Island Hospice celebrates volunteers
EVERY year, the International Volunteer Day is observed on December 5 to encourage and celebrate the role of volunteers.
We at Island Hospice and Healthcare (Island) would like you to join us in recognising and celebrating the contributions of our volunteers who provide a service to you, the Zimbabwean community.
Since 1979, Island Hospice has offered palliative and bereavement care services throughout the country and was the first in Africa to do so.
Palliative care means medical and counselling support to those who find themselves with serious, possibly life-threatening illnesses.
Island Hospice’s bereavement care is a service offered to those who are grieving after a death.
The hospice relies heavily on volunteers to augment the services offered by professional staff because the demand is great, and the staff are few.
Volunteers are an integral part of the team and complement the services by filling roles such as direct contact with patients and the bereaved or providing essential clerical and fundraising support for the organisation.
Those who assist the staff by offering direct contact with patients and clients will undergo training by a social worker or nurse.
Many people become volunteers to express gratitude for help they received during a loved one’s illness, or just to give back to their community.
Being a part of the community that they serve, volunteers are well placed to better understand and assist those in need.
The volunteers describe their work as satisfying, fulfilling and meaningful. Also, volunteering is good for you. Studies show that being involved in regular volunteer work increases life expectancy, improves your sense of well-being and self-worth, decreases insomnia, and builds a stronger immune system. Island, on behalf of all of those that we serve, would like to thank all our many volunteers for their dedication, time, and effort.
You are greatly valued.
Island has branches in Bulawayo, Harare, Marondera and Mutare. For information on volunteering at any Island branch contact: assistant @islandhospice.co.zw; +263 24 - 2701674-7.