INTERNATIONAL VOLUNTEER DAY

GIVE Network celebrate this year international Volunteer Day in style and in an innovative ways by getting their hands dirty through community development. find below the reports of the event.


Workshop with Students
The workshop with Secondary Students covering Millennium Development Goals, Communication Skills, Values and Value Clarification, was held on Thursday, 3rd December, 2009 in Obanikoro, Lagos. This followed a series of meetings with the school authority and a Talk with the Students on the School’s Assembly ground at 7:45am on the same day of the workshop.

The workshop kicked off on a spirited note with Ike Nwibe, The Program Officer of GIVE Network giving the opening address which provided the students with the basic knowledge of the importance of the workshop and the International Volunteer Day celebration. Ike Nwibe facilitated on the topic Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), thereby giving the ladder of participation as; interactive, clear etc. More so, the students were motivated to identify areas of interest for active participation and join in the combat against global problems. In another session, facilitated by Nike Fagade, the Executive Director of Positive Development Foundation, participants were provided with the basic knowledge of Communication Skills emphasizing on listening and writing skills with illustrations. Finally, at the climax of the workshop was a session facilitated by Aina Ojisola which has active participation of all the students, defining value as an accepted principle of a person or group of people in the community. He encouraged the participants to always be of good character and to also join in promoting positive values in their communities and among their peers. A total of 152 students were in attendance.

Community Service Project
8:00am on 5 December, 2009, 20 volunteers from various Volunteer-Involving Organizations in Lagos gathered at the Home for Destitute in Okobaba, Ebute-Meta for a cleaning exercise. This was following a Needs Assessment carried out by Ayodele Taofiq Fanida of Humanitarian Voluntary Association for Community Development and Ike Nwibe of Civil Society Network for Volunteering Development (a.k.a GIVE Network) which revealed that the community was not in a conducive state for human habitation. To also promote the message of Volunteering and Social Responsibility, the volunteers displayed their selfless spirits by helping to clean the environment.

The whole premises were swept and drainages were cleared, the toilets, bathrooms, drainages, gutters and the entire premises were fumigated in order to disinfect the environment.

The Lagos Waste Management Agency was approached for support with cleaning equipments and also informed of the massive refuse dump which needed an urgent attention.

At the end of the cleaning exercise, there was a sensitization with the leader of the community and some members on International Volunteer Day and the need to take responsibility for our community. The leaders were grateful and they prayed for all the volunteers for their selfless attitude. Clothes, Shoes and some foodstuff were distributed to members of the community. Three media organizations were present namely; Eko FM, This Day Newspaper and Radio Nigeria.


Award Ceremony
At 3:00pm on 5 December, 2009, Volunteers, students, youth leaders and representatives of a number of Civil Society Organizations in Lagos gathered in the premises of HOPE worldwide Nigeria for the International Volunteer Day Award Ceremony to recognize the contributions of volunteers to organizational, community, national and global development.

There was an opening speech by Mr. A. A. Adebisi of the Humanitarian Voluntary Association for Community Development who represented Sir Sunny Nwosu, President Independent Shareholders Association of Nigeria. In his remark, Dr. Chika Nwosu, Volunteer Manager, HOPE worldwide Nigeria and member, National Steering Committee shared his experiences in volunteering and how he has benefited from serving selflessly. They both emphasized on the need for Nigerians to engage in volunteering as a tool for sustainable development in Nigeria.
A feature of the Summit was the presentation of certificate awards for recognition to 40 volunteers that comprised 14 females and 26 males as a motivation to the awardees and other volunteers and individuals which was in line with the purpose of the IVD. As they shared their stories on how they have been contributing their time and skills to make positive change, it was a moment of inspiration to listeners. Other volunteers present at the Summit also saw it as an opportunity to share their contribution towards positive development with others. And Oyin Samuel, a musician, put up a voluntary performance on youth and their contribution to Nation’s growth.