LAHORE – Bargad Volunteer Network (BVN) affiliated with youth development organization Bargad commemorated the International Volunteer Day (IVD) in collaboration with E-library Government of Punjab and Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO) in E-library, Qaddafi Stadium, on Friday.
Sabiha Shaheen, Executive Director Bargad, while addressing the moot said informed that Pakistan ranks 10th in the number of volunteers globally with 58 million volunteers. The global volunteer workforce is more than half of the employed persons 10 most populous countries. She said volunteering is largely informal and emphasized to promote formal and organized voluntary actions in Pakistan.
MPA Saadia Sohail said that while thinking about volunteerism, the first person who comes to mind is Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). He volunteered to show us the right path. Quaid-e-Azam volunteered to make this country. Life of a politician is a living example of volunteerism. It is in our nature. Present day volunteers will make a difference under Imran Khan who gives special attention to youth.
Haroon Imran Gill, MPA, said, volunteering is inbuilt in our culture. We can see this in emergency situations and community services at the grassroots level.
Mrs Shafqat Rafiq briefed about the work of Girls Guide Movement that it is doing to help girls for taking community service. She recommended that life skills should be part of the curriculum and the educational institutions should run volunteering programs that bring us closer to our community.
Asif Bilal told that PITB and Sports Board Punjab have established e-libraries in around 20 districts of Punjab. There are 3000 physical books and 100,000 e-books along with HEC and other databases.