Sudoeste

Volunteer Work With Lasting Benefits

JESUS CHRIST regularly performed good deeds for those in need. For instance, he fed the hungry and healed the sick. (Matthew 14:14-21) To which activity, though, did he give the highest priority? An incident that occurred early in Jesus’ ministry provides the answer. It is recorded in the first chapter of the Gospel of Mark.

While Jesus was in Capernaum, near the Sea of Galilee, he was taken to the home of Simon, or Peter. There “Simon’s mother-in-law was lying down sick with a fever,” and Jesus healed her. (Mark 1:29-31) Later a crowd including many people “ill with various sicknesses” began to gather at the door of Peter’s house, and Jesus cured them too. (Mark 1:32-34) Then night came, and everyone went to sleep.

The next morning “while it was still dark,” Jesus quietly got up and left the house “for a lonely place,” where “he began praying.” Before long, the disciples also woke up, looked out of the house, and saw a large crowd of people waiting at the door. But what were they to do? Jesus was missing! Quickly Peter and those with him tracked Jesus down and said: “All are looking for you.” (Mark 1:35-37; Luke 4:42) It seems that, in effect, they were telling Jesus: ‘What are you doing out here? Last night your healing the sick was a huge success. Today another great opportunity is waiting for you!’

But now note Jesus’ reaction: “Let us go somewhere else, into the village towns nearby, that I may preach there also.” This reply is significant. Jesus did not return to Peter’s house to heal others. He showed why when he said: “It is for this purpose [that is, to preach] I have gone out.” (Mark 1:38, 39; Luke 4:43) What was Jesus telling his disciples? Doing good deeds was important to him, but preaching and teaching God’s word was Jesus’ primary mission.—Mark 1:14.

Since the Bible urges Christians “to follow [Jesus’] steps closely,” true Christians today have clear guidance when it comes to setting priorities in volunteer work. (1 Peter 2:21) Like Jesus, they help people in need—as the preceding article illustrates. Also like Jesus, they set the work of teaching the Bible’s message about the good news of God’s Kingdom as their top priority.a (Matthew 5:14-16; 24:14; 28:19, 20) Why, though, should volunteering to educate people about the Bible’s message take priority over other valuable forms of volunteer work?

Why and How Bible Education Makes a Difference

An Asian proverb points to the answer. It says: “If you plan for a year, sow seeds. If you plan for ten years, plant trees. If you plan for a hundred years, educate people.” Indeed, when it comes to providing solutions that are long lasting, education is imperative because it develops a person’s ability to make decisions that will improve his life. That is why today over six million part-time and full-time volunteers are using their time, efforts, and resources to provide free Bible education to the public. This time-tested volunteer program conducted by Jehovah’s Witnesses is having an impact on communities around the world. How?

As people are helped to understand and follow the Bible’s practical counsel, they become better equipped to deal with the problems of life. They gain the moral strength needed to overcome harmful habits. Nelson, a youth in Brazil, stresses another benefit of Bible education: “Since I began to study the Bible with Jehovah’s Witnesses, I have known joy because I now have a purpose in life.” (Ecclesiastes 12:13) Hundreds of thousands of others—young and old—who recently began studying God’s Word share Nelson’s sentiments. In addition to helping students to find a satisfying purpose in life, the message of God’s Kingdom provides an uplifting hope for the future—a hope that makes life worth living, even under the most trying circumstances. (1 Timothy 4:8)—See the box “How God’s Kingdom Will Make a Difference.”

By providing Bible education, Jehovah’s Witnesses perform a volunteer service with long-lasting benefits. How long lasting? God’s Word states: “This means everlasting life, their taking in knowledge of you, the only true God, and of the one whom you sent forth, Jesus Christ.” (John 17:3) Imagine participating in a program with everlasting benefits—now that is a form of volunteer service that truly makes a difference! Is that not the type of program you would like to learn more about? If so, contact Jehovah’s Witnesses in your community. Acting on this invitation will be a step you will not regret.

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“If you plan for a year, sow seeds. If you plan for ten years, plant trees. If you plan for a hundred years, educate people”

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She Brings Help and Hope

Nadine, a 43-year-old French nurse specializing in tropical diseases, is one of the volunteers who has worked in Central Africa. “People ask me why I do this,” she said in a recent interview. “I believe in God, I love people, and I want to give of myself. And being one of Jehovah’s Witnesses incites me to bring both a remedy and a hope to those who suffer.” While volunteering in Africa, Nadine divides her time between providing relief work and participating in the Bible education work that is carried out there by local Witnesses.

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Nadine in Africa

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How God’s Kingdom Will Make a Difference

Please read these scriptures in your own Bible, and see how God promises to fill man’s needs in the following areas:

Health “He will wipe out every tear from their eyes, and death will be no more, neither will mourning nor outcry nor pain be anymore. The former things have passed away.”—Revelation 21:4; Isaiah 33:24; 35:5, 6.

Education “They will not do any harm or cause any ruin in all my holy mountain; because the earth will certainly be filled with the knowledge of Jehovah as the waters are covering the very sea.”—Isaiah 11:9; Habakkuk 2:14.

Employment “They will certainly build houses and have occupancy; and they will certainly plant vineyards and eat their fruitage. They will not build and someone else have occupancy; they will not plant and someone else do the eating. . . . They will not toil for nothing.”—Isaiah 65:21-23.

Food “The earth itself will certainly give its produce; God, our God, will bless us.”—Psalm 67:6; 72:16; Isaiah 25:6.

Social Conditions “Jehovah has broken the rod of the wicked ones . . . The whole earth has come to rest, has become free of disturbance.”—Isaiah 14:5, 7.

Justice “Look! A king will reign for righteousness itself; and as respects princes, they will rule as princes for justice itself.”—Isaiah 11:3-5; 32:1, 2.