Singapore: from voluntour to volunteer

Organisers of overseas relief trips say such expeditions are an important first step to get youth more involved in volunteerism
Sumathi V. Selvaretnam, Straits Times 20 Dec 07;

AFTER the Asian tsunami in 2004, Mr Hari Vijayarajan made a resolution to become 'more useful' in the upcoming year.

Two months later, the programme manager at Microsoft Singapore was onboard a flight to Sri Lanka for a disaster relief mission organised by the YMCA.

The images that he saw there left a lasting impression.

He said: 'Dead bodies were still being cleared. I saw six- to eight-year-olds who had recently become orphans. I felt I could do more.'

Mr Vijayarajan, 26, is one of thousands of young Singaporeans who head overseas every year to lend a helping hand.

But those expeditions, known somewhat derisively as 'voluntours', came into the spotlight earlier this month when the head of Singapore's national volunteer association called them 'superficial'.

Mr Stanley Tan, chief of the National Volunteer and Philanthropy Centre, also told The Straits Times the short expeditions were not the best way to teach young people the meaning of giving.

Local groups that have organised such trips recently bristled at Mr Tan's comments.

Ms Peggy Kek, acting director of the Singapore International Foundation, which runs a overseas volunteer programme, said that short-term assignments can be 'a crucial first step for one to begin his or her love affair with volunteerism'.

For Mr Vijayarajan, the Sri Lanka experience encouraged him to volunteer on a more regular basis.

Upon his return, he joined the Singapore arm of international aid agency Habitat for Humanity, which sends teams across the world to rebuild homes. In August this year, he led a team of 19 volunteers to Khao Lak, Thailand, to rebuild a house destroyed by the tsunami.

Mr Yong Teck Meng, the national director of Habitat for Humanity, said many of the volunteers ended up working with the organisation on a regular basis. Without their support, many people would be homeless, he added.

'In Batam, for example, our efforts resulted in the provision of more than 300 houses for the needy,' Mr Yong said.

The volunteers stand to gain too, organisers said.

Expeditions organised by the Singapore Red Cross and the National Youth Council help volunteers develop new skills and learn about other parts of the world.

Volunteers plan months in advance for their missions, assessing the needs of the host community, raising their own funds and taking care of logistics. They also have to write a post-trip evaluation report.

Mr Izuan Rais, who heads the International Relief Division at Mercy Relief, said: 'Upon their return, during post-trip interviews, many of the volunteers feel humbled by the experience. They realise how fortunate they have been and how much more they are capable of doing.'

Ms Aileen Yap, 29, is a civil servant who helped build a house for a tsunami victim in Khao Lak with Habitat for Humanity.

'I couldn't believe that I was able to mix cement, lay bricks and build a house!' she said.

Told this week how volunteers had reacted to his comments, NVPC chief Mr Tan said he was not against this kind of activity.

'I do not discourage overseas volunteer trips, but I'm making a case for volunteers to be nurtured way before they embark on such trips,' he said.