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Canadian volunteers are proving their mettle in overseas placements
February 17, 2003
By Nicole Zummach
When the going gets tough, Canadians get going. At least that appears to be the case when it comes to international volunteerism. In the past year and a half, global security concerns and the looming threat of a war with Iraq have taken their toll on international travel, including volunteers who are willing to work in developing countries. In the UK, Voluntary Services Overseas (VSO) reports a 40% decline in volunteers since September 11th, the biggest slump in its 45-year history. Here in Canada, the opposite is true. Many international development organizations are maintaining the same level of volunteerism that they had prior to 9/11, while some actually experienced a surge in volunteer applicants following those events.
Why the difference?
"The response that we got after September 11th from a lot of people was that they wanted to find a way to make a positive difference in the world," says Noelle Grosse, communications officer for VSO Canada. "They saw that there was a lot of inequality in the world and decided that they wanted to do something about it. That's what we've heard in Canada from a number of people who have applied." So far, the Canadian arm of VSO hasn't experienced a decline in applicants like its British counterpart. In fact, when VSO volunteers were surveyed in December, 90% said that they felt very safe and actually felt as safe as they do at home.
Despite the encouraging statistics, Grosse says that security is something that the organization has always been very aware of. Each country has a program office that determines the level of security in that country. If it is not safe for volunteers to be there, then they are taken out as soon as possible. "We've had that system in place for a number of years, really for the 40 years we've been working," she says. "Security decisions are always made in consultation with the British High Commission or the Canadian High Commission, so if they say that nationals should be taken out of that country, we always follow suit."
Determination and the exuberance of youth
Cheryl Goldsmith, cooperant program manager for CUSO, speculates that the reluctance of British residents to volunteer overseas might have more to do with their past than possible future problems. "Given their history with the IRA and various other groups in England, they may be more aware of things like bombings and retaliation against their country. They are a bit closer to those situations of violence than we are here in Canada." This might well be the case, since like VSO Canada, CUSO has not noticed a negative impact on volunteer rates because of security concerns.
"No one, to our knowledge, has actually stated that security concerns were the reason they were not going overseas," says Goldsmith. Not even the Bali bombing in December could deter a group of CUSO volunteers from heading to Indonesia. "They were supposed to leave before Christmas but we delayed their departure until January. All four of them were absolutely pushing to go to the field as soon as possible. None of them showed any hesitation in going to Indonesia at all."
Zane Hamm, program officer for Canada World Youth says that age might have something to do with their steady stream of applicants. "We do youth exchanges and experiential education in a nontraditional learning environment so it appeals to people who are ready to take a risk and really get involved in the community, both in Canada and overseas," she says, adding that perhaps these young volunteers are more interested in researching why conflicts are happening in the first place, as opposed to just worrying about the issue of international security.
Genuine desire to make a contribution
In recent years Canadian Crossroads International has worked to develop concrete partnerships between organizations overseas and those in Canada that are working on similar issues. Because their projects are so focused, executive director Karen Takacs says that the number of people applying has actually increased. "In fact, after September 11th we had four times the applicants than we did the year before. We think it's because we are targeting people who already care about the issues and feel they have something to contribute."
While finding qualified Canadian participants might not be a problem for CCI, obtaining visas to bring overseas partners into Canada has become increasingly difficult. Takacs says it is a challenge that CCI is working on right now, admitting that some things have become harder in this current climate. Still, she says that some good has come out of all the tightened security measures. "When people go overseas they are perhaps less naive about things now, which isn't a bad thing. They ask good questions so it forces us to be really clear."Overall, Takacs sees these kinds of programs as being more important than ever as people try to build links and understand other countries. "I think if we understood and knew people in Iraq we would be less inclined to go and bomb. I also think that generally people are interested in making a contribution - that is what we are seeing. We can say, 'here is a really concrete way that you can make a difference, let us tell you what that is.' The better we get at that, the more applicants we can attract."
Whatever the reasons, for now it seems that Canadians are committed to supporting international development projects, and recognize that the needs still exist, in spite of and often because of, the tragic world events that are unfolding daily.
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