Did you know: Today is International Volunteer Day?

(Baonghean.vn) - International Volunteer Day was initiated by the United Nations in 1985 to create an opportunity for volunteer organizations and individual volunteers to demonstrate their contributions - at local, national and international levels - to achieving the millennium development goals.

International Volunteer Day is celebrated by many non-governmental organizations, including the Red Cross, the Scouts and others. The day is also celebrated and supported by the United Nations Volunteers programme, which values ​​volunteerism, dedication, enthusiasm and solidarity, through the mobilization of volunteers for development and the promotion of inclusive participation.

In addition to mobilizing thousands of volunteers each year, the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme works closely with partners and governments to establish volunteer programmes in each country to create structures that nurture and sustain local volunteering in the country. Through online volunteering, volunteers can take action for sustainable human development by supporting the activities of development organisations on the Internet.

International Volunteer Day is an opportunity for individual volunteers, communities and organizations to promote their contribution to development at the local, national and international levels. By combining United Nations support with a grassroots mandate, International Volunteer Day is a collective opportunity for people and volunteer-related organizations to work together with government agencies, non-profit organizations, community groups, academia and the private sector of civil society.

The Syrian civil defense rescue group, the White Helmets, is made up of about 3,000 volunteers and has been at the forefront of rescue operations in the country's five-year civil war.

The organization of International Volunteer Day is usually the result of a partnership between the United Nations system, governments, volunteer organizations, and individuals committed to volunteering. Representatives from the media or academia, foundations, the private sector, religious groups, and sports and entertainment organizations are also often involved.

In Vietnam, right after the success of the August Revolution, a nationwide volunteer movement emerged, the movement to “Fight against hunger, fight against illiteracy and fight against foreign invaders”. Most Vietnamese families at that time had a “rice saving jar”, ​​each meal they saved a handful of rice from their meager rations to help the hungry.

Every village opened a mass education class. Anyone who could read and write could become a teacher. Both young and old, men and women, went to school. In just a few months, millions of people escaped illiteracy. The “Golden Weeks” were held in many places. In response to the movement, a bourgeois family in Hanoi donated 5,000 taels of gold to the “Resistance and National Construction” fund.

Millions of young people join the “Three Readies” movement. Photo: Document

In 1950, the first youth volunteer team of 215 people was established in the Viet Bac War Zone. This was an organization of young volunteers, separated from their families, living together and mainly serving in combat.

By the end of 1954, the youth volunteers had thousands of members and by April 1975, there were tens of thousands of young people participating. On the Ho Chi Minh trail alone, in the last five years of the war, there were 150,000 youth volunteers participating in the work.

Today, every day, young people, including the descendants of the former youth volunteers, continue to volunteer to work day and night to turn the narrow trail into a modern North-South route.

In Vietnam, for many young people, volunteering has become an indispensable part of life. Helping others and sharing some of the difficulties with those in need is a beautiful act of young people.

Since the country was completely reunified in 1975, especially since the implementation of the renovation process, the development of a multi-sector economy, and the implementation of the open-door policy, the volunteer movement has developed extensively in both content and diverse forms.

As a result, the movement has attracted more and more people from all walks of life. The movement has expanded to all areas of economic and social life and focused on urgent and burning tasks such as: mine clearance, land reclamation, building new economic zones, afforestation to protect the environment, hunger eradication and poverty reduction, economic and cultural development in remote areas, eradicating illiteracy, helping the disabled and orphans.

Volunteers bring joy to underprivileged children through games.

This year, to celebrate the 32nd anniversary of the United Nations International Volunteer Day (December 5, 1985 - December 5, 2017), and to respond to the Winter Volunteer Campaign 2017 - Spring Volunteer Campaign 2018, the 2017 "Connecting Volunteer Hearts" Program just took place in Ho Chi Minh City.

The program was jointly organized by the Vietnam Youth Social Work Center, the Southern Youth Union of the Central Youth Union, the Southern Youth Union of the Central Youth Union, the Youth Union of Binh Phuoc Province and the Ho Chi Minh City Volunteer Teams and Groups from December 1-3, 2017.

Peace

(Synthetic)