The world of Tzu Chi April 2021 (Vol.133)

2021 • 04 22 eature contributing to social and charitable work. She said humorously, “When I was in university, people might see that I was cute and liked my help. However, people get old and I cannot rely on this ruse to get people to accept my help! Fortunately, I realized this early! We need to learn the ways and skills to help others. Having a loving heart and cute appearance are not enough.” For that reason, Emily continues to learn and accumulate experiences, striving to help others more efficiently. Volunteers play an indispensable role in a modernized society Social workers evolved from volunteers. Both are based on humanitarianism and the spirit of compassion. From helping others on a voluntary basis, it gradually developed into the specialized social work we know today. “This is similar to other professions in the past. There were no lawyers then, so, the village heads would preside over justice for any disputes among the villagers. However, as society becomes more complex, more mechanisms come into place to deal with various situations. There are so many issues related to society, family, interpersonal relationships, health, finance, medical care, and many more. We need the expertise of social workers to help handle these.” Who is more important, social workers or volunteers? Actually, they complement each other. Over the years, Emily’s profession has allowed her to interact with both social workers and volunteers. Naturally, she has a professional interpretation: “In response to the development of society, we certainly need social workers, while the volunteers can fill in the gap where social workers are lacking. They both exist in a manner where they work together and cooperate with each other.” She believes while moving towards professionalization, we still need volunteers. The culture of volunteerism is indeed a very important part in the development of society. When Taiwan was rocked by a massive earthquake on September 21, 1999, many Taiwanese acted out of kindness. However, due to the lack of planning and methods, these manpower and resources were not utilized to achieve maximum results. In 2001, Taiwan enacted the “Volunteer Service Law”. Once, Emily had a middle-aged mother in her social work class. She was curious as to why the mother wanted to take the course. The latter explained that she was near retirement age and hoped to be a volunteer post retirement. So, she chose to attend the class to improve on her skills to help others. This would also increase her chances of being recruited as volunteers, given the competitiveness in Taiwan. “You see, in this era, serving as a volunteer is no longer as simple as contributing efforts. It also requires one to develop the ability to help others by acquiring skills and wisdom. It is getting increasingly important, structured and professional. Moreover, the emphasis of modern society is living a happy life. Even if one has no job, one can still contribute and live meaningfully.” “The volunteer service law in Taiwan is relatively strict. It requires the volunteers to help others in a planned way. Hence, organizations that engaged volunteers have to provide competency and special trainings and keep track of their volunteering hours, and even, protect the personal safety of volunteers.” Those who fulfilled certain volunteer hours may also apply