In the twenty-first century, characterized by endless problems everywhere (the leading economies, the emerging countries and the third world), caring has become a major public issue.
Brainstorm some of the sectors of the population who are badly in need of help and who could benefit from a helping hand.
Example: prisoners, immigrants, families with no economic means, families who have been evicted from their home, health issues in the third world, famine.
Discuss the organisations that are trying to help those groups.
Example: Stop desahucios is trying to help families who are evicted from their home.
How can individuals contribute in the above-mentioned organisations?
Do you know any volunteers who lend a helping hand in these organisations?
What does their job consist of?
Would you like to volunteer in one of these organisations?
Which one(s) do you find most appealing?
What are the rewards of being a volunteer?
What are the disadvantages?
What are the government's duties and responsibilies?
Interaction: Choosing a charity to volunteer
Choose A or B, tell your partner about your charity and together decide which one you both would like to join.
A) Worldwide restoration
The aim of our organisation is to empower women and provide decent housing for families, not only in the USA, but in many other countries in the world. We work to train volunteers in building skills. Our primary goal is to teach women how to solve problems for themselves through training in practical areas, such as making cement or plumbing and dealing with general house repairs. However, men are also welcome! Our volunteers work together with homeowners to rebuild or restore deteriorated houses and give disadvantaged families a place to live. We welcome volunteers but also need donations to buy materials and support our training programmes.
B) City education project
The mission of our project is to improve conditions for children and teachers in slum areas in Bangladesh. If you volunteer with us, you may be asked to help renovate a classroom in an existing school, carry out repairs to roofs or windows or even help to build extra facilities for the school. Traditional materials and techniques are used, but you don’t need any special skills because you will be supervised by local builders and carpenters. However, you should be fit and healthy and ready to work in all weather! You will stay in the school where the project is taking place, but it won’t be like home. Take a mat to sleep on and remember there are no showers, just a bucket of water.
To illustrate the point you can watch this video of The Duchess of Cambridge on the charity Children's Hospice.
As Patron of East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices, I’ve been fortunate to see at first hand through remarkable work that they do for children and young people with life limiting conditions and their families. It is simply transformational. There are forty-nine children’s hospice services across the UK, all providing similar, invaluable and life enhancing care to thousands of families. Children’s Hospice Week is the time to recognize, celebrate and support the inspirational work of those Hospices and those who provide palliative care to these children and families. Children’s hospices provide lifelines to families at a time of unimaginable pain. The support they give is vital. In order to carry out this wonderful work, our help is needed. With our support those providing children’s palliative care can continue to offer these extraordinary services. It does not bare thinking about what these families would do without this. I hope that you’ll join me this Children’s Hospice Week, in supporting your local service.
To find out more about how you can help, please visit TogetherForShortlives.org.uk
With your support we can ensure that these children and their families can make the most of the precious time they have together.
