FORUM (Spotlight Weekly)

'87 Nepalis serving as UN volunteers'

By HENNING KARCHER

Mother Teresa once said, "There should be less preaching --preaching does not unite us. What unites us together is working together for mutual benefit." I think this thought captures the essence of voluntarism and the values of voluntarism, which not only accomplish concrete achievements, but also give people a sense of belonging and a feeling of being valuable.

Proclaiming the year 2001 as the International Year of Volunteers was a wise decision by the United Nations General Assembly and a good omen for the new millennium.

As Mother Teresa stated, 'there should be less preaching' and more action, but there is sometimes a need to find time to praise and applaud those that have already made voluntary contributions. Indeed, in his remarks at the opening of the IYV 2001 at the UN headquarters in New York, Secretary-General Kofi Annan, underlined the objective of the recognition of volunteer efforts as a key part of IYV. He said, "Societies need to recognize and promote voluntarism as a valuable activity. They must facilitate the works of volunteers, and encourage volunteer action at home and abroad..."

This is a wonderful occasion, yet just a very small representation of all those who day after day and year after year make a voluntary contribution to the social and economic development of Nepal. Volunteers of all ages, from all ethnic groups and from all levels of the society play a role in this process. We heard from a couple of admirable people and we heard what it takes to be a volunteer. But I want to share with you the good fortune that I had in seeing the results of voluntary efforts.

I am proud that one of the jewels in the UN system is our very own United Nations Volunteers program. The UN volunteers are very often the human face of the UN action all over the world and the UN volunteers in and from Nepal are no exception. There are 87 Nepali nationals serving as UN volunteers in places like East Timor, Kosovo, Sierra Leone and Afghanistan.

In 1999 Nepal ranked as the fifth biggest supplier of United Nations Volunteers. But the story doesn't end there. Nepal's great capacity for volunteer talent is also clearly visible in the successful service of National UN Volunteers and their tremendous contribution to development in the remote areas of Nepal, to the fight against HIV/AIDS, in the development of rural infrastructure, and the promotion of gender equity.

During my two and half years in Nepal, I have also been witness to marvelous, concrete results of the work of the non-governmental sector and of the traditional volunteer systems. In a village, Khokhna, just a few kilometers from my house, there is an ancient mustard seed mill which last year was wholly renovated through volunteer services mobilized by the village "guthi'. Last week, as one of many activities at a community level to celebrate the start of IVY, a local NGO organized the distribution of food -- a "khir bhojan" program -- to benefit the needy elderly people in a shelter in the Pashupatinath complex.

This just a snap shot of some of the things the voluntary sector is doing. But sadly, on both global and national scale, so many of the important contributions that the volunteers make are often overlooked. Indeed, most countries do not take the services into account when calculating national output. In a few countries where they have measured, it is estimated that volunteer activities make up between 8 to 14 percent of the Gross Domestic Product. In the United States for instance, the volunteer work force represents the equivalent of over 9 million full-time employees, at an annual value of $225 billion. Just imagine what the value might be for Nepal? Perhaps in this year of IVY, some inroad will be made into researching the figure and its implications.

The three pillars of IVY 2001 that will make the year a success, are the plans in Nepal to promote volunteerism further, to recognize the efforts of volunteers, and to enable those involved in the voluntary sector to network more effectively. By calling upon the volunteers, and to building partnership with the civil society. His Majesty's Government can help increase the efficiency of public services, and ensure that they reach more people. If at the end of 2001 the year is to be evaluated a success, and all the stakeholders must be committed to achieving results: more volunteer assignments, more volunteer activities, more volunteer resources, and more efficient management of the voluntary sector, and, quite simply, more volunteers.

(Excerpts from a statement given by Dr KARCHER, UNDP Resident Representative, at the opening ceremony of IVY 2001 on December 15)