By Dominic I. Sanchez
ZAMBOANGA CITY – Youth volunteers of the Zamboanga
Communications Working Group (CWG) last week were given a formal orientation on
humanitarian work to help them communicate more effectively with internally
displaced persons (IDPs) of the September 2013 siege.
On Thursday (April 30) at a local hotel here, about 40
students coming from local colleges and universities participated in this
activity, which was supported by the United Nations Office for the Coordination
of Humanitarian Affairs (UN-OCHA) and The Asia Foundation (TAF).
International lawyer Michelle Berg, senior protection
analyst for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) shared
with the volunteers that humanitarian work is never easy. “It is very easy to
make a dollar, but very difficult to make a difference.”
Likewise, she praised the volunteers for their dedication
to serve their communities through the CWG. “I’m incredibly impressed with
you,” she said.
Berg, who has been working with humanitarians as a career
said that whenever they would hire new staff, she will always be asking about
volunteer work. Being a volunteer is a clear indication that a person’s
dedication is always there for any job, she said.
The CWG is the communications hub between government and
international humanitarian organizations and the IDPs who have been affected by
the siege. As part of its reaching-out efforts, the CWG taps the volunteers to
conduct focused group discussions with the IDPs to thresh out their issues and
concerns, as well as their persisting needs while in the transitory sites.