Quotidian volunteerism might be the key

Filipinas!

How have we been doing since the 1940s after the Pacific War? Seems like a little less than eight decades is not enough for us to master the art and science of governing a society of diverse cultures in the archipelago. What have we become? 

There is no questioning on the capabilities of the Filipinos. We are intelligent people but for what? Where do we place our loyalties? Where do we bet our efforts on? Why, why are we not as successful as other countries in Asia? And on a larger scale, in the world?

Today, the fifth of December of every year, is celebrated as United Nations’ International Volunteer Day (IVD), with the theme, “Solidarity through Volunteering”. This day reminds us of the priceless contribution of volunteers in achieving anything and everything they work altogether on. That acting in solidarity can make things happen, even move mountains, figuratively speaking. 

In the Philippine setting where we have 7,641 islands (although only around 2,000 are said to be inhabited), we haven’t really tried that solidarity of having volunteers that work for a common goal in all aspects of society and governance unless during election period where we get to know the people with the same candidate as ours. 

Volunteers exist, of course, they do. So many people I know make themselves available with their time, treasure, and talent, for their organizations as volunteers. What if we look farther than organizations with specific targets? What if we begin to make ourselves available as volunteer participants in good governance highlighting the good works of people which inspire and uplift others and finding solutions on how to report wrongdoings and misdeeds of our fellow citizens including government officials?

We always say it is an ideal but unachievable. But have we tried? Have we tried actively participating in governance as volunteers and solidly voicing out the outcry for a better Philippines? 

Filipinos have always been divided. This article may not have power to unite those who genuinely wish for the country to be at par with the developed and more progressive ones, some even smaller than our domain, but these words need to be written! It needs to be told that we need to unite and we need to be volunteers ourselves without expecting anything in return but fruits of our labor as concerned Filipino citizens. 

While it may seem impossible to make a change by leaps and bounds, we can start small in our communities and nearby municipalities then meet at the center to do the work. We have done some rehearsals in campaigning and voting our candidates during elections. Let us try doing it on a non-election period with our candidates being the values of good governance instead of personalities and celebrities that we want to put in a position. Let the values prevail over politicians. Maybe we can make a little change that will soon get bigger in time as we master the art of volunteerism from the outskirts, meeting altogether at the center. 

Would you start your own in your place? Maybe a quotidian volunteerism will work. Why don’t we give it a try?