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Research Journal of the University of Ruhuna, Sri Lanka- Rohana 11, 2019

               emphasis on one aspect over another. The common belief, especially among neo-
               classical  economists,  is  that  economic  growth  accompanies  social  development.

               However,  we  believe  that  it  can  happen  only  if  the  policies  are  in  place  to

               redistribute the benefits of economic growth in a manner that ensures social justice.
               Again,  if  it  is  to  be  so,  social  development  must  be  an  action  too,  driven  by

               “inclusive  social  policies”.  Therefore,  it  is  reasonable  to  believe  that  social
               development  cannot  be  expected  to  happen  spontaneously  through  economic

               growth, but it has to be an action happening hand-in-hand with economic growth.

               The outcome of such an action would then be a social condition in which everyone
               has the opportunity to lead a relatively reasonable level of decent and quality living.


               The idea that modern volunteering is a form of community action, which connects

               people together and promotes and generates community benefits has already been
               widely recognized and documented (Korten and Klauss, 1984; Korten, 1990; IAVE,

               1990;  Warburton  and  Oppenheimer  2000;  United  Nations,  2001;  Omoto  and
               Snyder,  2009;  Leigh,  2011;  UNV,  2020;  Omoto,  et.al  2012;  Ahmadi,  (2013);

               Eliasoph, 2013; Volunteering Australia, 2015; Gamlath, 2017 and 2018).  When the

               community  members  are  closely  connected  with  each  other,  communities  are
               strengthened and individual and community benefits increase (Healy & Hampshire,

               2000), and people have better personal wellbeing outcomes (Wilkinson, 1999).  This

               indicates that volunteering can energize, mobilize, and involve local communities as
               active partners in local level social development. Based on the authors’ experience

               with  Community Based Organisations (CBOs) that extensively  apply  connection-
               centered volunteering approach and strategies in community work, the paper puts

               forth  the  view  that  volunteering  creates  conditions  at  grassroots  for  social
               development action to take place.


               The  discussion  is  undertaken  as  a  “practice-based  reflexive  and  reflective

               interpretation  of  information”,  which  is  a  widely  applied  technique  in  research-

               informed  practice  in  professional  social  and  community  work  (Payne,  2014;


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