Volunteer Self-Onboarding

This Volunteer Self-Onboarding page will guide you through the process of officially joining YUVA as a Volunteer.

Dear YUVAN,

Congratulations on being selected as Volunteer for YUVA. I would like to take this opportunity to welcome you on-board. We are pleased that you have chosen YUVA as your lifelong resource to practice activism, social work and volunteerism in Mauritius.

Everything we do at YUVA has just one goal: the sustained well-being of children and young people, especially the most vulnerable. We work with families, communities, and partners to ensure that children and young people enjoy good health, are educated for life, experience the love of parents and their surroundings, and are cared for, protected, and participating. More importantly, we serve all children and young people — regardless of religion, race, ethnicity, or gender.

As a YUVAN, you will be entitled to promote, protect and advance young people’s human rights by building leadership and strengthening children and youth-led initiatives and movements. YUVA’s values are based on the assumption that leadership for our generation is not a singular concept, but embodies the challenge of bringing together people from diverse fields and schools of thought. We have the collective challenge of building leadership that can be reflected within our communities as much as in our policies.

Again, thank you for joining us, and welcome to the big YUVA family!

Krishna Athal
Executive Director

Volunteers shall perform all duties voluntarily and not receive remuneration or payment for their work.

YUVA does not intend any employment or contractual relationship to be created (i.e. you are not an employee, independent contractor or consultant at YUVA). If this changes at any time, and there is a possibility that you might undertake paid work for the organisation or be involved in vocational training, we will discuss this and document the arrangement in a formal employment contract, contract for services or other arrangements.

1. What you can expect when volunteering at YUVA?

YUVA values its volunteers, and we will endeavour to provide you with:

  1. A written position description so you understand your role and the tasks you are authorised to perform;
  2. A full induction, orientation and any training necessary for the volunteer role;
  3. A safe environment in which to perform your role;
  4. Respect for your privacy, including keeping your private information confidential; and
  5. A supervisor, so that you have the opportunity to ask questions and get feedback.
2. What YUVA asks of its volunteers?

We ask that you:

  1. Support YUVA’s aims and objectives;
  2. Participate in all relevant induction and training programmes;
  3. Only undertake duties you are authorised to perform and always operate under the direction and supervision of nominated staff and obey reasonable directions and instructions;
  4. Understand and comply with the organisation’s policies and procedures;
  5. Notify your supervisor or another member of staff of any health and safety issues or potentially hazardous situations that may pose a risk to you or others and report any accidents or incidents relating to staff, volunteers, or the workplace;
  6. Behave appropriately and courteously to all staff, clients and the public in the course of your role;
  7. Use any property or equipment given to you in your role safely and only for the purpose of the role and return it to the organisation when you finish your volunteer role;
  8. Let us know if you wish to change the nature of your contribution (e.g. hours, role) to YUVA at any time;
  9. Comply with the law at all times; and
  10. Be open and honest in your dealings with us and let us know if we can improve our volunteer program and the support that you receive.
3. Send the following documents to info@yuvamauritius.com
  1. A scanned copy of your National Identity Card;
  2. A copy of your Curriculum Vitae (CV);
  3. A scanned copy of your latest (3 months) Certificate of Character (submit the receipt of the application if you haven’t received the certificate yet).
  4. A scanned copy of your Certificate of Achievement from the YUVA Academy.
4. Get to know YUVA

Note that you will be assessed on what you’ve learnt from these websites.

5. Your contact person

Your contact person at YUVA will be Mr Krishna Athal, executive director of YUVA. He is reachable at info@yuvamauritius.

If you have any questions or concerns about your role, your health and safety, or any assistance you need to help you undertake your role, please get in touch with YUVA Secretariat as soon as possible.

6. Role description and details
  1. Job descriptions are given to respective volunteers, according to the positions they occupy in various service sectors.
  2. It is important that you only perform the tasks in this role description and that you follow the instructions of your job descriptions and YUVA’s staff.
  3. We will explain more about the Universal Declaration on Volunteering in your induction. However, one of the key factors in ensuring you are protected is that you are performing voluntary community work that is directed or supervised by an incorporated community organisation. It is therefore important that you only perform the tasks in the role description and as instructed by the organisation. To be covered by these laws it is also important that you are not affected by drugs or alcohol when you are volunteering.
  4. If you are unsure whether a particular task or work is authorised, please do not hesitate to talk to your contact person.
7. Induction and training required before you start in the Volunteer role

YUVA is committed to providing suitable training supporting your health and safety, discrimination and privacy policies. For this reason, it is our policy that all volunteers undertake induction and training at YUVA before commencing their volunteer position.

8. Rules & Regulations and Code of Conduct

All volunteers of YUVA should read through the Volunteer Policy and Procedures Booklet and abide by all clauses therein.

Additionally, volunteers should abide by all the clauses mentioned in the YUVA Volunteer Agreement.

You are also expected to abide by any additional instructions given to you by your Supervisor for any activity organised by YUVA that you participate in.

9. The health and safety of you and others
  1. At YUVA, volunteer safety and the safety of everyone who is involved in our organisation is a priority.
  2. In Mauritius, the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2005 (OHS Act) applies to many volunteers because all organisations that engage workers on a paid basis or manage or control a workplace can owe OHS duties to everyone in the organisation (including volunteers). Also, there may be other legal actions (such as negligence claims) that mean we always need to consider work health and safety issues.
  3. Under the OHS Act and other laws, YUVA has a duty of care to minimise risks to everyone affected by its conduct (including paid employees and volunteers).

It also means that you may have OHS duties as a volunteer. These include:

  1. to take reasonable care for your own health and safety;
  2. to take reasonable care for the health and safety of others;
  3. to comply with any reasonable instruction by YUVA;
  4. to let YUVA know of any concerns you may have about safety and/or fitness in undertaking our role; and
  5. to cooperate with any reasonable policies and procedures of YUVA.

We will provide you with a full induction, safety equipment and role training when you commence as a YUVAN with our organisation. However, please do not hesitate to talk to your contact officer at any time if you have any health and safety concerns.

10. Volunteer expenses and other benefits

As a volunteer, YUVA will not reimburse you for any reasonable out-of-pocket expenses that you incur when performing authorised tasks associated with your role.

We may sometimes provide you with other benefits as part of your volunteering role; examples include training, free food, accommodation, event entry, clothing or equipment. Where this occurs, it is on a gratuitous basis at the discretion of YUVA and is not a payment in lieu of salary.

11. Intellectual Property

All volunteers at YUVA agree to transfer all intellectual property rights and interests (including copyright) in any ideas or materials they create relating to their provision of voluntary services at YUVA to YUVA.

Volunteers are taken to consent to YUVA use of such creations in a manner reasonably contemplated by the voluntary services provided under this document. As a volunteer, you also agree not to bring any claim for infringement of your moral rights regarding that use.

On-boarding completed!

After your self-onboarding, you will be added to the YUVA Volunteers database and the YUVA Volunteers WhatsApp group, where you will be informed of upcoming events for which you can volunteer.

A record will be kept of the events in which you participated and an attestation letter or other incentives may be offered to you after participation in a few activities of YUVA.

All the best!