Volunteers, not always a good thing.

Many people think that volunteering for NGOs and organizations is doing them a favor and having real social impact. After cleaning up at an old folks home or painting murals, many people think they have done well and deserve a pat in the back.

With many of the CSR projects of organizations, employee engagement seems to be the "in" thing now. In Singapore, there is a system called Community Involvement Programme (CIP) where student are required to clock a certain amount of CIP hours to graduate.

However, after running and working with NGOs, I could tell you that some of these free volunteers are not actually helping these organizations, but rather -- giving them more work.

This is a very fine line to thread. Some people and companies like to think that non-profits should be grateful if we have something to give them. This attitude is really wrong as non-profits will try to accommodate volunteers even if they do not need them in fear of losing donations and creating negative PR.

As you know, with social media, bad publicity is just a tweet away. Non-profits that are savvy knows this. When a corporation comes with 50 volunteers to paint an old folks home, these organizations will find them walls to paint on, even though it was painted a few months ago.

As non-profits, they do work with a lot of constrains. They do have liability if something goes wrong or people get injured, at the same time, they are probably tight on manpower, and every minute organizing activities with corporates is taking time away from doing actual work. The organizations also need to create a positive experience, and the volunteers also come unprepared to the site and need equipment to get things done.

The non-profits do not want the corporates to feel unappreciated and will find all ways to accommodate them. Even if its free labor, building the right experience matters or it may end up in a crisis. There needs to be value created for all parties for it to be a win - win situation, or else its just activity for activity's sake.

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To add value in the relation, corporates should:

1) Find a value proposition to pitch to the organization.
       - List skills which the volunteers can provide.
       - Sometimes pro-bono work for the administration is better than donations and engaging the                   beneficiaries.

2) Understand the needs and constraints of the organization.
       - Working with children may require background checks on the volunteers.
       - Working with gardens or disaster relief may require tools and outfits which organization may                not be able to afford to provide.

3) Plan in advance, NGOs need time to plan and respond.



At the same time, the non-profits should:

1) Create a list of support they need (skills)
     - List opportunities available. (Training kids, chefs in soup kitchen, etc)
     - Have some budget to pay for some pro-bono work. (Reimbursements, etc)
     - Share needs openly (IT Support, Tech, Marketing, Accounting)

2) Hire a event planner to manage volunteers.
     - Create volunteer programs which enrich experience of volunteers and allow them takeaways and        shares for more awareness. (Photo Ops, learning experience)

3) Be honest and truthful.
      - If you cannot handle volunteers, just say no.


-- Robin Low

Liberated by disasters

When a disaster happens, some people are burdened by a task of picking up the pieces caused by a force beyond their control, others are given a gift, a gift of being spared from the disaster. Some people take it for granted and do nothing, others may volunteer or donate.

Many things we learn about relief is not true. We are often told that individuals are not effective in the field. We are told not to donate clothes, but only give money. However, when you think of it closely, do you know how your charity money is spent?

I have been to several disasters, and I have realized that there is a big role for individual volunteers to play. Large charities and governments bring aid to the field fast, but due to top down bureaucracy, they are unable to act fast enough to satisfy the changing needs on the ground, and individuals are required to fill the gaps and meet the needs on the field.

I have often seen children running around naked, and yet charities tell us not to donate clothes. The reason why the charities tell us not to donate clothes, is not because the people do not need them, but rather the charities do not have manpower to sort them. As an individual, I have been to a shelter and got the children in the shelter involved to help sort the donated clothes. At the end of the day, the sorted clothes are picked through and used by the survivors.

There are times which I do not agree on how the charities act. Most incoming resources for recovery are managed by foreign organizations, professionals & volunteers and they excluding local stakeholders. Funds provided largely spent on foreign resources - Local resources and Stakeholders are not actively engaged in relief & recovery initiatives, often being displaced by foreign providers. But instead of complaining, I felt that one should take action to do what is right.

Fear prevents people from taking actions. Even when you feel that you can contribute, you will find excuses to stop you from taking actions. Procrastination sets in and it is hard to overcome.

With social media, emails and smses, the world is a much smaller place. Everyone is interconnected. With information that others are burdened by disaster, I decided to go to the areas and contribute as an individual. When I wanted to contribute actions, I constantly send information of my actions back on social media, and request for reimbursements from my friends to support my effort. When they see my actions and photos, much of my costs are covered.

When I declare to friends that I am going to Japan a week after the tsunami, there were people who cautioned me about the dangers, and others who wanted to contribute. Some asked me how effective I could be on the ground, some asked why I wanted to go. Frankly, I don't really have the perfect answer. Some time ago, I have decided to live life by my rules, not by rules other set for me.

It is a liberating experience not to be controlled by fear, but have the courage to do what you think is right. It is not easy, but defeating procrastination is a lifelong skill which I intend to master.


-- Robin Low

You don't need to be rich to give.

A story of a woman living in a rental flat with public assistance allowing a homeless man to sleep in her house is very heart warming.

There is always a misconception of selfish people to believe that you need to be rich in order to give, but how does one consider themselves rich?

This lady in a wheelchair living with public assistance gave a safe space for a homeless man to sleep. Her action speaks a lot and puts a lot of us to shame as we just think of the negative things.

The reply from the government is also very disturbing.

HDB says...

"HDB rental flats are heavily subsidised and meant for needy families without other housing options and family support.

"Therefore, only tenants and authorised occupiers are allowed to occupy the rental flats.

"Subletting of rental flats is not allowed, and will be investigated.

"Some of these needy cases (of individuals living in an interim place) may have deeper underlying personal and social issues, which extend beyond housing.

"If HDB is alerted to such cases, we will work with the relevant social and government agencies to see how we can extend more holistic assistance to them."

So are they going to take action on people allowing homeless people to live in their homes?

-- Iron Bowl