This piece was published in December 2017 on Perspectives of The Himalayan Times
The
5th of December was celebrated as the International Day of
Volunteerism, a special day that is often overlooked amid many others important
theme based celebrations. To have an idea the first half of December counts
with International HIV/AIDS Day, International Day of Persons with
Disabilities, Human Rights Day
and in the same month sees the culmination of the 16 Days of Activism against
Gender-based Violence.
Perhaps now that we have a stronger
global development framework under the banner of the Sustainable Development
Goals, we should find more innovative ways to do away with these special
celebrations and try to come up with more holistic ways to link up together
these important global symbolic days.
Few years ago we successfully linked
up International Day of Volunteerism often
referred as IVD with the International
Day of Persons with Disabilities by forging a consensus
among different stakeholders among the importance of bridging the gaps and
underline the important role persons with disabilities have in promoting a
volunteering inspired society.
This
year, though it was not possible to formally combine the events also due to the
national election that imposed some restrictions on the activities, persons with
disabilities, especially youths were well represented in the IVD celebrations.
First
of all the rally held on the 2nd of December saw the participation
of the Wheelchair Basketball Association,
W.S.A, probably the oldest wheelchair basketball team in the country and
the Jawalakhel Wheelchair Sport Club,
J.W.S.C., an extraordinary example of self-help on and off the court.
Both
associations have been able to thrive because of partnerships with academic
institutions, W.S.A. is hosted by PK
College in Bag Bazaar and J.W.S.C.
plays at the premise of St. Xavier School, showing how simple partnerships can
enable citizens committed to a cause, in this case, social inclusion and
disability rights, to have a platform where to shine.
While
many wheelchair basketball players have been attending rallies in the past,
most of these events were actually focused on disability rights.
It
was the first time that many wheelchair basketball players attended something
different like a celebration for IVD.
If
we want to create a more inclusive and just society it is very important to
mainstream specific issues like disabilities within the wider social
development sector and there is no better platform than doing it by celebrating
the global volunteering day.
Indeed
if we really want to achieve a better society that values the skills and
abilities of all its citizens, it is going to be essential to prove that those
normally at receiving ends are enable to showcase their skills and capacities
and volunteerism is the best platform to do it.
For
example in the past J.W.S.C. has been very active in the national campaign
promoted by Clean Up Nepal as well as
in a past rally to support Dr. Govinda KC’s campaign.
By
getting involved in national and local campaigns, for example, vulnerable
youths, with or without disabilities, could contribute for the betterment of
the nation, besides showing that, while they fight for their grievances, they
are net contributor to the national wellbeing.
The
IVD rally was even more inclusive because there were many participants from the
All Inclusive Empowering Clubs that
have been set up to mobilize students for social inclusion and a just society.
Imagine
youths with and without disabilities, international volunteers together with
many other volunteers from other organizations were all together in the rally
on the 2nd of December.
The
main celebration event held on the 5th of December that was
organized by UNV, VSO, Peace Corps, CECI/Uniterra and KOIKA was another example
of social inclusion as one of the panelists was Sushil Adhikari, the co-founder
together with his brother Basudhev of the Bright
Star Society that has been very active to bridge the gap between youths
with and youths without disabilities.
Sushil
explained how his organization got mobilized during the quakes demonstrating
that youths with disabilities are here not to be a burden but rather to make a
positive difference.
The
celebrations saw also the 2nd edition of the National Volunteer
Award that among two other winners, crowned a young social inclusion and
development activist called Sajana Sunar who has been very active at community
level in Western Nepal.
Her
speech was powerful and emotional: you could feel vibes of positive energies
emanating from her voice throughout the hall.
Sajana
showed, once again, that volunteerism can be a great platform of
self-empowerment, a great way to fight discriminations and injustices.
The
UNV team in Nepal, the special program of the United Nations mandated to
promote volunteerism in Nepal and globally, showed great sensitivity towards
social inclusion and made it a firm point to make this year celebrations as
inclusive as possible.
At
the end of the day, positive changes can happen if there is a good will and we
play by the rules. Simple collaborations can help kicking off extraordinary
dynamics.
Obviously
the corporate sector has a huge role to play to be part of this collaborative
“multiplier” whose potential is still so untapped in Nepal.
The
Author is Co-Founder of ENGAGE, a local NGO partnering with youths with
physical disabilities. You can contact him at simone_engage@yahoo.com
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