We are third year Public Relations (PR) undergraduates of Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR). We are currently organizing a PR campaign themed Volunteerism.
What is Volunteerism?
A volunteer is one who willingly involves his time without coercion and remuneration to help and aid others without looking forward to reciprocation (Smith, 1994). He/she freely gives his/her time to provide assistance or services for the benefits of others or the environment.
Examples of volunteerism: visit old folks home/orphanage home/ OKU centre and spend time to take care of them, involve in community service projects such as gotong-royong, giving free medical service etc.
To summarize, volunteerism is a concept that encourages people to lend their hand to the people in need. We should be appreciative of whatever we have today because not many people are as lucky as us. Thus, we should help others in need if we have the ability to.
Our Campaign
Our campaign focuses on helping one of the new villages in Malaysia - Tronoh Mines New Village. Located 13 km away from Kampar, it is a Chinese new village with a population of 1,200 people - made up of mainly elderly people and children below the age of 12.
According to the Village Chief, the main source of income of the people there is support from their children working in urban areas. There are elderly villagers suffering from health problems (such as diabetes, kidney problems, high blood pressure, etc). The village is also falling behind in technological infrastructure; the Village Chief mentioned that they do not even have a computer for the top PMR scorer in the village.
Tronoh Mines New Village did not face any big problems or issues (such as Dengue fever or outbreak of diseases) in the recent years. However, the Village Chief did inform us that the new village is fighting for ownership of land for agricultural developments but their efforts have yet to be successful.
We have divided into three subgroups to cover on various aspects in helping the new villagers: Health, Environment and Education. Throughout our campaign period of 7 March 2011 to 10 April 2011, we will be organizing a series of on-campus activities (in UTAR Kampar) and outreach activities (in Tronoh Mines New Village) in attempt to improve the living of the new villagers besides exposing students to the joys, benefits and importance of volunteerism.
Objectives of our Campaign
By helping those in need, volunteers are committed to work for change for the new villagers by delivering help in the areas of education, environment and health.
Explicit meaning: The volunteers will try to make a visible change to Tronoh Mines New Village as well as its villagers by offering services such as “gotong-royong”, medical check up, etc. The changes made will benefit and relieve the villagers of the problems they are facing.
Implicit meaning: Participation of volunteers in the Campaign delivers a wide range of benefits to the villagers, such as improving mental and physical health, providing learning opportunities and fostering friendships through interactions with the villagers. These benefits are actually long-term and non-instant changes but it goes a long way for the villagers and changes their lives in one way or another.
Furthermore, “Volunteers work for change” also defines the hope we have for volunteers who will change their perceptions towards “volunteerism” after they have experienced a sense of achievement and fulfillment after having made a contribution and a real difference to the lives of others.
What is Volunteerism?
A volunteer is one who willingly involves his time without coercion and remuneration to help and aid others without looking forward to reciprocation (Smith, 1994). He/she freely gives his/her time to provide assistance or services for the benefits of others or the environment.
Examples of volunteerism: visit old folks home/orphanage home/ OKU centre and spend time to take care of them, involve in community service projects such as gotong-royong, giving free medical service etc.
To summarize, volunteerism is a concept that encourages people to lend their hand to the people in need. We should be appreciative of whatever we have today because not many people are as lucky as us. Thus, we should help others in need if we have the ability to.
Our Campaign
Our campaign focuses on helping one of the new villages in Malaysia - Tronoh Mines New Village. Located 13 km away from Kampar, it is a Chinese new village with a population of 1,200 people - made up of mainly elderly people and children below the age of 12.
According to the Village Chief, the main source of income of the people there is support from their children working in urban areas. There are elderly villagers suffering from health problems (such as diabetes, kidney problems, high blood pressure, etc). The village is also falling behind in technological infrastructure; the Village Chief mentioned that they do not even have a computer for the top PMR scorer in the village.
Tronoh Mines New Village did not face any big problems or issues (such as Dengue fever or outbreak of diseases) in the recent years. However, the Village Chief did inform us that the new village is fighting for ownership of land for agricultural developments but their efforts have yet to be successful.
We have divided into three subgroups to cover on various aspects in helping the new villagers: Health, Environment and Education. Throughout our campaign period of 7 March 2011 to 10 April 2011, we will be organizing a series of on-campus activities (in UTAR Kampar) and outreach activities (in Tronoh Mines New Village) in attempt to improve the living of the new villagers besides exposing students to the joys, benefits and importance of volunteerism.
Objectives of our Campaign
- To promote the concept of volunteerism to the public, especially students of UTAR by getting them to be involved in voluntary works.
- To increase public awareness towards the concept of volunteerism.
By helping those in need, volunteers are committed to work for change for the new villagers by delivering help in the areas of education, environment and health.
Explicit meaning: The volunteers will try to make a visible change to Tronoh Mines New Village as well as its villagers by offering services such as “gotong-royong”, medical check up, etc. The changes made will benefit and relieve the villagers of the problems they are facing.
Implicit meaning: Participation of volunteers in the Campaign delivers a wide range of benefits to the villagers, such as improving mental and physical health, providing learning opportunities and fostering friendships through interactions with the villagers. These benefits are actually long-term and non-instant changes but it goes a long way for the villagers and changes their lives in one way or another.
Furthermore, “Volunteers work for change” also defines the hope we have for volunteers who will change their perceptions towards “volunteerism” after they have experienced a sense of achievement and fulfillment after having made a contribution and a real difference to the lives of others.
