volunteer - YUVA

The Importance of Charity in Modern Society

This article digs deep into the importance of charity in modern society. It explains how businesses look at charity, learning what they stand to gain through these donations and whether they really have altruistic goals at heart or something more specific in mind.

Charity has been a popular concept over the centuries—and for a good reason. It’s not just about altruism but also a practical way to help those in need and contribute to society as a whole. When it comes down to it, charity is an incredibly generous act; donating money or goods can make a tangible difference in someone else’s life! But why do people feel compelled to give back?

Top 10 Opportunities to Volunteer in Mauritius

Many local and international students look for opportunities to volunteer in Mauritius. Volunteering is committing yourself to devote time and effort to benefit a community, society, environment, and individuals. It is about doing something for others, being selfless and charitable. It gives opportunities for societies to help each other without expecting anything in return. Volunteering is for people who are generous and kind-hearted.

Volunteering opportunities are found everywhere in the world and for many different causes. In Mauritius, the focus is on conservation and community development. Volunteering opportunities for conservation focus on beaches, endangered species of animals and plants, and the protection of the environment of Mauritius. Community development projects include helping educate children with disabilities, the less fortunate, the elderly, and the population’s health.

15 May 2020: International Day of Families in Mauritius

Families—both traditional and non-traditional—are the foundation of society. Some of the most formative years of our lives are spent growing up with our families, so they should be celebrated! And today we do just that.

Founded by the United Nations in 1994, The International Day of Families is observed on May 15 every year to celebrate the importance of families, people, societies and cultures around the world. It’s been around since 1994, with a different family-focused theme each year (past themes have included “Building Families Based on Partnership” and “Families, education and well-being”). So celebrate with us this year, and learn about some of the social, economic and demographic processes affecting families around the world!

Do you want to volunteer for Maha Shivaratri 2019? Register today!

It is with great pleasure that YUVA wishes to announce that, in collaboration with other organisations, we will be conducting free food distribution on a full-time basis from the 1st to the 4th of March 2019 at Grand Bassin on the occasion of Maha Shivaratri.

Last year YUVA served 250000+ puris, 100000+ juice cups & 25000+ biryani plates for Maha Shivaratri. We’ll live this spirit again!

For any further query, please contact our Programme Coordinator, Roopshika at 2181732.

20 April: Volunteer Recognition Day

There are cynics out there who will say that true altruism is a myth, that it doesn’t exist, and that nobody is capable of doing anything unless they are motivated by their own self-interest in the end. But even the most embittered cynics would be hard-pressed to explain why anyone in their right mind would make the choice to travel to the poorest parts of the world, where hunger, sickness and war ravage the population and death is as commonplace as life, to help care for orphaned children. Or why a comfortable middle-class citizen would choose to spend his or her afternoons teaching neglected teenagers how to read in the dirtiest, most gang-ridden part of town. Or why any nurse would risk his or her life to care for wounded soldiers on the very front. Volunteers come in all shapes and sizes, but they are all the real-life saints and superheroes of this world. And although they don’t ask to be paid for all of their selfless work, they definitely deserve our utmost respect and appreciation, which is exactly what Volunteer Recognition Day is all about. Continue reading “20 April: Volunteer Recognition Day”

15 April: Microvolunteering Day

Today (15 April 2018) is the “Microvolunteering Day”.

For anyone who might be feeling the urge to do something worthwhile or an itch to give back to the community, but who just can’t quite seem to get around to starting, then Microvolunteering Day could be the answer. Continue reading “15 April: Microvolunteering Day”

Donate for Maha Shivaratri 2017

YUVA wishes to announce that it will be conducting free food distribution on a full time basis for four consecutive days, from 21-24 February 2017 at Grand Bassin on the occasion of Maha Shivaratri.

Last year YUVA served 150000+ puris, 20000+ juice cups and 20000+ biryani plates for Maha Shivaratri. We’ll live this spirit again!

We request Mauritians to donate (in-kind or cash) and/or help (as a volunteer) our non-religious, non-profit organisation to make this initiative a success. By contributing to this programme you feel strongly about as a donor/volunteer and engaging creatively with the shape, form and impact of the project, you ensure that a generation of young people never looks back on the possibilities of how they can create positive change and unity.

YUVA’s bank details are as follows:

Account holder: YUVA
Account no.: 62030100193303
Swift code: STCBMUMU
IBAN: MU09STCB1180030100193303000MUR
Bank: State Bank of Mauritius, SBM Tower, Port Louis

For further information on how you can donate and/or help, call on 57086868 or email at info@yuvamauritius.com.

Observed this year on 24th of February, Maha Shivaratri is celebrated in a wide variety of ways in different countries where Hinduism is practised, but all are concerned with marking the marriage of Lord Shiva to Parvati. It is a very important Hindu festival and it is suggested that some 300,000 pilgrims celebrate Maha Shivaratri in Mauritius. It involves fasting, praying and making offerings to Lord Shiva and can start up to a month before the actual day.

In Mauritius, all Hindus are also required to walk to the lake at Grand Bassin, called Ganga Talao (or Lake Ganges). Depending on where they live, pilgrims will start walking to Grand Bassin several days before. They are usually dressed in white and may carry a kanwar, a bamboo frame decorated with flowers, bells, statues, etc, varying in size from small personal ones to large ones (from temples) on wheels, pulled along by a number of young men. Once they get to Ganga Talao the pilgrims say prayers and make offerings of food to Shiva, and the other gods represented there. After they have finished at Grand Bassin the pilgrims return home and may spend the night at the temple making offerings and saying prayers (puja).

The crater lake at Grand Bassin was discovered in 1897 by Pandit Gosain Naipual, a priest from Terre Rouge. He dreamt that a holy lake existed in Mauritius and set out to find it, which he did soon after. As people began to find out about the lake, pilgrims started to walk there as part of their celebration for Maha Shivaratri. Much more recently holy water from the Ganges was brought to Mauritius and was poured into the lake, making it even more sacred. At this festival the pilgrims take sacred water from the lake back to the house or temple to pour it over a symbolic statue of Shiva (the Lingum).

Donation for Maha Shivaratri 2016

It is with great pleasure that YUVA (Youth United in Voluntary Action) wishes to announce that it will be conducting free food distribution on a full time basis on 4^th, 5^th and 6^th of March at Grand Bassin on the occasion of Maha Shivaratree.

Last year YUVA served 250000+ puris, 100000+ juice cups & 25000+ biryani plates for Maha Shivaratri. We’ll live this spirit again!

We request Mauritians to donate (in-kind or cash) and/or help (as a volunteer) our non-religious, non-profit organisation to make this initiative a success. By contributing to this programme you feel strongly about as a donour/volunteer and engaging creatively with the shape, form and impact of the project, you ensure that a generation of young people never looks back on the possibilities of how they can create positive change and unity.

For further information on how you can donate and/or help, call on 57086868 or email at info@yuvamauritius.com.

This year Maha Shivaratri is on 7 March. Maha Shivaratri is celebrated in a wide variety of ways in different countries where Hinduism is practised, but all are concerned with marking the marriage of Lord Shiva to Parvati. It is a very important Hindu festival and it is suggested that some 300,000 pilgrims celebrate Maha Shivaratri in Mauritius. It involves fasting, praying and making offerings to Lord Shiva and can start up to a month before the actual day.

Volunteer as Photographer

Photography serves to define the window through which we view, interpret, and communicate our societal ideals and problems. It guides our understanding of beauty and pain, of joy and sorrow, of accomplishment and struggle. A photograph can be a call to action, or a call for contemplation. Photographs are capable of altering our perception of the world that surrounds us every day.

We believe that a single image can define our organisation and convey our mission to the public in a manner that no other medium is capable of doing alone.

Do you want to give back to the World by volunteering your time and services to help us? By connecting with our needs and your passion of photography, we shall be a powerful team whereby you will gain experience and exposure while we shall gain professional quality imagery to use within YUVA.

Images may be worth 10,000 words, but the best ones leave you speechless.

Humans are visual. We rely heavily on our sense of vision to guide us through life. Our emotions and judgment are permanently intertwined with our visual senses. It is through imagery that photographers attempt to build connections with the audience. Likewise, it is through the use of imagery that YUVA will build a connection with its audience. We firmly believe that the power of imagery to make these connections cannot be underestimated.

Who we’re looking for

YUVA is looking for experienced amateurs, semi-professional, and professional photographers living in Mauritius who are willing to volunteer their skills to assist National and Local projects. All photographers must at a minimum have a DSLR camera and a kit lens.

Why you should join

The one thing that joins all photographers regardless of skill level is a love for the challenge inherent in creating an image. By volunteering with YUVA you will get the chance to work with a non-profit organisation on a wide variety of projects – each of which will present unique challenges and opportunities in an environment that encourages the development of your own artistic vision. By becoming our volunteer photographer your photography projects gain a new purpose by directly supporting your community and our causes. We work to ensure that all our photographers are given complete access to the people and events that they photograph thus creating new educational opportunities that will make anyone a better photographer.

What you agree to

As a photographer for YUVA, you are responsible for creating quality images on projects which you are working. In general, we expect our photographers to deliver a minimum of 100 pictures during a project. Photos should be submitted in a maximum period of 48 hours.This gives us a variety of images to select from for use in their social media campaigns, marketing materials, brochures, fund raisers, etc.

Your rights

By agreeing to photograph for YUVA you are granting us a worldwide, irrevocable editorial license to use your photographs in support of our mission. YUVA will give credit to you as the original creator of the images for all uses of your work. As the photographer, you retain all copyrights to your images taken during any of the events that you shoot.

Excited to change the World through your DSLR? Please fill out the form below