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The Handbook of Civil Society in Africa pp 439–456Cite as

Volunteering, Civic Service and Civil Society in Africa

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Part of the book series: Nonprofit and Civil Society Studies ((NCSS,volume 20))

Abstract

What is the shape of volunteering and civic service in Africa’s diverse and rapidly changing countries? How is it practiced? By whom? This chapter seeks to understand the nature of volunteerism in a context of poverty, inequality and rapid economic growth. It begins with an inquiry into the applicability of common definitions of volunteering and discusses the ways in which volunteering is practiced in various parts of the African continent. It examines the central role of local, community-based volunteering and goes on to locate volunteering in the context of social development. We argue that while volunteering is an integral expression of human participation and agency, it is often undervalued and goes unrecognized. In cases where the state abdicates its responsibility to society, volunteering carries the risk of increasing the burden on the poor. We consider what this means for the growth of civil society in Africa and question whether the values that underpin volunteering are changing in the context of modernising African societies.

This chapter draws on a range of sources, including a research report entitled “Volunteering in Africa: An overview of volunteer effort in Africa and its potential to contribute to development” produced by the Centre for Social Development in Africa at the University of Johannesburg. Access to the Centre’s work is gratefully acknowledged.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Operation Murambatsvina (which in English means Operation Drive Out Trash, also officially known as Operation Restore Order or the Clean Up Operation) was a large scale campaign launched by the Zimbabwe government in 2005 to forcibly clear slum areas across the country. United Nations estimates indicate that at least 2.4 million people were affected. http://practicalaction.org/blog/news/shelter-me-and-ill-shelter-you-too/.

  2. 2.

    Enough is Enough (EiE) Nigeria, is a non-profit organisation formed in 2010 by a cross-section of individuals (across ethnic groups and cultures) and primarily youth organisations. This resulted from acute dissatisfaction with the flawed electoral process, continuing bad governance and corruption. EiE targets Nigerians between 18 and 35 years of age.

  3. 3.

    IMAIMANI-Ghana was founded in 2005, as an African non-profit, non-governmental organisation that fosters public awareness of important policy issues concerning business, government and civil society. It stimulates public discussion on the promotion of economic prosperity rights, the rule of law, open and unconditional trade, free speech and the decentralisation of power and resources.

  4. 4.

    Map Mathare in Kenya was founded in 2010, as a component of the established Map Kibera initiative. The initiative trains the young people of Mathare to use digital tools to highlight public interest matters within their community (such as insecurity and crime, poverty, prostitution, land-grabbing, etc.), to gather the necessary information and intelligence, and to mobilise and rally the community to action so as to ensure that government and political leaders remedy the unacceptable circumstances that prevail in this slum community.

  5. 5.

    The Right2Know (R2K) Campaign in South Africa is a coalition of 400 civil society organisations and activists, which was founded in 2010 to oppose the Protection of State Information Bill (also known as the Secrecy Bill). The main aim of the campaign is to put access to information on the national agenda.

  6. 6.

    Sunucause (‘our cause’ in Wolof, Senegal’s national language) is an association created by the founders of the Senegalese Blogger Network Kebetu, a social network for Senegalese similar to Twitter. Initiated to cover the Senegalese presidential elections of 2012 via social networks, the initiative subsequently widened its efforts from political to social interests to mobilise people to take action on ‘social causes’ such as supporting acute health needs or flood victims.

  7. 7.

    A mere 60 years have passed since the wave of post-colonial independence and liberation swept across the continent, starting with Libya (a former Italian colony) in 1951 and with Ghana becoming the first black African Sub-Saharan country to gain independence in 1957. African countries that attained their independence from colonial powers prior to this are Liberia (1847), Egypt (1922) with South Africa formally gaining independence in 1931, but only being returned to majority rule in 1994.

  8. 8.

    Other African countries with relatively high income inequality measures include Namibia, Sierra Leone, Lesotho, the Seychelles and Botswana.

  9. 9.

    http://www.sahistory.org.za/topic/organisation-african-unity-oau.

  10. 10.

    Organisations that have promoted reciprocal volunteer programmes in the international domain include FK Norway, VSO and Progessio (UNV 2011; Mati and Perold 2012).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. VOSESA, Johannesburg, South Africa

    Helene Perold

  2. Centre for Social Development in Africa, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, South Africa

    Dr. Lauren Graham

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  1. Helene Perold
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  2. Dr. Lauren Graham
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Correspondence to Helene Perold .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas, USA

    Ebenezer Obadare

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Perold, H., Graham, L. (2014). Volunteering, Civic Service and Civil Society in Africa. In: Obadare, E. (eds) The Handbook of Civil Society in Africa. Nonprofit and Civil Society Studies, vol 20. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-8262-8_24

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