GARIZIM VOLUNTEERISM CULTURE
Promoting volunteerism
WHY?
Volunteerism is the practice of providing time and skills for the benefit of other people and causes rather than for financial benefit. Volunteerism helps people engage in their communities and contribute to the development of their society. Cameroon's population is predominantly young, with over 60% of inhabitants between 15 and 25. Youths in Cameroon are considered as policy makers to be the spearhead of the nation. In a context where there is a lot to do, and not many people can be employed to do such, there is a need for the youths to rise up and build their nation and one of the most productive way to do so is through volunteerism. Advantages of volunteering for youths and for the society are numerous.
Through volunteerism, youths develop transferable skills, build their social capital, learn values of respect and morals and contribute to societal change. When youths volunteer in their communities, they build safer and stronger communities. For this reason, we at Garizim Foundation work to promote volunteerism amongst youths.
HOW?
VOLUNTEER RECRUITMENT
We would not achieve all what we do without the incredible input of our volunteers. We work with short-term and long-term volunteers to carry out our different activities. We recruit volunteers for 6-12months periods but also for ponctual activities
VOLUNTEER DAY CONFERENCE
Every 5th of December we join the international community to celebrate international volunteer days. We organize an annual conference for volunteers and civil society organizations in the region. This usually serves as a retreat and an opportunity for CSOs to come together and brainstorm on their challenges, opportunities, and work. It is also an opportunity for aspiring volunteers to learn about volunteerism and match with organizations whose values align with them. We benefit from the support of the National volunteer program bureau and international organizations like World Youth Dynamic which provide training and coaching for CSO leaders during our conferences.
COMMUNITY SERVICE
We work with volunteers to provide community services such as cleaning hospitals.
ACHIEVEMENT STATS
10
PERMANENT VOLUNTEERS EACH YEAR
60
PONCTUAL VOLUNTEERS
60
PARTICIPANTS
