Creating an enabling environment means supporting the development of a legal framework. It also means support to build platforms and infrastructures to enable people to volunteer and work to raise awareness and the profile of volunteering.
South Africa
VSO South Africa is working with partners to create an enabling environment and provide support for policy formation. They are also seeking to promote networking and resource sharing initiatives between national volunteering programmes and organisations throughout the country.
Meetings and workshops with partners have highlighted the neutral role that VSO could play in realizing the potential and establishing such a network.
Kenya
In Kenya NAVNET was formed by returned VSO volunteers. VSO Jitolee has supported NAVNET by providing training in volunteer management and fundraising. Two members participated in the Commonwealth Fellowship programme in the UK, gaining valuable volunteer management skills and experience. VSO has agreed to provide seed funding to cover secretariat and operating costs for 3-5 years and to provide technical support and mentoring to help NAVNET to become an established and self-sustaining organisation.
China
In Guangdong, the province that pioneered volunteering development in China, a survey in 2005 showed that a lack of common understanding of volunteering is the major obstacle to the thriving of volunteering in the province. Although helping others is deeply rooted in the Chinese tradition, the political movements in the past few decades, and the thriving market economy, have tainted people’s perception and understanding of volunteering. Many argue that efforts should be focussed at a very early stage, especially school children, so as to reinvigorate a culture of volunteering in China.
VSO China’s research has shown that an important step in achieving this objective would be more information sharing, communication and education activities to highlight the role that volunteering can play in the fight against poverty and disadvantage in China.
