Why do community members volunteer in Malawi?

Many people in developing countries take time to support their communities through volunteering, despite being burdened by poverty and household responsibilities. There has been little analysis of the motivations of community volunteers in developing countries. Understanding why people volunteer is crucial to recognising and supporting the work they do.

Researchpublished in the journal ‘Development in Practice’ explores the motivations ofcommunity volunteers participating in nursery feeding projects in Malawi. Thestudy aimed to understand why people – particularly women – living in extremelydifficult conditions give their time and effort for the benefit of others forno money.

Malawiis one of the poorest countries in the world. It is severely affected byHIV/AIDS and has nearly one million orphans. School feeding programmes (SFPs) are particularly important and depend heavily oncommunity involvement, especially volunteers.

Oneexample is the Mary’s Meals SFP in southern Malawi. This programme began in2002 and today feeds over 100,000 children in primary and nursery schools. Ithas a limited number of paid staff, so the daily task of providing meals andlearning opportunities is carried out by nearly 3,000 volunteers from localcommunities. The research explored the motivations of volunteers feedinginfants in community based nurseries in the Blantyrearea.

Themotivations identified were:

• Feelings of compassion and concern for theorphans and vulnerable children, and loving volunteering work.
• Not compensation or money: theparticipants were truly volunteers, engaged in the work voluntarily and notreceiving any payment for it.
• Religion and spirituality are majorfactors – some had been asked to volunteer by their church.
• Volunteers felt they contributed to socialsolidarity and notions of reciprocity (‘social capital’) that might beuseful to them some day.

Volunteersalso said they feel a moral obligation to help others and see volunteering as asilent promise that cannot be broken (although paid staff emphasise that theirwork is voluntary, not obligatory). They continue to volunteer because theyhave made a commitment and are used to it, even when it is difficult to fulfilboth domestic and community roles.

 Non-government organisations and developmentprojects, including SFPs, increasingly rely onvolunteers. They want volunteers to develop feelings of community participationand empowerment, and also to cut their costs and increase efficiency by usinglocal people. This is different to the motivations of volunteers, who see thisact as linked to their personal obligations and the binding nature of theircommitment.

Theauthor concludes that:

• The concept of volunteering in developing countries is very different tothat in developed countries.
• There is a risk of underestimating the burden placed on volunteers,whose sense of commitment may turn them into ‘lifetime volunteers’.
• Dependency on volunteers could undermine the long-term sustainability ofprojects that seek to empower communities.
• Volunteers should be able to balance volunteer work with their ownlives, as well as enjoying their work and feeling valued. 
• Volunteers need greater compensation, particularly skills training orscholarships.