Your one step towards humanity will be a giant leap towards developed India. Or as our Prime Minister would like to call it, “Aatmanirbhar Bharat”. Being the social creatures that we are, one of our basic daily needs is feeling connected to something larger than us. We crave a sense of belonging.
This explains why we feel a sense of happiness when we gave up our bus seat to a pregnant woman or feed a poor person on the street. You will be surprised to know how much these little actions that fill us with happiness have an effect on sustainable development.
This subconscious volunteering, when given a dimension and a cause, becomes a cement needed to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that the UN has set and aims to achieve by 2030.
These SDGs have given a new vision towards volunteering and civic engagement. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon said of it,
“Volunteerism can help to expand and mobilise constituencies, and to engage people in national planning and implementation for sustainable development goals. And volunteer groups can help to localise the new agenda by providing new spaces of interaction between governments and people for concrete and scalable actions.”
For achieving the SDGs, governments cannot act alone, as has been recognised by the UN. And therefore, volunteering and civic society play an important role.
Volunteerism has been seen to strengthen civic engagements. It is a vehicle for sustainable growth and development. Apart from helping the ones in need, it brings in a sense of community and belonging, and enhances trust among diverse groups of society. It builds resilience and improves one’s experience and knowledge, thus, improving the employability of an individual.
Volunteerism increases awareness about global issues, challenges that one might face, thus forcing them to bring out the best in themselves. Volunteerism has a ripple effect, it inspires others to participate in the same. Moreover, it also contributes financially to society, bringing in four times its investment. Thus, needless to say, volunteering is a necessity for society to develop as a whole.