Volunteerism is all about giving a part of you. It is not about giving something spare and something which is not useful to you. It is not what is there in for me; it is about what I can give to others. The World is running not on the profits earned by the corporate, or by the schemes run by the government but by the people who give to others selflessly. Caritas India too understands volunteering as a powerful and practical way to reach out to the most marginalized sections and reduce poverty and inequality. It believes that it is only when people step forward – either as local or national citizens – the sustainable change happens. By enabling people and the communities to play a more active role in development by volunteering, the essential pre-conditions for systemic and sustainable change such as ownership, participation, empowerment and inclusion – can be realised.

“Preparedness is the only way we can combat disaster.” Caritas India takes a step forward towards preparing themselves towards timely response during a disaster. 5 days Volunteers Training programs was organized for the newly enrolled volunteers under PEACH program of Caritas India. Participants hailed from volunteers enrolled from Delhi & Uttar Pradesh.

The programme began on first day with Ms. Veditha Reddy, IAS, Deputy Commissioner, MCD, Rohini Zone inaugurating the training. She enlightened with her speech and appraised all for the will and dedication of each participant to be a part of this volunteer training program. She mentioned that in a rapidly developing society, one should have a resilient infrastructure where the volunteers can pitch in and contribute in assisting the concerned administration. It was followed by Mr. Rajesh Upadhyay, HOD, Program Support Service, Caritas India briefed about Caritas India and its engagement in various programs such as Disaster Risk Reduction, Agriculture and Climate Change, Health and Nutrition, Skills and Livelihood, Peace building, Anti Human Trafficking and Safe Migration. The inaugural day focussed on “Why volunteering?” and “What is the impact of Volunteering?” Participants were oriented on Caritas India’s volunteering policy and expected code of conduct for Caritas India volunteers.

The second and third day of the training, the participants were oriented on Sphere Standards including Humanitarian Charter, Core Humanitarian Standards and Protection Principals to be practiced during Humanitarian Aid as a volunteer with Caritas India. At the end of second day volunteers visited ROPIO Foundation as part of their exposure visit. Volunteers conducted poster making workshop for children from classes 6-8 by making them aware on water conservation; for students of class 9 and above interactive session on sex education was led by the volunteers. The exposure visit ended with volunteers preparing food for children and themselves and sharing the meal together.

Fourth and Fifth day focussed on training on First Aid conducted by Mr Prateek Pal, St John Ambulance Association. Two days of first aid encompassed first aid principles, structure of human body, dressings and bandages, fractures, wounds and bleeding and many other basics techniques to be used to address emergencies in our daily lives.

The training concluded with volunteers preparing action plan on different themes and curbing social evils prevalent around their residential cities. As they departed from a journey of enrichment and motivation towards volunteering, each participant committed to execute the prepared plans