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

Principles and activism

Community volunteering set the social structure for community members to engage

with each other and be involved in local action of which the guiding principles are:

1) Centrality of people - keeping community members central so that they
actively participate in the planning and implementation of the activities they

are involved in.

2) Empowerment - recognizing everyone’s equal rights, worth and power and
encouraging everyone to exercise these rights as strengths to focus on their

own wellbeing outcomes, and then mobilize it so that community becomes

stronger through power of collective actions.

3) Identity of Cohesiveness - stimulating the attitudes of collective identity and
a cohesive community while maintaining individual socio-cultural and

religious uniqueness; and,

4) Association and social capital - motivating people to be involved in the
processes of healthy association by building social capital and promoting

values of collectivism.

Community volunteers share a common purpose and goal. This may occur in

varying degrees. At one end, they work directly together and are trying to achieve
outcomes. At the other end, they meet and make networks. They do not come with a

preconceived idea of what outcome they would like to achieve. The communication

flow could happen across volunteers and all other participants. All are
interconnected. They listen to and facilitate community needs and wants. They

facilitate community members to be involved in volunteer action and opportunities
for the community to come together. They are flexible allowing the individuality of

different volunteers to come through in their volunteer role and further link them to
networks outside the community or amongst different communities.

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