OVC Support Toolkit  >  Running a programme  >  Doing the Work 

Working with Volunteers

This section explores issues relating to ways in which NGOs and CBOs work with community-based volunteers. Such people are often the key group in doing work with orphans and other vulnerable children at community level. It looks at how these people are selected, trained and supported.

Other sections looking at related issues include doing the work, local advocacy and running an organization. Key points about working with community volunteers are:

1. These volunteers should be selected by members of the local community using a process and criteria agreed by the community.

2. Training should be relevant to the activities the volunteer is expected to carry out and should be ongoing.

3. Ways need to be found to provide ongoing support and encouragement for community-based volunteers. Initial training only is unlikely to be sufficient to achieve this. Clear policies on 'incentives' for volunteers may need to be developed.

4. In many projects, volunteers are mainly women. Ways need to be found to mobilize men into these roles and to share the burden of care more equitably.

Visiting orphans and other vulnerable children

Many NGOs that work with orphans and other vulnerable children do so by supporting visiting programmes which operate through community-based volunteers. To get these programmes started, such volunteers need to be selected. This should be done by the local community using a process and criteria developed by them. Examples of criteria for volunteers developed by one programme include leading from the heart, people skills, ability to manage community change, ability to be a role model and a sense of humour.

Training Volunteers

Many programmes conduct initial training for their community-based volunteers. The precise content of this training varies but is likely to include training for what the volunteer may need to do during a visit, sources of additional support and record-keeping systems. Experience has shown that initial training alone is unlikely to be sufficient, and that training needs to be ongoing.

Ongoing Support to Volunteers

A key element of working with volunteers involves supporting them in their work on an ongoing basis. This support may take many forms and may include:

• Ongoing training - this may include workshops, training elements in support meetings and also exchange visits to other programmes
• Support/supervision meetings
• Feedback on individual and programme performance. This feedback may come from various sources, including from inside and outside the local community
• Visits to the programme. These may be motivational, in that they give recognition to the volunteers and the work they are doing. However, they can be problematic particularly if the number of visits becomes excessive
• Counselling and other supports to overcome problems of stress and burnout
• Allowing volunteers to actively participate in programme development
• Ensuring realistic workload, given that volunteers carry out programme activities as volunteers, in addition to other responsibilities
• Group identity - many volunteers gain support from religious bodies they belong to
• Material incentives - such as food, soap, T-shirts, shoes etc. This element is potentially problematic because of the risk of creating dependency. Clear guidelines may be helpful in this regard.

In many programmes, the majority of volunteers visiting orphans and other vulnerable children are women. This emphasizes the point that the burden of care which results from HIV/AIDS is falling mainly on women.

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