(Carine Era Asutilla - Media & Secretariat Staff)

Why do people volunteer? People volunteer for different reasons but most volunteers end up getting back more than they give. It can make a difference to both the individual and to the community he/she lives in. Here¡¯s Carine Era Asutilla story of volunteering and how it helped her.

A friend suggested that doing voluntary work might be a good way to gain experience. I looked up a website: youth.net.ph on the Internet, which led me to South East Asia Games 2005 (SEA Games) .

The SEA Games went through various volunteering opportunities with me, one of which was being an Secretariat helper for them. I wanted some Secretariat work experience, and chose to join them for nine days from November 24 to December 07, 2005. When I joined SEA Games volunteer they were running several promotional events for the SEA Games week. It was a very busy time and I became involved in the general running of the events as well as helping out in distribution of the Volunteer identification Card (I.D.'s) and other clerical works. SEA Games encouraged me to use and expand on my existing skills, and working with, they provided me with an insight into the voluntary sector, as well as working life in general.

Voluntary work changed my discouraged outlook to a positive one, and gave me self-confidence, self worth and the opportunity to utilize my knowledge, talent and skills. During the Volunteer Workshop with the National Youth Commission (NYC) staff as far as i remember Howie his name (thanks for the inspiration).I really enjoy my day during the workshop.I have gained a huge amount of life skills and experiences from voluntary work, and was also able to prove my reliability and time keeping.

While working with the SEA Games I applied successfully for a full-time volunteer.

I have really enjoyed my voluntary work and will be sad when the games end. But, I am going to do a job working for a charity so I am leaving under the best possible circumstances. I want to continue to do some kind of voluntary work as I have gained a huge amount of life skills and experiences from it. I like the feeling that I am giving something back to the community and most of all I have met some really nice people while working with the SEA Games.