Editors' Forum | Jamaica needs fresh injection of volunteerism to create better society
Published:Friday | October 12, 2018 | 12:00 AMPaul Clarke/Gleaner Writer
Eleanor Jones, environmentalist and businesswoman, says that there is need for a fresh injection of selfless giving of one's time and effort to create a better society.
She, however, acknowledged that Jamaica has benefited over the years as a result of volunteerism.
Jones' comments came yesterday during a Gleaner Editors' Forum, held at the newspaper's North Street offices in Kingston, which sought to emphasise the selfless work she and other Jamaicans have done in making the country a livable society.
"Jamaica really has thrived because of volunteerism. Regrettably, it's not as deep as it was in the past. Still, it is my hope that we return to the days where there was a greater sense of national pride and selflessness," she said.
"It's about how to make people better - how to give back," Jones, who stands to receive the Order of Distinction, Officer Class, for her Contribution to the Development of Environmental Management and to Civic Development, added.
The difference between volunteerism now as against then, she said, was that in spite of a person's economic standing, Jamaicans saw it as their duty to help those in need without asking for compensation.
EFFECTS OF URBANISATION
"I think there was a greater sense of civic responsibility back then. There was greater family (not in the sense of the nuclear family) but extended families. We had a sense of caring and we had more of a rural society.
"Urbanisation has made a lot of difference, I think, to many things, not the least is the family and that breakdown, and I think that the lack of volunteerism may have to do with that," Jones said.
It is more a matter of commitment for Neville Whittaker, a councillor in the Kingston and St Andrew Municipal Corporation who has been selected to receive the Badge of Honour for Services to the Corporation on Heroes Day.
"The kind of commitment that we had in the past where people were selfless and would go out and get things done to help someone else, we don't see those people anymore, and if you find them, it's just a few," Whittaker said.
"I think that is one of the reasons why volunteerism is dying. That commitment to serve, and to serve selflessly, is the issue. You don't find people that committed anymore, apparently. Once you ask people to do something, the first thing they ask is if they will be paid," he said.
Trade unionist says voluntary institutions in schools waning
Well-known senator and trade unionist Kavon Gayle is of the view that decline in volunteerism in Jamaica started with the scant regard paid to service clubs in schools, which focuses on assistance without tangible reward and civic pride.
According to Gayle, those clubs received little support, which led to declining interest in them. This, he said, led to a vacuum that remains difficult to plug.
"You had the days when you have the Key Club in schools, the Boys' Brigade, the 4-H Club, and the Girl Guides. Those institutions have not got the support and mentorship and leadership that would have driven it," said Gayle, who, on Monday, will be conferred with the Order of Distinction for Contribution to the Trade Union Movement and the Public Service.
"We have to impress upon our young people that they have to be committed; that they have to be loyal.
"We have to find ways to keep them attracted to certain things and find whatever they are good at so they can offer that kind of support so it becomes their type of volunteerism," said Gayle.