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The Sunshine Family Volunteers Initiative (SFV) was launched in 2021 as part of GPW’s “Peace Begins in the Home Series”. Recognizing the family as the first school of love and character, Sunshine Family Volunteers encourages families to cultivate service-mindedness through serving together. SFV brings families together to make a difference. As they spend meaningful time together, they can invest in their shared purpose and values, and create lasting memories of making a difference.
In 2022, thirteen Sunshine Family Volunteer coordinators were trained through the year representing nine countries. The SFV coordinators spearhead family volunteering activities, and encourage families to start their own family volunteer project. They are tasked to promote GPW’s vision, mission and mentor families as they start their volunteer projects together. They work side by side with SFV participant families to build their leadership and problem-solving skills and most importantly, their sense of self-confidence to help them to develop the family relationships while learning the important values in the families. We want to highlight three of our coordinators.
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Elizabeth Obondo, our SFV coordinator from Kenya established her SFV in 2022. The club was able to conduct an empowerment and capacity building project called ‘Circles of Concern.’ The project aimed to engage and inspire community members to invest in peace in the home and community through dialogue and caring for neighbors. With her club members, Sharon Otieno, Cheryl Achieng, Winnie Ogutu and Mary Obondo, she performs charity work in the community.
“They say a problem shared is half solved. When we gain confidence and speak up we heal, see the beauty of forgiving, empathizing with one another, realize our potential and generally realize that the universe can be kind to us,” she said.
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Through her 7 member SFV club in Nepal, Shristika Bajracharya initiated a project aimed at empowering school-going children, their teachers and caregivers with information about child abuse and sexual harassment, its laws and regulations, and building children’s leadership skills. A total of 400 students, 100 teachers, and 10 caregivers from four public and private schools from Kathmandu, Bhaktapur, and Lalitpur districts in Nepal benefitted from the Sunshine Family Volunteer project.
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Tosang Chang, our SFV coordinator from Nagaland, India lead a one day workshop with her Sunshine Family Volunteer club on leadership, morality and discipline for students of class 9, 10 & 11,12 at the Holy family Higher secondary school.
“Together with the volunteers with the volunteers, we conducted activities which helped the students in understanding each other as well as building trust and teamwork. These are important qualities that a moral leader should possess,” she shared.
Sunshine Family Volunteer coordinators work alongside families to inspire them to use their skills to make a positive impact on their communities and the world. These hubs are generating the culture of service in peace around the world.
Start your family volunteering or find out more how to become a coordinator. You can become a changemaker who is solving local problems and building peace.
Reach out to us via email: younshim.park@globalpeacewomen.org.