Volunteers, both international and local, play an important role in the creation, provision and expansion of social aid programmes: This is especially true for socially disadvantaged children and young people to improve their living conditions and promote sustainable development.
The aim is to use their positive energy, drive and (sporting) expertise to bring about sustainable change in local communities. Despite these good intentions, there is always a risk that well-intentioned but ill-considered external interventions will create dependencies in the projects.
How can volunteers with sustainable approaches also help to overcome dependency and promote long-term development?
1. Partnership rather than paternalism
The basis for sustainable development and the avoidance of dependency is the establishment of relationships based on partnership.
Rather than paternalistic approaches in which external actors act as ‘saviours’, the focus should be on working with the project and the local population to achieve genuine, sustainable local cooperation.
Effective partnership and participation requires the involvement of local people in decision-making processes. It is important to listen to their voices and understand their needs in order to develop tailor-made solutions together.
This applies to interpersonal and cultural as well as local political, demographic and geographical circumstances. In addition to a partnership approach, the focus should be on empowering local leaders and promoting their ability to solve problems independently. This contributes to sustainable change from within.
2. Strengthening local competencies
Strengthening local communities is essential for sustainable development External support should aim to equip local people with the skills, resources and tools they need to overcome their own challenges.
Empowerment means that communities are the main actors in their own development process. An effective approach is to create mentoring and establish training opportunities that do not focus on short-term solutions. The aim is to provide skills that will enable local people to improve their lives for themselves.
As a sports volunteer, you can use your sporting expertise to support and encourage the project mentor in their work with children and young people. You will share your sporting expertise and inspire enthusiasm for a ‘new’ or familiar sport.
In turn, the project mentor and local coaches can contribute their newly acquired skills and potential to the local project on an ongoing basis. They can lead training sessions for children and young people in the project themselves as coaches, or encourage and enable others to take on training sessions or organisational tasks in sport independently.
With your volunteer help, the programme can be expanded, developed and passed on to the local community.
3. Creating long-term prospects
A common problem with volunteering is the focus on short-term solutions. People want to see the fruits of their labour directly or immediately. It is important to question one’s own motivation and to be prepared for frustration and setbacks.
Long-term perspectives and solutions are important to avoid dependency. As a volunteer, you should be aware that sustainable development takes time. The aim should not be to save the world single-handedly.
Within projects, you should aim to develop long-term initiatives that work on a political, environmental, economic and social level. It is important to provide support that aims for sustainable development and long-term positive change, rather than just offering temporary solutions.
This requires the involvement of promoters, communities and all stakeholders in a project proposal throughout the planning and decision-making process.
Acceptance of the offer and the changes it seeks to bring about within a community is crucial. The various measures must therefore meet needs and be supported by everyone.
4. Promoting the local economy
Strengthening the local economy is an essential step in overcoming dependency.
Social projects can not only help children and young people to reduce existing grievances and create new prospects, but also offer the opportunity to support and promote local businesses. This can be done by providing expertise and training, funding or other resources.
All of this helps to reduce dependency on external support. Through volunteers and volunteering in general, projects gain access to these valuable resources. For example, volunteers’ expertise in sports can help to improve and expand the range of sports available in the community.
Project contributions and donations, for example, increase equipment and financial resources, and host families receive economic support. This support creates a foundation and sets in motion a development that leads to long-term independence. Social projects can establish themselves in such a way that they become visible and are supported by local resources (companies and authorities) or develop into independent social enterprises.
5. Develop cultural sensitivity
In order to avoid dependency, it is also essential to develop cultural sensitivity.
Volunteers should be aware that their perspectives and solutions are not necessarily transferable to local contexts and should not be transferred.
Cultural sensitivity encourages a respectful exchange of ideas and enables the development of tailored solutions that meet the needs of communities. It is important to recognise, respect and integrate local traditions, values and norms into the project approach.
This not only helps to avoid conflict, but also builds trust, acceptance and cooperation between all local stakeholders and volunteers.
Read more:
The right motivation and how to prepare yourself to help as a sports volunteer abroad.
