Ethiopian diaspora volunteer program

Between September and December , the program placed 45 volunteers in over 30 sites. These volunteers contributed a total of months of volunteer time with an average volunteer assignment of around 12 months. Volunteers performed a wide range of functions including developing pain treatment guidelines for the country's health professionals, building an online platform for the FMoH, performing outreach to foreign universities, refining and developing medical curricula for Ethiopia's teaching hospitals, and examining the country's anti-retroviral treatment program.

The guiding principles and lessons learned from the EDVP experience are drawn from questionnaire data collected from returned volunteers, site assessments and evaluations, exit debriefs with individual volunteers, focus group conversations with groups of volunteers, and insights from the program coordinators. Many are similar to good practices identified for other volunteer programs, while some are unique to diaspora volunteer programs.

Research points to at least six motivational factors that predict volunteerism: the opportunity to express values, a desire to improve understanding, to create or expand social networks, to advance career opportunities, to enhance ego and emotional wellbeing, and to support and assist a specific community.

In addition, personal factors and life circumstances have also proven to be highly relevant. For the individual volunteer, the literature suggests that ensuring a meaningful volunteer mission is central: volunteers must feel that they have developed substantive intrapersonal relationships and provided valuable services.

In the case of diaspora volunteers, all of these factors — in addition to personal engagements in the country of origin and, frequently, a desire to "pay back" — contribute to a high propensity and willingness to engage in volunteer work in their countries of origin. However, many volunteers also consider their engagement as a significant sacrifice requiring protracted absence from work and family life.

On balance, the experience of EDVP suggests that volunteers from the Ethiopian diaspora — presumably similar to other diaspora volunteers — principally seek a meaningful personal experience rather than pecuniary rewards. Individualized attention to the motivations of diaspora volunteers throughout the volunteer mission, from recruitment through return, leads to the selection of dedicated volunteers. To address the individual needs and motivations of volunteers, and to ensure that the volunteer mission produced a meaningful experience, EDVP customizes work plans and volunteer missions.

For instance, the EDVP designs volunteer opportunities specifically for academics on sabbatical, recent graduates, workers transitioning between jobs, and migrants exploring the idea of permanent repatriation to their country of origin.

This individualized attention, the program's coordinators believe, has led to an extraordinarily high retention rate. No volunteer has abandoned an ongoing mission: a rare feat for most volunteer programs in the developing world. However, customization requires that the program invest substantial energy in interviewing and vetting prospective volunteers, as well as in identifying potential placement sites and developing detailed work plans for volunteers.

Follow-up with the volunteers throughout their mission and for three to six months after their return is also required. This follow-up with volunteers — what the program's coordinators call case management — is considered a critical feature of the program, allowing coordinators to address challenges or issues as they arise rather than leaving problems to fester and lead to a negative experience for the volunteer.

Volunteer missions must meet the needs of both individual volunteers and the host sites to ensure sustainable impact. Program coordinators — AIHA and Visions, in this case — must carefully balance the individual needs and motivations of volunteers with the human resource needs of host sites. In this regard, the EDVP is designed as a tripartite partnership between the volunteers, the coordinators, and the host sites.

The role of the coordinator is critical: not only as a placement service, but also to ensure that volunteers and hosts maximize the impact of the volunteer mission. In the case of the EDVP, interviews were a crucial mechanism to understand the motivations and level of commitment of prospective volunteers and, the authors suspect, had enormous consequences for the success of volunteer missions.

Equally, if not more important, has been the close collaboration and buy-in from Ethiopian government officials. By placing diaspora volunteers in policy development rather than just service-delivery positions — for example, as an advisor to the Ethiopian Health Minister — the program is able to influence local decision makers and is more likely to have a lasting impact. The most effective recruitment and management strategies for diaspora volunteers rely on deeply rooted personal relationships within diaspora communities.

The experience of EDVP suggests that the most effective way to recruit and manage diaspora volunteers is through partnerships with individuals and organizations that maintain deep personal ties in diaspora communities. These individuals are typically familiar with the particular challenges and issues for each diaspora community, and their participation promotes ownership by the diasporas.

In some instances, embassies or consulates can also serve a similar function as intermediaries, although where the diaspora is politicized or where a diaspora has little confidence in the country of origin government, partnership with diplomats can be counterproductive. Even diaspora volunteers require orientation and careful attention to managing expectations. Diaspora volunteers return to a country that has often changed substantially from the country they left, and the volunteers themselves have also likely changed during their tenure abroad.

Diasporas often assume the workplace culture of the societies where they reside, rather than the societies where they originate. Local workers, for their part, view diasporas ambivalently, sometimes recognizing their achievements while being skeptical of their expertise at other times.

Similarly, diaspora volunteers often harbor outsized expectations regarding the impact or conditions of the volunteer mission, particularly accommodation, the level of supervision, and transportation. Many have spent extended periods of time away from the country of origin, or are unfamiliar with working conditions in the developing world.

There is typically a narrow window of opportunity during which a professional can volunteer, and programs face the constant risk of losing that energy or enthusiasm and generating cynicism. Unfortunately, there is no simple solution to this conundrum beyond managing the expectations of volunteers and ensuring that they understand how their individual mission fits into a broader development strategy or diaspora engagement framework.

This requires some degree of policy coordination and political buy-in. EDVP has addressed these challenges by providing forums for diaspora volunteers to interact with each other and with experienced volunteers.

You will participate in any volunteering role which matches with your skills and experience. If you need any support, inquiries, complaint or any feedback send us an email or send your inquiries through our website contact us page we fully support you and provide you with feedback and advice.

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What is EDV? What is Volunteering? Who can volunteer? Wherever you are visit the Ethiopian Diaspora Volunteers website and register your interest. Where can I find volunteer work?

What is a volunteer activity? Volunteering may have positive benefits for the volunteer as well as for the person or community served How do I start volunteering? Volunteering helps you make new friends and contacts One of the best ways to make new friends and strengthen existing relationships is to commit to a shared activity together.

Volunteering increases your social and relationship skills While some people are naturally outgoing, others are shy and have a hard time meeting new people.

Why does EDV engage volunteers? Volunteering allows people to support this cause in non-financial ways. Volunteers are an essential part of EDV Vision.

How many hours do you require from volunteers? We can work around you, based on your availability. Which location can I volunteer? Volunteering is available in all part of Ethiopia regions and cities. Can I volunteer for multiple location? Absolutely yes, As far as you have time you can volunteer for multiple regions.

What is the steps of volunteering? EDV created hassle free and simple steps for you to volunteer for your community. The Fundraising Coordinator, in conjunction with the Development Director, is responsible for the execution of key fundraising initiatives.

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YEP Project Manager is responsible for planning, overseeing and leading projects from ideation through to completion. The Project Manager will manage projects and coordinate organizational operations.

Member Login Member Register Donate. Volunteer at YEP. Your Ethiopian Professionals Network YEP YEP is a c 3 , non-profit, non-political, and non-religious organization that provides a platform for the Ethiopian diaspora across all professions. Register to be a member here. Terms of Use Privacy Policy. Not a Member? Career Development Program Coordinator The Job Placement Coordinator will develop, implement, and administer job placement initiatives and resources under the direction of the Career Development Lead.