International Volunteerism

I left work to meet Hosea at Asian Civilisations Museum this evening. We were both supposed to attend a Dialogue Session chaired by MP Teo Ser Luck on the topic of "International Volunteerism". The session was supposed to be held earlier in November, but due to scheduling difficulties, the organisers had pushed it back until today. But being men, neither Hosea nor I realised that the venue too had been changed together with the postponement of the event. So when the two of us arrived at ACM, we found out to our surprise that the event was actually held in The Grassroots Clubhouse in Ang Mo Kio instead. :p We eventually made it in time to the Clubhouse at around 7 pm, but didn't have much time for dinner before the Dialogue Session actually started. :P

The session turned out to be co-chaired by MP Teo and MP Fatimah Lateef, and involved some 20-30 representatives from a wide range of community outreach groups (COGs), such as the Boys' Brigade, Habitat for Humanity Singapore, One Singapore, DramaBox and The Choice Initiative. The whole setting was quite informal and casual, which helped to facilitate the exchange between the MPs and the invited reps.

During the dialogue and the post-dialogue mingling session, a number of points were raised, some of which I feel are worth mentioning here:

(a) Setting up an overarching informal structure over the COGs. This bottom-up (instead of top-down) structure can assist to canvass funds and logistical support on behalf of the COGs, whilst also providing a platform for the COGs to network, coordinate efforts and share knowledge, resources and skills.

(b) Volunteer management. COGs face the challenges of having to manage the expectations of volunteers (e.g. prepping volunteers on what amenities not to expect in a disaster zone), match the skill sets of volunteers to the tasks at hand (i.e. ensuring that volunteers are equipped to help and not hinder), meeting the needs of volunteers (e.g. in terms of putting in place systems which could make it easier for volunteers to apply leave from work to embark on community-related projects), and volunteer acceptance (e.g. being willing to accept ex-convicts as volunteers).

(c) A dramatic solution. To encourage communities that are in need of help (e.g. facing rampant problems of alcoholism, drug abuse, child abuse, etc.) to express themselves through drama, and in so doing, explore the root causes of their problems and find various ways to resolve them.

My impressions of the MPs? I found MP Teo a very down-to-earth sort of person, boyish, sincere, approachable and passionate about his work, and even more passionate when it comes to his hobbies like cycling ;D It was also good to hear from MP Fatimah, who is an experienced volunteer, given her connections with Mercy Relief. Having worked with MPs before and knowing how busy their schedules can be, I really appreciated both MPs taking the time to converse with us and listen to us COG reps.

It will be interesting to see what follows through from this Dialogue Session. Already, I feel very recharged and inspired from this evening's discussion. :)