Let’s bring back the communal spirit
In the heady days of the June 1979 revolution, there was communal euphoria, with community members, as well as students, always taking to self-help when there was a need in a community.
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Scores of students were, for several weeks, at the ports of Takoradi and Tema to help cart cocoa onto ships for export and in remote villages to help cart to the ports agricultural produce, especially cocoa, that was locked up because the road network had completely broken down.
Community members could also be seen not only clearing drains and ensuring environmental cleanliness but also putting very bad roads in shape.
The voluntary participation of community members and the youth brought about not only a sense of belongingness and pride but also responsibility and fulfilment.
Everyone who took part in community or national activities wanted to be associated with the successes of those activities and the primary aim for participation was not monetary; it was considered an honour to contribute to a good cause and, in fact, that gave birth to the National Service Scheme.
However, the spirit of volunteerism began dying gradually with the introduction of multi-party democracy and it is now almost non-existent.
Since the introduction of the District Assemblies Common Fund (DACF) and other such funds meant for community development, most people have declined to provide services free of charge to the communities in which they live because they believe it is the government’s responsibility to cater for them, or that they are entitled to a piece of the national cake.
The joy in community clean-up exercises has waned; no wonder the National Sanitation Day exercise launched by the government in 2014 has achieved just limited success.
People now express so much indifference with regard to cleanliness in their communities or their own backyards. The situation has become so dire that people now show so little concern for their neighbours, a situation that has been capitalised on by armed robbers and other social non-conformists in the various communities.
While the Daily Graphic also believes that the affluent lifestyles of some people in government have a lot to do with the apathy now exhibited by community members who allege that the money meant for development is being abused, we believe that voluntarism is a very essential component of development that must not be downplayed.
The call by the Earl of Wessex, Prince Edward, during a recent visit, to Ghanaian youth to embrace volunteerism as a way of contributing to better the lives of the people in their communities is, indeed, timely.
As he rightly pointed out, volunteerism enables the youth to make a difference in the lives of the underprivileged.
We add our voice to the call for the youth to engage in volunteerism, as it will develop in them a sense of responsibility to themselves and their communities through self-reliance, perseverance and responsibility.
Volunteerism also exposes a person’s innate skills, builds up experience and is one sure way of preparing the youth for jobs they would otherwise not think of and so must be encouraged.
