World Volunteers Day: ‘Volunteers play crucial role for healthy society’

Rescue 1122 DG says 2015 will be ‘year of safety’

LAHORE:

Volunteers are driven by a desire to contribute to the well-being of society. Their efforts promote civic values and social cohesion, Punjab Emergency Service Director General Rizwan Naseer said on Friday.

He was chairing a meeting on the World Volunteers Day.

Naseer said Rescue 1122 would observe 2015 as year of safety with help from volunteers in all districts of the province. He said volunteers in coordination with rescuers should make efforts to effectively implement the Rescue 1122’s Community Based Disaster Risk Reduction Programme.



The programme aimed at establishing a socially responsible, healthy, safer and more resilient communities, the director general said. He said Rescue 1122 had been working to improve its disaster response capacity and work towards risk reduction and prevention of emergencies.

Naseer said Rescue 1122 had researched on the number and nature of emergencies and recommended measures to prevent them. He said the information was passed onto district emergency boards on a monthly basis.

He said the boards had become effective forums for reviewing emergency preparedness for all departments as well as prevention of emergencies and mitigation of hazards endangering public safety.

The director general said that at provincial level, Rescue 1122 was working with policymakers and stakeholders for the prevention of fire emergencies and road accidents through advocacy for better planning, intervention and effective enforcement of safety laws.

Naseer said volunteers were the great human source to be utilised in all major emergencies, events and disaster risk reduction strategies.

All district organisations of emergency services celebrated the day to show solidarity with volunteers and highlighting their importance for a healthy society.

Bargad

The Bargad Organisation for Youth Development in collaboration with Umeed Jawan (Youth Parliament) and the Department of Youth Affairs marked the World Volunteers Day at the Punjab Institute for Language, Arts and Culture (PILAC).

Young people from both organisations ran about the place excited that their efforts were being recognised.

The ceremony at the PILAC had been arranged to award the Barghad Volunteer Network’s most prominent and zealous volunteers for the year.

The network has presence throughout the country, giving youth the opportunity to give-back to their respective communities.

One of the recipients of the award, Saif Wazir, was from South Waziristan. He setup an organisation Human Up Life that worked together with young people in the area to help resolve inter-tribal conflicts arising over income and land resources.

They work together with local jirgas to help prevent conflicts and resolve issues in a peaceful manner. Touseef Ahmed, another award recipient who is coordinator of Gilgit-Baltistan for Bargad Volunteer Network, has been working on promoting peace in his community. Last year he got together 300 youths from shia and sunni sects to address sectarian tensions in the city. The youth minister said students should work hard and contribute to society.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 6^th, 2014.