Together, let’s act now!

Together, let’s act now!

For the future of our planet, we must act together, and we must act now. This is not a time to stand alone. It is a time to stand together, in solidarity with one another. Through hard-earned experience, we have realised that we succumb to the pressures of our circumstances if we insist on standing alone. We have understood that by standing together, we can stay strong and create positive change.

Together, act now

On International Volunteer Day we celebrate people everywhere who act together with others, for people and for our planet. Volunteers come in many shapes and sizes but have the common trait that they put their humanity into practice and extend their solidarity through selfless volunteering.

Solidarity with the most affected people

We face the greatest crisis in human history and that of the planet, namely the triple whammy of the climate emergency, the biodiversity crisis, and poisoning by pollution. It is a manmade catastrophe that threatens life as we know it.

We are also acutely aware that the people who have contributed the least to the climate crisis are the ones who will suffer the most from its consequences, namely rural communities in the global south. The most affected peoples and areas also managed to make their voices heard at the COP 27 meeting in Egypt, and for the first time ever, a fund to compensate crisis-struck countries for “loss and damages” was agreed upon.

However, while we wait for these funds to materialise, people suffer. There has never been a better time to join the ranks of people who take action now, to move towards social and climate justice. The floods and the droughts are real. The climate already changed. People urgently need access to basic human rights such as quality education, health care, and food security through climate-smart agriculture – just to mention a few.

Our project partners, national NGOs under the Humana People to People umbrella, run development programmes based on the needs of marginalised communities. Thousands of local volunteers join the professional staff to carry out the programmes, and the good news is that international volunteers are welcome, too.

The role of an international volunteer

As an international volunteer at a Humana People to People project is to act into the framework of the project activities with an attitude of solidarity towards the people in the communities, the project leaders, and their partners. You will contribute with your heart, mind, and hands ready for action. With time and togetherness, you, and the people you join at the project will bring about positive change

As a volunteer with Humana People to People, you join a movement. The projects have long-term aims and are community-led. Sustainability is key when we talk about development programmes. All projects must end eventually, but the impact of the project should be substantial, positive, equitable and long-lived, meaning that the communities will be empowered to carry the new practices forward long into the future.

As an international volunteer, you can contribute with your skills and ideas to the project, without taking away agency from the people who are at the core of it. Your skills and time are supporting the aims of the long-term project for a limited time, but in that time, you can contribute with elements that add something extra to the project.

Transnational exchanges

Responsible international volunteerism offers an opportunity to learn about different cultures in a hands-on manner. Most likely it will help shatter any stereotypical beliefs you might have and bring a deeper intercultural understanding and respect.

Volunteering, implemented on a basis of solidarity, brings people together, regardless of whether the exchange is domestic or international.

How can you contribute?

By participating in the 10-month Volunteer for Change programme run by DRH Lindersvold you can support the efforts of community-based projects in either Zambia, Mozambique, Malawi, or India (depending on the pandemic situation and other external factors beyond our control.)

Here, you and your team are hosted by an NGO under the Humana People to People umbrella. You are connected to a long-term community project to do with Health, Education, Agriculture, Community Development or Environment.

As volunteers, you contribute to these sustainable development programmes in different ways, depending on what is needed and with the overarching aim of learning from the communities and their situation in the global reality, while you contribute to the project with your skills and experience.

Apart from experiencing learning and working together in a “people to people” way, you strengthen your personal and social skills when you immerse yourself in a Malawian, Zambian or Indian community. You will probably learn more than you can imagine.

Read more about the programme here.