Caritas India has been passionately and persistently building volunteers for the past one year. Identifying and engaging volunteers have been one of the focal activities. As the new strategic year began in the year 2018, reaching out to the masses with the key strategic pillars approach have been commonly identified. Engaging stakeholders from different communities to volunteer for the development of society and creating changemakers have been the strategic focus of Caritas India. It understands volunteering as a powerful and practical way to reach out to the most marginalized sections and reduce poverty and inequality. It believes that it is only when people step forward – either as local or national citizens – the sustainable change happens. By enabling people and the communities to play a more active role in development by volunteering, the essential pre-conditions for systemic and sustainable change such as ownership, participation, empowerment, and inclusion – can be realised.

Newly identified volunteers from Ambikapur, Jashpur, Sagar, Jabalpur, and Khandwa were oriented and trained on Caritas India volunteering and the Key strategic pillars in Jabalpur on 16^th & 17^th January 2020. The two days training was also focussed on training the volunteers on the annual campaign of Caritas India – “Lenten Campaign”. The modules highlighted volunteering as global need and urgency and motivating the volunteers to render their services as volunteers. They were also oriented on the volunteering policy of Caritas India which comprised of the code of conduct and other norms relating to children, photography, communication a Caritas India volunteer is expected to adhere.

This year’s Lenten Campaign emphasizes “Sustain Life: Sustainable Livelihood”. Through this campaign, Caritas India invites volunteers to join hands and come together to be a catalyst – a change agent – to adopt “Each one Help one” approach in reaching out to attain a sustainable livelihood. At the end of the training volunteers along with their diocesan leaders prepared the plan to implement the Lenten campaign effectively in their respective dioceses along with mobilizing more volunteers in the future.