SA Church, Use Our Volunteers!

by Letters Editor · Published June 13, 2022 · Updated June 12, 2022

(Photo: Ray Kusuma/unsplash)

By Hilary Phillips, Johannesburg – Often we see Dr Imtiaz Sooliman’s Gift of the Givers assisting with prompt and workable solutions to alleviate desperate needs. How is it that, despite many young and suitably qualified Catholics who are looking for meaningful outlets and are willing to volunteer their service, the Catholic Church in South Africa overlooks them?

The Church needs to rethink seriously effective ways of coordinating and applying multi-disciplined volunteer help. A ready-to-go setup, able to assist with social needs of all kinds — including disaster management — would instantly attract both qualified young professionals looking for experience and gap-year school-leavers willing to offer time and energy where and when needed.

This human resource is there and available. With an ongoing appeal for volunteer help similar to that of Gift of the Givers set up in this country, the Church would both attract and give focus to young talent and energy looking for meaningful outlets. The components are all there. What’s needed is a radical rethink about how they could effectively be managed and applied.

This letter was published in the May 2022 issue of The Southern Cross Magazine