Like other parts of world, 'International Volunteer Day' was observed here on Monday with a renewed pledge that all out efforts would continue to promote volunteerism, strengthening support provided to volunteers, and recognising the contributions of volunteers.
To mark the day, only a few organisations organised separate functions to highlight the significance of the day. Speakers in these functions said in the wake of massive devastation caused by recent earthquake in Azad Kashmir and NWFP, there was dire need for creating more opportunities for people to contribute to development in tangible ways through volunteerism. They praised the government for launching National Volunteer Movement to help out the quake stricken people in that hour of need.
They, however, called upon the government to impart necessary training to registered volunteers to respond to disasters and to provide primary health care to victims. They called for promoting better, more sustainable and effective volunteerism on national level. 'Volunteers play an essential role in effectively implementing assistance programmes, especially in countries where care services are scarce and administrative infrastructure inadequate. The goals of eradicating poverty and checking infant mortality cannot be realistically achieved without the mobilisation and broad commitment of volunteers', they pointed out.
Moreover, a volunteer Naveed Iqbal told Business Recorder here on Monday the recent earthquake in the country had highlighted the invaluable contributions of volunteers.
It may be mentioned the United Nations General Assembly through Resolution 40/212 established the International Volunteer Day on 17 December 1985. Since then, governments, the UN system and civil society organisations have successfully joined volunteers around the world to celebrate the Day on 5th December.
UN Volunteers (UNV) is the UN organisation that supports attainment of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) through the promotion of volunteerism, including the mobilisation of volunteers. To this end, UNV provides the opportunity each year for more than 7,000 women and men - 75 per cent coming from developing countries - to support peace, relief and development initiatives in some 140 countries.