Why we all should be volunteers: Volunteering for community & personal development

The idea of volunteering, especially in a place like Nigeria, is often interpreted as “free work”, or “working without pay”,  

and with the many issues that abound in the largest economy in Africa, volunteering is not readily seen as a path to personal and community development. Volunteering is selfless service, without being forced or paid to do it for the betterment of the lives of others, and society.

Adaora Akojuru, the founder of Beratomato; a tomato processing brand in a conversation with stories from Nigeria shares her experience with volunteering as a path to a career that her academics didn’t necessarily prepare her for (you can read the full story at www.storiesfromnigeria.org/stories/adaora-akojuru). 

Volunteering for her was important in her personal development as well as being an avenue to put to work the skills and talents she had. Even though a student of Agricultural economics at the university, she always had a passion for radio which led her to volunteer at a radio station thus positioning her for a future career in radio. She later got to work in a popular radio station before starting her Beratomato brand. 

In her words, “My very first job towards the end of my graduation happened to be in a radio station. I was passionate and knew I needed to put my passion to work somewhere. I thought to myself “what radio station can I go to?”. 

So, I walk into this radio station in Ife and I am like “Hello, please I would love to see your manager?” and they are like “from where?”. 

I then explain that “I just want to tell her I have all these skills and if you have space, you can employ me. 

I don’t even mind not being paid; I can be a volunteer”. 

I was told I couldn’t see her. Disappointed, I take my leave and as I get to the gate, they call me back that “the manager would see you”.

I walked into her office and introduced myself  “my name is Adaora, and I am a graduate of OAU, I am good at communication and I don’t mind taking a job as a presenter here, on your radio station”. 

She asked “have you done it before?” I said “No but I have listened to radio for almost 10 years, I love radio and I think I can do it”. There wasn’t any vacancy at the time but she took a chance on me and made me a part of the announcers; signing in and signing out radio programs, every experience counts, she said.

I worked there for 9 months as a volunteer, learning and enjoying the process.”

Another person who volunteering has been central to his life is Hammed Kayode Alabi, a young man who grew up in the slums of Makoko in Lagos, and has lived his life dedicated to serving the people in his community, helping to provide them a chance at a better life, and changing their circumstances through education and community development with the Kayode Alabi Leadership Institute.  In a conversation with Stories from Nigeria (see full story at www.storiesfromnigeria.org/stories/hammed-kayode-alabi), shares how volunteering has been critical in his commitment to community development and making an impact in society. 

A common thread in both stories of Adaora and Hammed in the context of volunteering has service at the core of their motivations. It is indeed bold to say that when you are not sure about what path to take in life or how to effectively contribute to society, find a place and a way to serve. The reason is that this kind of service gives you a chance to take a shot at something new in an attempt to have a valuable positive impact on people, communities, and society. There is a degree of selflessness that accompanies volunteering which is critical in building character and patriotism to ensure the development of your immediate community in the capacity in which you are volunteering. 

It is imperative to note that with the myriad of challenges that plague Nigeria, the government in reality cannot solve all the problems hence the need for non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and private individuals who commit their time and resources to tackle some of these issues. This is why we all should be volunteers, because the investment of our time, energy, and resources into worthwhile causes, and issues we care about as volunteers, go a long way toward the development of our communities and society in general. In instances of natural disasters such as the current flooding in parts of Nigeria that has displaced a lot of people, and made them homeless and without hope, we all should be volunteers in times like this, looking at ways of bringing relief, succor, and hope to those affected. Asides from the impact we get to make in the lives of these victims, these acts of providing relief, hope, and support in such trying times make us better humans.

The benefits of volunteering to people in need, worthwhile causes, the community, and even for the volunteer cannot be overemphasized. 

The networking benefits of volunteering are also important in personal growth. In a conversation Stories from Nigeria had with Olalekan Akinsande (see full story at www.storiesfromnigeria.org), a data scientist with the Mastercard foundation, he shares his experience of volunteering as a mentor at a boot camp organized by Data Science Nigeria (DSN) where he got to connect with the founder of the organization and got to work on projects with the organization including one for the Lagos state government sponsored by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. As he shares in his story, this experience was crucial to the phase that followed in his career with the Mastercard Foundation and this was because he chose to volunteer, to serve.