AEGiS-14IAC: Support and commitment from youth volunteers.

14th International AIDS Conference


Barcelona, Spain - July 7-12, 2002

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Support and commitment from youth volunteers.

Int Conf AIDS 2002 Jul 7-12; 14:(abstract no. E11448)

Kandasamy A
Malaysian AIDS Council - Volunteer, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

ISSUES: 1. Difficulty in getting commitment from youth in schools, colleges to do volunteer work . 2. Lack of motivation among youth in schools, colleges to volunteer on a long term basis.

DESCRIPTION: I would like to speak based on my experience as a youth volunteer with various organisations for the past five years. I have found that many youth are willing to participate in volunteer activities on a short term basis, usually for one or two projects, after which there is a lack of interest to follow-up. Alternatively, many are keen to volunteer only if there are tangible benefits accruing to them.(freebies, per diem, travel at no cost to themselves)

ISSUES: 1. It is not easy to get youth to be motivated to volunteer for a cause . They must see it as directly affecting them before they are willing to lend their support. 2. Some youth are keen to volunteer but are unable to sacrifice the required amount of time, or do not have the means(transportation) to do so. 3. Many seek volunteer opportunities that can be completed during term breaks/ school holidays; organisations prefer to have permanent volunteers. 4. Much of Malaysian society do not see volunteer activities as a profitable activity as they do not see tangible benefits accruing to themselves.

RECOMMENDATIONS: 1. Teach youth to relate wider issues to their own existence so that they can form an affinity to a cause (e.g show how their lifestyle choices are connected to AIDS-related issues in a concrete way) 2. Mainstream volunteerism in society: encourage it to be a family affair / encourage volunteerism from a young age in schools 3. Encourage the formulation of youth volunteer groups, where youth take on a project as a group and work together; that way schedules can be worked out to ensure that studies/ family commitments,etc are not neglected while getting the job done at the same time.

Keywords: AEGIS, Voluntary Workers, Motivation, Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome, Schools, Adolescent Health Services, Organizations, Voluntary Health Agencies, Organizations, Nonprofit, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (U.S.), Adolescent, HumanKWDaegis,voluntaryworkers,motivation,acquiredimmunodeficiencysyndrome,schools,adolescenthealthservices,organizations,voluntaryhealthagencies,organizations,nonprofit,centersfordiseasecontrolandprevention(uKWDsKWD),adolescent,human

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E11448

Copyright © 2002 - International AIDS Society (IAS). Reproduction of this abstract (other than one copy for personal reference) must be cleared through the IAS.