Volunteer now……Abodh Aras
Work with a non governmental organisation (NGO) and you will know how important it is to have volunteers. No matter what age, sex, skill set, educational qualifications, time-availability you have, the key lies in what cause you are passionate about.
We, at The Welfare of Stray Dogs (WSD) are fortunate to have a huge team of volunteers who help out in various activities. They come to the kennels and walk and bathe the dogs. Instead of lying in bed on a lazy Sunday morning, they are combing Mumbai’s neighbourhoods treating street dogs with basic ailments. Some love dogs but can’t look upon wounds or suffering, so help out in fund-raising. They man our garage sales and other fund-raising events. Some educate school students, sensitising them about street dogs, animal cruelty, dog-bite prevention and rabies. Some multi-task and do all of the above.
Some help out in the short term; some make a sustainable and measurable difference for the long term. Some take up specific time- bound projects, some volunteer literally 24 by 7 and some contribute through their specialised skills or expertise to benefit the organisation.
I, too, started as a volunteer with WSD, fifteen years ago, but, compared to today’s youngsters, I was ten years late to start. Today’s generation is amazing. They study hard, party hard but volunteer even harder.
Last year, the day fifteen-year-old, Vani Jhaveri, finished her last tenth standard exam paper, she started learning our on-site first aid programme. Today, she is trained to administer basic first aid to street dogs.
So don’t wait like I did, if WSD is your cause, call us on 64222838 or e-mail wsdindia@gmail.com , else search your cause and start volunteering now, it is never too late.