"Volunteering increases a person’s connection to the community."
- Divaghar Voothayakumar
A quote from a young motivational leader who continues to advocate for youth empowerment after successfully participating in the Youth Forum in 2020. However, what is the message that the young leader is trying to send to the world with this quote?
Volunteering is an important part of our community and plays a significant role in the life of society as a whole. Supporting philanthropic causes in itself is a good reason, but that is by far not the only good reason to volunteer! Apart from gaining experience and connecting with your community, there will also be a positive personal development. Everyone can benefit from volunteering: from feeling rewarded, promoting good health (mental & physical!), building new relationships, and it can even have positive professional benefits.
And that is what Divaghar Voothayakumar is experiencing! Let's get to know Divaghar's story, and see where volunteer work has led the 26-year-old youth leader in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Divaghar is a full-time master's student, and also at the same time is also working with an NGO called Institut Onn Ja'afar (IOJ), which focuses on helping underprivileged children and youth. IOJ supports the healthy physical, personal, and psychological development of children and young people. It strives to instill the motivation to obtain higher education and achieve goals, lead a healthy lifestyle, and find joy in life to the benefitting children. These can act as positive factors to help children and young people to grow up safe and happy, and become resilient to substance use.
To support such causes, Divaghar and the NGO organise weekly seminars and webinars, conducted both online and offline. They are using the UNODC Listen First 'Science of Care' series to support the positive development of children, and promote the importance of listening to children and caring as a family. To learn more, stay tuned for an upcoming interview with Divaghar and his achievements!