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Promises, promises: foreign aid and the Federal election
Beyond the snappy slogans, baby-kissing and photo ops inherent on the hustings, policy announcements take centre stage. However, asylum seeker issues aside, it’s been a relatively quiet Federal Election campaign on the foreign policy front.
Of course, elections are more likely won (or lost) on issues closer to home and their affect on voters’ hip-pockets. But if you’re also concerned about what the result on August 21 will mean for Australia’s financial commitment to the world’s developing nations. ... read more |
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Opportunities like a small business budgeting program that provides advice on business planning and financial management. A microcredit program which provides small loans to individual women to start a business and savings and social support mechanisms through the establishment of community level self help groups. Functional literacy and business related numeracy education and health rducation workshops improve understanding of health and hygiene, family planning and mental health.
Your life changing generosity will be multiplied 6 times, allowing us to build on the work we’ve started, together, empowering vulnerable women and girls and giving them the opportunity of a much brighter future. ...more |
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Learn more about development issues and our work by watching these short films and presentations. Come back again for information on upcoming visits by representatives of our overseas partners.
International Needs Australia
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Australians keen to volunteer
After the devastating bushfires of Black Saturday, 17,000 Australians quickly volunteered to help in the recovery process.* This generosity of spirit is just an example, of how more and more people in Australia are choosing to volunteer their time.
According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the number of people volunteering, and the hours spent on voluntary activity, has been steadily rising since 1995.
In 2006 the census showed that 5.4 million people, or 35% of the population, participated in voluntary work. This shows an increase from 4.4 million in 2000, and from 3.2 million in 1995.**
Indeed there is a lot of volunteering that goes on at International Needs. There are several committed volunteers who assist in our Melbourne office, in some cases for many years. They help out in different ways, from assisting with child sponsorship mail-outs, to accounting.
There are also volunteers who work with our overseas partner organisations. In Sri Lanka, former International Needs CEO Clive Stebbins is Principal at the Hatton School, where he has been teaching for ten years. Soon, another volunteer from Melbourne is going to the Philippines for twelve months, to assist in the pre-schools being set up in the slums of Manila.
Why do people volunteer?
People volunteer for all sorts of reasons. Some people are motivated by altruism; they simply want to help others, or help out in their community. But people can also be doing so for the many other side benefits of volunteering; to gain personal satisfaction, to have social contact, to keep active, to use skills and experience, and it is also a great way to learn new skills and gain work experience. People can volunteer for just one or several of these reasons.
I want to volunteer, but where do I start?
If you would like to volunteer, there are endless possibilities. There are so many choices that it can be quite daunting. Volunteering NSW recommends you ask yourself the following questions:
- What skills and talents can I offer?
- How can my skills and talents help a community organisation?
- What values and experiences would I like to explore? ***
A good place to start looking for the voluntary activity that is perfect for you is GoVolunteer (http://www.govolunteer.com.au). On their website you can search by activity, type of organisation you would like to work for, location, and even the number of hours per week you would like to work. It is the most comprehensive database of volunteer jobs in Australia.
If you would like to find out more about volunteering news and events, research, and training opportunities visit Volunteering Australia (http://www.volunteeringaustralia.org). This is the national peak body to advance volunteering in Australia. On their website you can also subscribe to their monthly e-newsletter InVOLve, which has stories and issues affecting volunteering and the not-for-profit sector.
If you are interested in volunteering overseas, Australian Volunteers International (http://www.australianvolunteers.com) advertises many positions all over the world. They have long-term professional roles, including agricultural, education/training and media/ communications.
VIDA (Volunteers for International Development Australia) is a government funded organisation which also has many long-term positions. More information can be found at http://www.vidavolunteers.com.au. If you aged 18-30, AYAD (Australian Youth Ambassadors for Development) is another government funded volunteer program, which posts many assignments at http://www.ayad.com.au.
Of course, if you would like to volunteer for International Needs, we would love to hear from you. Please call us on 1300 731 550 or email info@internationalneeds.org.au and tell us what kind of work you would like to get involved in.
* http://www.probonoaustralia.com.au/news/detail.chtml?filename_num=268410
** http://www.ausstats.abs.gov.au/ausstats/subscriber.nsf/0/C52862862C082577CA25731000198615/$File/44410_2006.pdf
*** http://www.volunteering.com.au/become_a_volunteer/volunteer_referral_service.asp |
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