Dr. Muhammad Mahtab Hossain Mazed

Today Thursday 5 December is International Volunteer Day 2024. The day is celebrated to make volunteers aware and skilled in providing humanitarian assistance in any disaster. In the session held on December 17, 1985, the United Nations General Assembly called on governments to celebrate International Volunteer Day on December 5 every year.

The main objective of International Volunteer Day is to raise public awareness about the contribution of volunteers in all aspects of life and to encourage more people to participate in volunteering at home and abroad. Various programs including meetings and seminars have been organized on the occasion of the day in different parts of the country.

Encouraging people to volunteer and engage in the service of humanity is very important. And this is the moral responsibility of people of all ages and levels of society. This responsibility is especially heavy on the youth. One third of the country's manpower is youth. By turning them into Shakti, everyone should be made a servant. Above all, the youth can be organized and face any disaster in the country's needs.

Encouraging the spirit of volunteerism for the development of the country, society and state is now gaining great importance all over the world. The United Nations Volunteers Program (UNV) has been formed for that purpose. It is a German based company. They are active in 130 countries of the world and have field units in 86 countries. Established by the United Nations General Assembly in 1970, this voluntary organization promotes its activities with the assistance of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) office.

In the true sense, every person with human qualities is a volunteer. Every sane person should have the mentality to spend his labor, money and time for the welfare of the individual, society or the state. And those who possess these qualities among mankind are loved by the Creator, as they are by the Creator.

It is a sad but true fact that the number of true selfless volunteers in our society is decreasing day by day. Fake philanthropists are not improving the society, but disturbing the peace of the society, hindering the progress. On this International Volunteer Day today, we hope that everyone's talent should be devoted to human welfare.
And International Volunteer Day is about promoting the spirit of volunteerism and expressing the power of public good. Modern international volunteering began after World War II. Volunteers from different countries have been carrying out voluntary activities and have played a major role in the reconstruction of houses, development of economy and advancement of social civilization.

Governments in many countries undertake various activities on this day to strongly promote, appreciate and support the important role and dedication of volunteers in society.

In everyday life we sometimes come across a group of kind people. They protect the rights of others with their wisdom, demonstrate their skills in big competitions, and contribute to the revival of the countryside.

Nowadays more and more voluntary service projects focus on social needs and become more professional and refined. A community welfare volunteer service platform has been established to cater to the needs of the elderly and the elderly living alone in the area. A volunteer service team consists of professional social workers, volunteers and health workers. They provide 24-hour emergency services to the elderly. The volunteers have also established a service information database based on the diverse needs of the elderly and provide timely solutions to the problems of the elderly.

Youngsters devoting themselves to the service of humanity is undoubtedly a very hopeful sign. The most important thing is that these organizations need suitable staff or members to implement the objectives or achieve the goals. A goal can never be reached; As long as the members of that organization devote themselves fully competently and fully to achieve the goals of that organization. Although members of voluntary organizations come forward to volunteer, there are certain characteristics that are desirable in the members of these organizations. Otherwise its purpose is disrupted and dynamism is lost. If the members of an organization do not follow the constitution-rules of that organization, then that organization quickly loses power. Lust for position is one of the steps to create internal conflict in any organization.

No one is a leader in a voluntary organization. Everyone is dedicated to the service of humanity. It should be remembered that these positions are created only for organizational dynamics. Nepotism or regionalism is another reason for the loss of fraternity and harmonious atmosphere within an organization. This quality often selects incompetent people in leadership selection. This results in rifts within the team and deterioration of mutual relations. Financial integrity is another important factor. Keeping a thorough account of all sources of income and expenditure is one of the hallmarks of an efficient organizer. It does not end here. Financial reports should be thoroughly communicated to members. It will never create mistrust and mistrust towards each other. Mistrust, skepticism, jealousy, backbiting destroy the bonds of love in any organization. If people try to prove their superiority instead of showing off or mutual cooperation, chaos is created in the organization.

The responsibilities and duties of social organization leaders are more important. Instead of thinking of yourself as a leader, you should focus on developing mutual relationships with members. It is important for a good organizer to maintain good personal and organizational relationships with the members of his organization. However, care must be taken that this relationship does not become a cause of nepotism in the organization. It is a characteristic of weak leadership to make a single decision on any matter, thinking of oneself as the most experienced. Knowledge has no limits. If a decision is to be made by discussing it with colleagues, the risk of making a mistake is very low.

It is forbidden to get angry suddenly, to be extreme when colleagues make a mistake. A skilled leader will assume, his comrades will make mistakes. Because people make most mistakes in anger. If anger is not controlled, indecent words or abuse may come out of the mouth. Colleagues will try to hide it in order to save themselves from fire if there is any mistake in the future. As a result, there is a risk of greater damage from these. The characteristic of an ideal leader is to suppress anger and keep the mood normal in hostile environment. Just as members of social organizations should show loyalty to leadership, leaders should treat everyone with courtesy. Only then, by achieving the goal of establishing a voluntary organization, service to humanity will be definitely possible.

But it is a sad but true fact that various organizations are being formed at present. Different branches are growing like the umbrella of a frog. Various organizations are being developed using various social media platforms, especially Facebook. By receiving congratulatory messages mentioning the name of the post on your Facebook profile, the purpose of these names should be completed. Again, in the name of cooperation, complaints about various issues including collection of money and financial irregularities are often raised in the name of some organizations. As a result, on the one hand, special surveillance of the law and order forces is necessary, as well as social organizations need to be brought into the registration process. But it also needs to be noted that the scope of activities of organizations should not be limited in the name of surveillance.
And it is hoped that more young volunteers can be attracted through various volunteering platforms in the future. There should be increased focus on volunteer service areas including helping the elderly, helping the disabled, protecting the environment, and sorting garbage. At the same time we hope to provide better policy support and a better institutional environment for the development of voluntary services, so that voluntary services can serve the future development and needs of the country.

Finally, to survive in society, people need each other's help and cooperation. People always want to help others. It is human instinct. But it is much easier when a few like-minded people work together than when they collaborate alone
It is very important to motivate people to voluntarily engage in the service of humanity. And this is the moral responsibility of people of all ages and levels of society. This responsibility is especially heavy on the youth. Above all, the youth can organize and face any disaster according to the needs of the country. Therefore, some days are celebrated in different countries on certain days of every month every year. All these days are celebrated to remember an important event of the past or to create public awareness about important issues on that particular day. One of those days to celebrate is International Volunteer Day.

The writer is a, organizer, columnist and researcher Founder and Chairman, Jatiya Rogi Kallyan Society