Volunteering at Local Somali Community - Essay Example

of the of the Concerned 26 February Volunteering at Local Somali Community (Reflective Portfolio) Introduction Though, I volunteered, motivated by ample hope and enthusiasm, my overall experience as an administrative assistant with the West Midlands Somali Association turned out to be much more insightful and inspiring than I initially expected. As per some conservative estimates, there are approximately 250, 000 people of Somali origin, residing in the UK (ICAR 2004). West Midland Somali Association is a not for profit, charity that helps and aids the young people of Somali descent or origin, to settle in and integrate into the larger West Midlands community. To a great extent, I feel that I was ideally suited for this volunteering opportunity. Since my childhood, I had been a gregarious and community oriented person, who felt comfortable in groups comprising of individuals with diverse cultural and ethnic background. In fact I found such an environment really educative and stimulating. So, when I got a chance to work as an administrative assistant with the West Midlands Somali Association, I instinctively knew I had made the right decision. While serving with this organization, I expected to get a firsthand experience, as to how young people of Somali origin felt like being in the UK? What were the administrative, social, cultural and financial problems that aided or inhibited their integration into the essentially British mainstream? Besides, I was curious to know that whether it was pragmatic to categorize all the Black people as one monolithic group and assume that they faced the same problems, or whether their existed subgroups amongst the African community in Birmingham , which faced problems that were specific to their culture, origin and community (Kyambi 2005)? The objective was to approach the given opportunity with an open and receptive mindset, so as to extend maximum assistance and to seek ample insight, knowledge and experience. Contribution Made to the Aims and Objectives of the Organization I really feel proud and glad to realize that during my time spent with the West Midlands Somali Association, I was able to make immense contribution to the aims and objective of the organization in the following ways: Office Paper Work One of the main objectives of the organization was to coordinate and collaborate with the local government bodies and charities to seek maximum assistance for the education, entertainment and integration of the local Somali youth (Rutter 2006). The job involved ample paper work as filling forms, filing reports, sending mails, etc. Besides, the young people who sought assistance from the attached organizations like Relief4Africa, British Yemini Project, SOVA Midlands Area Office, London Somali Youth Forum, or needed employment or housing were required to deal with ample paperwork, which they found immensely cumbersome because of their lack of proficiency in the English language (Save the Children 1994). At West Midlands Somali Association, my services proved to be of immense help in that context. I not only helped in the regular office paperwork, but also assisted and guided the young people with soliciting and filing the necessary forms and affidavits. Health As per my first hand experience, the Somali community in Birmingham faced many health related issues. The young people not only faced many diseases related to poor nutrition, but also psychological issues like anxiety disorders and depression (Ingram 2009). Besides, they also faced barriers to access to health facilities, not only owing to language problems, but also owing to a lack of trained volunteers and interpreters who could pass them on the exact and sometimes culturally sensitive information pertaining to their health problems. In that context, my language skills and knowledge turned out to be of immense help. In a way, I acted as a guide and interpreter, who served as a facilitator between the local health workers and authorities and the young people facing health issues. Assistance with Khat Addiction Khat is a plant of African origin whose leaves have traditionally been chewed by the Somali community to savour their stimulating proprieties (Home Office 2004). However, as per many recent studies, prolonged Khat chewing led to many undesirable social and health issues in the Somali community (Home Office 2004). There were many young people associated with the organization who chewed Khat to stay alert or to deal with emotional and career problems. It was in a way owing to my personal initiative that we configured a counselling group at West Midlands Somali Association, which conducted regular meetings and seminars to make the young people aware of the harmful effects of chewing Khat. I also managed to invite some senior Somalis who had quit Khat to these sessions, where they talked with the young participants regarding the harms of Khat and how they can seek help and assistance to get rid of this problem. Service Delivery of West Midlands Somali Association In a subjective perspective and in a strictly objective context, West Midlands Somali Association has been considerably successful in its service delivery, as it has not only been able to identify and target the salient issues in the community it serves, but has also been able to team up with varied public and private organizations, to help the Somali youth integrate into the mainstream British life. Some of the most important issues pertaining to the Somali community targeted and supported by West Midlands Somali Association are: Language Problem Young Somalis in Birmingham are not able to avail the help and assistance offered by the public, private and charity bodies, because of their language problem. I think, West Midlands Somali Association has taken varied pragmatic steps to alleviate the rampant language problems amongst the Somali youth. The organization played a pivotal role in the compilation of the Somali-English Guide, aimed at helping the Somalis immigrating to the UK (Liverpool Echo 2004). Considering the high demand for this dictionary evinced by the Somali community and youth, the organization has been trying its best to seek financial help from the well to do Somalis and charity organizations to print as much copies of this dictionary as possible. The charity also helps organize orientation classes for the Somalis with the help of volunteers trained in imparting language skills to ESL students. Health Assistance As per the existing studies and my personal experience, most of the times Somalis are not able to avail the existing health benefits, not only owing to the language problem, but also owing to the dearth of people who could help and assist them in acquiring the requisite information and help. In that context, the charity has been at the forefront of educating the Somalis about nutrition, hygiene, addiction issues, contraception, AIDS and reproductive health (Ingram 2009). This is mainly achieved through the help of volunteers who have been extended ample insight into the cultural sensitiveness of Somalis to these issues. Integration of the Somali Youth One of the primary reason for which West Midlands Somali Association was set up was to help the Somali community integrate into the Birmingham community. To achieve this objective, the charity has charted out a two pronged approach. First to channelize the inherent sense of loyalty and kinship in the Somalis in a positive way by helping them organize to achieve the community goals and aspirations (Lewis 1994). Second, it seeks the financial help from the local charities to help organize cultural activities for the Somali children and youth. Just a year ago it succeeded in securing a big donation from Birmingham Mail Charity Trust to arrange drama therapy courses for Somali children and youth Recommendations for the Development of West Midlands Somali Association On the basis of my experience as a volunteer with the West Midlands Somali Association, I really feel that the following recommendations will go a long way in making it more efficient: A Change of Approach Way back, when the West Midlands Somali Association was constituted, it was severely short of funds and the founding members though guided by the best of intentions were lacking in organizational skills. So, for a change, the charity can reorganize itself on strictly corporate lines (Burnell 2001). Just because it is a non for profit body, it in no way means that it cannot benefit from the latest approaches towards managing and administering charities. The charity should come out with a formal policy document and should develop a business plan and a risk management strategy. This will assure that the projected future activities envisaged by the organization tend to be in tandem with its financial situation. A better alignment of the activities with the financial wherewithal will look to it that the targeted community gets optimally benefitted from them. This will also prevent the wastage of the scarce resources and in allocation of the assets for the more important and crucial problems and issues. A Formal Policy for Recruitment and Volunteers In the last few years, owing to the good work done by West Midlands Somali Association, the charity has attracted ample media coverage, public appreciation and financial assistance. So, I think that the organization now affords to pursue a more systematic approach towards recruitment and volunteer management (Barbeito 2006). Again, the recruitment approach of the charity should be two pronged. First and foremost, the charity should recruit the trained and qualified people of Somali origin. Being Somalis, they are bound to harbour a natural predilection for sincerely helping and assisting the young people from their community. Second, the organization should approach the local young people who are qualified and have a flair for social and community work and are really interested in working with the Somali youth. This will serve the twin purpose of accruing the local support for the Somali community and in helping the local community and the Somalis understand each other much better. The organization should also come out with an effective management and incentive policy for the volunteers. This will help retain the experienced volunteers who have developed the relevant expertise and knowhow. Professional Approach towards PR Whether it is profit or non profit organizations, success in current times depends a lot on managing perceptions. The organization badly needs to have some trained PR personnel and volunteers on board. This will go a long way in projecting a positive image of the Somali community in Birmingham and in soliciting the much needed support and financial assistance. Conclusion During my tenure as a volunteer with the West Midlands Somali Association, I gained a lot of technical, social, cultural and emotional expertise. The biggest revelation was that a charity is about a lot of paperwork and technical formalities. So I gained ample knowledge about the nature and type of paperwork associated with a community organization. I also learnt about the importance and relevance of specific documents. This experience also honed my social skills and taught me how to manage and deal with diverse types of social interactions and exchanges involved in community work. I also realized that working with communities calls for ample cultural and people skills. One needs to be culturally aware and sensitive to assure that one responds accurately to the issues and concerns of the targeted community and does not end up getting misunderstood. The biggest asset in a community work is an individual’s emotional competence. Cultural barriers and language problems sometimes give way to difficult if not awkward situations. In such circumstances, emotional competencies like empathy, sensitiveness and an understanding and open bent of mind definitely helps. I also realized that being conversant with the contemporary management approaches and financial acumen, makes an employee or a volunteer in a community oriented organization, more effective and efficient. Reference List Barbeito, Carol L 2006, Human Resource Policies and Procedures for Non-profit Organizations, Wiley, London. Burnell, John 2001, Managing People in Charities, ICSA Publishing Ltd, New York. Home Office 2004, ‘Khat Use in Somali, Ethiopian and Yemeni Communities in England :Issues and Solutions, Home Office, viewed 28 February 2011, . Ingram, Jenny 2009, ‘The Health Needs of Somali Community in Bristol’, Community Practitioner, TG Scott & Son Ltd, 1 December 2009, HighBeam Research, viewed 28 February 2011, . Kyambi, Sarah 2005, Beyond Black and White: Mapping New Immigrant Communities, Institute of Public Policy Research, London. Lewis, Ioan M 1994, Blood and Bone: The Call of Kinship in Somali Society, Red Sea Press, New York. Liverpool Echo 2004, ‘Learning the Lingo: Dictionary for Somalis’, Liverpool Echo, Media Wales Ltd, 27 October 2004, HighBeam Research, viewed 1 March 2011, < http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-123679062.html >. Rutter, Jill 2006, Refugee Children in the UK, Open University Press, Maidenhead. Save the Children 1994, The Somali Community in Cardiff, Save the Children, London. The Information Centre about Asylum and Refugees in the UK 2004, The Somali Community in the UK: What we Know and How we Know, ICAR, London. Read More