Volunteering: A Way to Give Back to the Society the Experience Earned
By Virgilio Oñate
Chairman of SECOT (Seniors Españoles para la
Cooperación Técnica)
"Only a life lived for others is worth being
lived"
-Michel Quoist (French philosopher)
Antonio wakes up before dawn. He lives in a nice village 30 kms. north of Madrid. If it was later, the sky will let him watch the mountains, plenty of snow this winter, while he gets a quick breakfast. He rushes up to catch the 8:00 am train that takes him to his office in the centre of Madrid, only some metres distant from the Prado and Thyssen museums. Unfortunately he has little time to visit the paintings of two of the largest and most reputed world art galleries. His busy days, including visiting other offices throughout Spain, last until late and he very rarely comes back home before the sun has set and the cold makes it uncomfortable walking from the train station to his house. Until here, Antonio’s day has no difference with the days of many other commuters in Madrid, Spain or any other big town in the world. But the difference is that Antonio has already left back the retirement age after a long and successful carrier in a well-known multinational. He is now one of the retired professionals that volunteer for SECOT (Spanish seniors), and still maintains the same habits of commitment, hard work and goal oriented activity.
Antonio works hard to fulfil the duties of his tight agenda. After a long career he feels that his experience should be given back to those who are in need of it. During 2004, together with many other senior volunteers, Antonio has participated in the microcredit plan launched by several Spanish banking institutions to allow young immigrants to obtain small loans –microcredits- to create new businesses. As a result of their experience they have been able to assist to the potential borrowers to prepare their business plans and fill the sometimes burdensome forms that have acted as the self supporting guarantee to back up the credits. Once the credit has been obtained, Antonio and his colleagues continue assisting the borrowers and the banks until the loans are fully repaid five to six years later. The amount of the loans coupled with the tiny commissions and spreads charged by the lenders, give no room to pay neither credit analysts nor bank executives who have to follow up the credits until their maturity. But the skills and time devoted, are still badly needed to maintain the credibility of this financing scheme.
The hard work of the volunteers has in any case a sound and tangible remuneration. Their duties are necessary to help integrating a growing population of immigrants who otherwise would make their living out of the legality. In other words, their work is valuable for the society. And at the same time, this hard work remunerates Antonio and his mates with higher levels of satisfaction, coupled with lower levels of depression and anxiety.
Antonio’s attitude can be described as generative, following the thoughts of the German psychologist Erik Erikson who referred to the crisis experienced by adults who had to trade-off among generativity and stagnation. Erikson suggested that adults need to help the next generation as much as the younger need the assistance of adults. Through volunteering Antonio and many others have learnt how to solve the dilemma of remaining self-centred with a sense of living, not experiencing thus the sense of stagnation in their later life. The clear blue skies and the appealing views of the Madrid mountains, will await Antonio until he feels he has completed his mission of giving back to the society what he has earned during his working life.
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