Volunteer Activities

 

                       Mother Teresa said �ga person who is shut out, who feels unwanted, unloved, terrified,

 

                            the person who has been thrown out of society - that spiritual poverty is much harder to

 

                            overcome.�h  She meant that a person who is alone feels unhappy.  These days, we are

 

                            obligated to participate in volunteer activities.  There are lots of voluntary jobs and lots of

 

                            people who are doing volunteer work, but they don�ft feel a sense of duty.  We must do it

 

                            with a mind of mutual help, if so, we can feel the pleasure and importance of volunteering.

 

                            By working together, it empowers individuals and builds solidarity.

 

                                 In July 29, 2002, students were obliged to take part in volunteer activities for several

 

                            reasons.  According to the report by the Central Council for Education, �git is necessary to

 

                            promote volunteer activities among all society group members,�h and they granted some

 

                            privileges to people do voluntary work.  When university students volunteer, it�fs accepted

 

                            by the university as a credit.  For younger students, it�fs accepted in the entrance

 

                            examination as a part of the evaluation.  Voluntary activities value free will, commitment,

 

                            engagement and solidarity.  These are the foundations of volunteerism.  We can say the

 

                            report isn�ft based on the values of voluntary work.  Volunteering is an expression of

 

                            support, so there are many spaces to examine the report.

 

                                 These days volunteer events have become popular and the number of volunteers is

 

                            growing continually.  We can do many volunteer activities whenever we want to.

 

                            There is no limit to the variety and forms of voluntary actions; For example, there are

 

                            activities for handicapped people, poor people, animals, the environments and others.  We

 

                            can find many opportunities when we look around us and our community with a heart of

 

                            volunteerism.  The easiest volunteer activities are smiling and greeting people.  A pleasant

 

                            smile and greeting, makes people feel better, so it is the easiest volunteer.  Correcting

 

                            something is the second easiest volunteer activity.  Spent telephone cards, spent prepaid

 

                            cards, old clothes, spent stamps, miss written post cards are available in the poor countries.

 

                            In Japan, a community chest campaign is carried out at the end of the fiscal year.  A year

 

                            end charity drive is enforced for social welfare.  The money collected is very useful in

 

                            our own communities, so it is very important to join in the chest campaign.  Picking up

 

                            trash is one of the volunteer activities, too.  There is no restriction on voluntary work.  You

 

                            can do it at every stage of your life.  It means we can volunteer without difficulty.  We only

 

                            need to have a mind of helping each other.

 

                                 In Japan, many people are working for welfare and there are many kinds of well

 

                            equipped welfare facilities.  Some of the people who are working for welfare are �gvolunteer

 

                            coordinators�h, �gcare managers�h, �ghome helpers�h and so on.  A �gvolunteer coordinator�h

 

                            works in the arrangement of people who want to volunteer and people who need help.

 

                            A �gcare manager�h helps to arrange nursing care for people who need it, and knows about the

 

                            available nursing plans.  A �ghome helper�h visits houses where old people or the

 

                            handicapped live.  The �ghome helper�h advise these peoples on their lives.  Besides these

 

                            people, there are special jobs for particular people; For example, �gsign language interpreters�h

 

                            work for people who are deaf and deaf-mute.  People who train the Seeing Eye dogs, work

 

                            for people who are blind.  The �gwelfare commissioner�h works for people who need support

 

                            from administration.  Thanks to these people, the circle of normalization is expanding.  We

 

                            must learn more about these people�fs work as members of our community.  The most

 

                            familiar welfare facility for the residents of Miyazaki city is Miyazaki Municipal Welfare

 

                            Center.  It holds the Miyazaki municipal conference of welfare and it offers volunteer

 

                            activities for people to participate in.  Of course, there are many people working for this

 

                            center.

 

                                 Voluntary activities are very important and valuable for at least three reasons.  Firstly,

 

                            these activities allow us to extend sympathy and have a mind of mutual help.  It contributes

 

                            to more cohesive societies by establishing a relationship of mutual trust among people.

 

                            Secondly, volunteering brings lots of benefits to both society at large and the individual.  It

 

                            may solve both our small problems and big problems.  In addition, it may also change our

 

                            society.  Thirdly, if we think about voluntary work with a global point of view, we can

 

                            support human development.  Further more, it brings peace and happiness all over the

 

                            world.  Accordingly, having a volunteer focused mind and doing voluntary work are very

 

                            important.

 

                       In conclusion, volunteering brings many benefits to our society.  At the heart of

 

                            volunteerism are the ideals of solidarity and the belief that together we can make our

 

                            life better.  In that sense, we can say that volunteerism is the ultimate expression of

 

                            helping each other.  We ought to participate in many volunteer activities willingly, from

 

                            now on.