Dr. Brenda Gallagher1
Volunteering in the Developing World
Introduction
Volunteering is a much debated term, defined by varying criteria and principles (Tang et
al., 2003; UNDP, 2003; UNV, 2000). What might be considered volunteering in one
region may not be considered so in another, due to differences in culture, history, politics
and religion (VSA, 2004). Regardless, there is some agreement on key concepts of
volunteering; that it entails the giving by individuals of time and expertise for the benefit
of others where the essential aim is not material gain (Gillette, 2003; Thupayagale and
Rampa, 2005; Moleni and Gallagher, 2006).
Volunteering is a fundamental component of many societies and is essentially a part of
civic service which, according to Patel (2003, p.89), “is not a politically neutral activity,
but rather draws on wider ideological, social, economic and political ideas. These ideas
are part of a rich and complex political economy, which frames thinking and action about
service”. Changes in the form and approach to volunteering and civic service in Malawi
with the advent of democracy would appear to support this point of view. Indications are
that in the pre-democracy, although the government had “an authoritarian and
paternalistic approach to service” (Moleni and Gallagher, 2007, p42) for the most part
people were self-reliant and community orientated, and there was little or no expectation
of a reward for involvement in any volunteer activity (ibid.). Following the establishment
of a democratic government in 1994, there was a move away from this approach as
existing development structures and services initiatives were dismantled. The new head
of state, Bakili Muluzi, described civic service programmes and communities obligatory
self-help projects as ‘an abuse of rights and a denial of personal freedom’ (Moleni and
Gallagher, 2007, p.42), and suggested that the state would provide for communities
needs. To date this promise remains unfulfilled, and this, coupled with an increase in non1
Departments of Education and Geography, NUI, Galway
governmental organization (NGO) activity worldwide (Patel, 2003) and what Malawians
term ‘society ills’ such as HIV/AIDS, increasing number of orphans and vulnerable
children (OVCs), hunger and poverty, has left Malawian society highly dependent upon
the activities of volunteer programmes (Moleni and Gallagher, 2006). In addition, there
now exists a heightened expectation in terms of the receipt of a reward for involvement in
‘voluntary’ activities. These are interesting developments given that, as highlighted
above, volunteering is founded on the principle of doing without expectation of material
gain, and in general is regarded as reducing dependency (UNDP, 2003; UNV, 2000)
While programmes such as national service could be considered a form of compulsory
volunteering, the vast majority of volunteering programmes worldwide are in fact noncompulsory (Moore McBride et al., 2003b). Non-compulsory volunteering is also
dominant in Malawi and, as a result, involvement in volunteering there is perceived to be
predominantly on a ‘voluntary’ basis (Moleni and Gallagher, 2006). Nevertheless,
indications are that increased ‘individual and community need’ in the light of limited and
over stretched government resources (both financial and personnel) may be eroding the
‘voluntary’ aspect of volunteering, with individuals and communities forced to be
involved in volunteering as a means of survival. Observations suggest that in Malawi, as
elsewhere in the developing world, the majority of voluntary programmes now have a
‘caring’ or ‘humanitarian’ element, address the provision of basic needs, and support both
community and national development (Moleni and Gallagher, 2006; Patel, 2003).
Given the complexities of volunteering and limited research into such issues in the
African context, a cross-nation exploratory and qualitative study was conducted between
2005 and 2006 into civic service and volunteering in five countries in Southern Africa,
namely Botswana, Malawi, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe. In this study, three
related questions guided the research: First, what is the nature and scope of civic service
in selected countries in the region? Second, what are the implications of these initiatives
for civic service policy and practice from a social development perspective? Finally, what
is unique about service in the African context and what are the issues and challenges in
establishing service as a field of inquiry and an agenda for action in the region (Patel et
al., 2007, p.6). Based upon the findings from the Malawian study, this paper examines
Malawian voluntary programmes in terms of form, focus and programme participants
(i.e. volunteers). In particular, it discusses the role of government, communities and nongovernmental organisations (NGOs) in volunteering, highlights the problems being
experienced in the implementation of volunteer programmes, and profiles volunteers in
terms of age, sex, motivation and commitment. Drawing on these findings, it profiles
volunteer activity in Malawi and where relevant highlights similarities and differences
between practices in Malawi and elsewhere.
Government, NGOs and community involvement in volunteering
Volunteering is regarded as being widespread in Malawi, although it remains for the most
part undocumented (Moleni and Gallagher, 2007). In the past most volunteer activity in
Malawi was organised by communities (via self-help and mutual aid projects) and to a
lesser extent by government. Community self-help projects do still exist (Rose, 2003) and
communities are currently very active in voluntary activities via community based
organisations (CBOs), most of which are linked to NGOs, faith based organisations
(FBOs) and to a lesser extent government (Pelser et al., 2004; CSR, 2005). Currently
local, national and international NGOs have high levels of involvement in the volunteer
arena, while government also continues to play a role, including involvement in new
voluntary ‘paid labour schemes’ (e.g. the Malawi Social Action Fund - MASAF)
(Chilowa et al., 2004). Such schemes are not unique to Malawi and have also been
implemented in other African countries, including Botswana (Thupayagale and Rampa,
2005). While government programmes that involve volunteers are low in number, actual
numbers of volunteers on such programmes are relatively high (e.g. 1,200 in adult
literacy programmes) (Moleni and Gallagher, 2006). However, overall numbers of
volunteers on government driven programmes are low when compared to those
participating on some larger NGO programmes; an estimated 40,000 volunteers work on
Malawi Red Cross programmes. Regardless, given that government is responsible for
overseeing and providing direction on voluntary activities in Malawi, government is
regarded as an important player in the volunteer arena, although, as elsewhere in Africa
and beyond, its input is seriously restricted because of a lack of specific volunteer
guidelines, policy and legislation (Patel et al., 2007; Moleni and Gallagher, 2006; Moore
McBride et al., 2003a; NCV, 2002). The development of specific policy and legislation
and the continuing involvement of the Malawian government in the volunteer arena is
deemed desirable given that the UNV (2000, p.10) suggested that in general partnerships
between government and volunteer stakeholders “are desirable insofar as they increase
the efficiency and outreach of government programmes while strengthening people’s and
community’s trust in themselves and in their government”.
Communities in Malawi are regarded as having regular and increasing levels of
involvement in volunteering activities. Up to two-thirds of communities are reported as
being actively involved in community based organisations (CSR, 2005; Pelser et al.,
2004). Questions have been raised, however, over the degree and quality of that
involvement, with suggestions that communities are only involved at implementation
stage and are excluded from core issues such as project identification and decision
making (Rose, 2003; Gaynor, 1993). Regardless, indications are that community
involvement in volunteer activity in Malawi is key to successful implementation of
volunteer programmes because of the limited finances available for such activities, and
the need to enhance sustainability and ownership of development projects (Moleni and
Gallagher, 2006). In addition, most programmes in developing countries are implemented
in response to emerging or dominant social issues (Patel et al., 2007; Patel, 2003; UNV,
2000). In Malawi this is particularly true in relation to the HIV/AIDS pandemic. Many
volunteer programmes in Malawi have a HIV/AIDS component which is either
responsive (addressing the needs of HIV/AIDS suffers and their families) or preventative
in outlook (geared at stopping or slowing the spread of the disease predominantly via
education and awareness raising) (Moleni and Gallagher, 2006; PAC, 2003). This reflects
the situation throughout sub-Saharan Africa where high levels of volunteer commitment
and energy are focused on the fight against AIDS (Patel et al., 2007), perhaps to the
detriment of other needy areas such as education and the environment.
Problems in the implementation of volunteer programmes
Volunteer programmes in Malawi, as elsewhere in the developing world, pay little
attention to the needs of volunteers, having been designed to maximize the benefits to
beneficiaries (Moleni and Gallagher, 2006; Moore McBride et al., 2003b; Patel, 2003).
Hence, programme objectives and associated activities including volunteer training and
allocation of equipment, which are generally regarded as acting as incentives for
volunteers, are developed with the aim of benefiting programme beneficiaries, not
volunteers (Moleni and Gallagher, 2006). This approach is in contrast to that of the
developed world where much of the emphasis in programme development is focused on
the experience of the volunteer (McBride et al., 2003a). It is partly surmised that because
of this focus on beneficiaries as opposed to volunteer, and because of a lack of
appropriate recognition and reward for the time invested by volunteers, some volunteers
programmes in Malawi experience difficulties in attracting volunteers and most
experience difficulties in retaining them for extended periods of time (Moleni and
Gallagher, 2006; PAC, 2003). For the most part, while volunteers are expected to service
specific periods (varying from 10 months to 2 years), “turnover is high, with few people
able to commit long-term to a project, especially in urban areas, where greater
opportunities in terms of employment exist” (Moleni and Gallagher, 2006, p.21).
Most volunteer programmes in Malawi, as elsewhere in Africa, do not insist on either a
specific number of hours service per week or a specific service period (Moleni and
Gallagher, 2006; Tang et al., 2003). This is related to the fact that for the vast majority of
Malawian volunteers (with the exception of volunteer teachers at primary school level),
volunteering is a part-time activity that they need to fit into their daily lives (Moleni and
Gallagher, 2006). Finding time for voluntary activities can be difficult, given that
contrary to the developed world, a lack of technology and infrastructure and high levels
of poverty result in much time being dedicated to everyday ‘survival’ activities. As a
result, in the Malawian context, only international volunteers are expected to work fulltime and to a specific duration of service (in general two years).
Problems are also experienced in relation to levels of volunteer programme funding. The
government of Malawi, while providing advice, technical support and an enabling
environment, lacks the funding for direct implementation of volunteer programmes
(Moleni and Gallagher, 2006). Hence, for the most part, volunteer programmes in Malawi
are funded by donor agencies with funds channelled through the government to NGOs,
FBOs and CBOs who implement the programmes at grassroots levels. Although
government does play a collaborative role, indications are that levels of collaboration fall
below acceptable levels. This is predominantly linked to limited finances, with
government unable or unwilling to allocate adequate funding to the co-ordination and
monitoring of volunteer activities, despite the fact that government identifies coordination as one of its key role in volunteering. Limited government funding of
volunteer programmes in Malawi is in contrast to the situation worldwide where,
according to Moore McBride et al. (2003a) the state often plays an important role in the
funding of volunteer programmes. A lack of government funding of volunteer
programmes in Malawi has limited both national ownership of volunteer programmes and
programme sustainability and has resulted in the volunteer sector being susceptible to the
whims and volatility of donor agencies.
Participant profile and motivation
Volunteer activity in Malawi occurs in both rural and urban areas, however, given that
85% of the Malawian population is rural based (NSO, 2005), many programmes
(including many of those with high numbers of volunteers) are predominantly rural based
(Moleni and Gallagher, 2006). The importance of voluntary activity in rural areas in
developing countries is paramount given the serious problems rural based people
experience in terms of accessing the most basic services, particularly in health and
education. In addition, the vast majority of volunteers do so within their communities
(Moleni and Gallagher, 2006). Given that Moore et al. (2003a) reported that just under
one third of service programmes worldwide required that volunteers be from a specific
geographic location, the Malawian situation would appear to differ somewhat from the
norm.
Given the focus on rural based volunteer activities and the high levels of illiteracy
(35.9%) among the Malawian adult (UNDP, 2006), it is not surprising that the majority of
volunteers in Malawi are poor, uneducated and rurally based (Moleni and Gallagher,
2006). Hence, in Malawi, it is the case of the ‘poor and vulnerable’ volunteering on
programmes that assist the ‘poor and vulnerable’. As such, Malawi is following a
worldwide trend where the poor and marginalised are increasingly involved as volunteers
or servers on volunteering or service programmes (Gillette, 2003).
Based on the above observations it might be expected that women, who are amongst the
poorest and most vulnerable in Malawian society would have the highest levels of
involvement in volunteering, however, evidence suggests that in Malawian society males
and females are both involved in volunteering (Moleni and Gallagher, 2006). What is
evident, however, is a strong link between volunteer programme focus and volunteer
profile. Volunteer programme involvement, for the most part, reflects stereotypical roles,
with female participation higher on programmes that have a ‘caring’ focus (Moleni and
Gallagher, 2006; PAC, 2003; Bacon, 2002). Intensive efforts in 1999 to recruit males onto
‘caring’ programmes did increase male participation levels to about 40% of programme
volunteers (Bacon, 2002). Regardless, the dominance of female participation on ‘caring’
programmes is also evident in other countries of sub-Saharan Africa and is seen as
placing a “further burden” on women (Patel et al., 2007, p39).
Similarly, there would appear to be a link between participation levels by gender and
programme location. Indications are that males, as compared to females, are more likely
to be involved in rural based volunteer programmes because of the availability of ‘free
time’ linked to a lack of paid employment for males and the fact that in rural areas,
women are heavily involved in family farming and household activities (Moleni and
Gallagher, 2006). The reverse is deemed true in relation to urban areas, where more
males are in paid employment and so volunteer activities fall to women, regardless of
their level of involvement in other activities.
According to UNDP (2003) volunteers are motivated by a desire to help not only others
but also themselves. Pawlby (2003) further suggested that people are sometimes
motivated to serve because of self-interest. Hence, the idea of being motivated to
volunteer in order to gain ‘future economic security’ in terms of gaining skills to enhance
employability or increase wages is not unique to Malawi and has been noted elsewhere in
Southern Africa (Patel et al., 2007). What might be unique, however, is the idea of
volunteering to gain ‘future social security’. In Malawi the motivation to gain ‘future
social security’ is evident predominantly in relation to volunteers on HIV/AIDS
programmes, where one of the primary motivations for volunteering is to secure future
care for oneself when one becomes ill through AIDS and/or care for ones children after
one has died as a result of AIDS (Moleni and Gallagher, 2006).
In Malawi other motivators for volunteering would appear to include programme
incentives such as training and equipment, despite the fact that there is clearly a lack of
focus on volunteer needs (including incentives) during volunteer programme
development (Moleni and Gallagher, 2006). Indications are that incentives are of
particular importance to males, with the suggestion that men are more likely to volunteer
on programmes with ‘better’ incentives. Training as a motivator for volunteering, is of
particular importance to Malawian youth who perhaps view training opportunities as one
possible way of securing future employment. Patel et al. (2007) noted this perception of
volunteering in a number of Southern African countries. Such perceptions are of
importance given that youth play a major role in volunteering worldwide (Moore
McBride et al., 2003a). This is also the case in Malawi, where youth “would appear to be
more involved in volunteering than any other [group]” (Moleni and Gallagher, 2006,
p.23). However, Fairley (2006), has suggested that there may be a lack of genuine
volunteering among the youth of Malawi, hence, in the Malawian context, incentives may
be of particular importance in motivating youth to become involved in, and commit longterm to, volunteer programmes.
Conclusion
Volunteers and volunteer programmes in Malawi and other developing countries are
driven by the ever increasing needs and ‘ills’ of society and play an integral and ever
increasing role in everyday life. Co-ordinated by government, funded by donors,
designed and managed by NGOs, FBOs, and CBOs, and implemented by communities,
volunteer programmes straddle every layer of Malawian society and impact in some way
upon the lives of each and every individual. As in many of the poorest developing
countries in the world, especially those pillaged by the ravages of HIV/AIDS, volunteers
and volunteer programmes are the life blood of Malawian society, provided by the poor
and most vulnerable for the poor and most vulnerable they are a lesson in survival, the
mechanism by which ordinary citizens ‘give’ and ‘receive’ what is needed to ‘make it
through’ not only today but also tomorrow.
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