Youth participation in volunteerism and politics: Road to mental healing and social vices elimination | WestMac Media

By Peter Rhoda 

One of the ways of dealing with mental stress is by doing what we are passionate about and one of the many ways of doing what we are passionate about is by volunteering. 

We are in the era where politics influences every sector in the society hence the need for we youths to understand and fully participate voluntarily in activities that would be community friendly and significantly important to our health,well-being, education and future as nation builders. 

I am a volunteer and founding partner of a health/education-driven and politics driven youth concerned non-governmental organizations namely the Sickle Cell Warriors’ Care and Healthy Living Foundation and Activate Global Forum for Good Governance, meaning I practice what I preach. 

Assessing the different sectors in our society, one could see the synergy between politics and other sectors such as health and education. Politics when played wrongly could dump governance into hands of a wrong ruler and the very foundation we try hard to build for ourselves as youths might just be shattered right before our eyes. 

The lyrics of the song “We are the leaders of tomorrow” sung by many of us whilst growing up as school children has been considered a cliché and a fallacy today because our grandfathers are still ruling and we as youths have not well harnessed our today which was a tomorrow of our yesterday. 

Our silence has been bought with peanuts; while some of us have been induced into laziness and idiopathic myopia, some have been turned into desperate and clueless political thugs. 

Our younger sisters and brothers coming up behind us lack mentorship and carry sacks filled with unpredicted future just like our non-existence and irrelevance as nation builders. 

These young ones look up to us desperately for the advice that is not forthcoming from us as our focus has been sold to the hands of our greedy leaders. 

The ones in the rural communities are the most deprived and if we fold our arms and wait for some “Hail Mary” redemption from the government, they might die untimely or be misled and abused to become social miscreants and misfits. All these play a negative role, interfering with our mental health and wellbeing as well as our education. 

The gospel of financial inclusion, wealth creation, job creation and poverty eradication can never be understood and implemented to favour us if the state of our health and education, the security of our future are jeopardized except we stand up and take matters into our hands. This we can achieve through VOLUNTEERISM. 

Volunteering would mean us actively participating in politics,governance, constitutionalism and policy making by actively participating in voting, brewing support through mobilising all youths in the different communities to vote for a youth who is contesting for a political seat, changing the status quo by taking chances to be elected thereby creating the transformation we desire for a sought after change. 

Volunteering would also mean rendering our selfless services, time or resources to communities devoid of the necessary kits to survive and thrive as living beings, intervening on behalf of destruct and hurting youths and providing a safe space for their healing. 

These might deprive us of the peanuts distributed every election season but will earn us a lifetime of affluence, security for our future, insurance for our health and education. 

These will reduce the rate of social ills and vices and our streets would once again be free and safe and these we can achieve through VOLUNTEERISM. 

Volunteering is the best approach to addressing a desire that has become a necessity. We can try to fold our arms and wait endlessly on the government but it will get us nowhere for there’s a long gap that needs to be bridged. 

Volunteering helps us identify with a cause and be part of solution bringers and this alone is a fulfilment that we might get from material things. The fact that it makes us passion driven and focused helps keep our state of mind in check. Doing what we are passionate about keeps us relaxed and free from mental stress. The anti-stress and ecstacy hormone “endorphins” are released prompting mental stability and happiness. 

The knowledge of positive changes created and the many lives we have affected by a little act of kindness gives us a breathe of fresh air and adds beautiful colors to our resume. 

‘Become a volunteer today, be a part of something rewarding!’