To Volunteer

If I asked you to stay up late at night, travel to different areas, spend money for your transportation, haul some heavy equipment, and deal with all sorts of people, all without pay, will you do it? With just these questions almost everyone will say no. What gets people to say yes is the objective.

Merriam-Webster defines the word volunteer as “a person who voluntarily undertakes or expresses a willingness to undertake a service.”

As the Philippines celebrates the Buwan ng Bayanihang Bayan (National Volunteer Month) this December we reflect on the act of volunteerism. The theme of this month's celebration is Boluntarismo: Daan Tungo sa Pagbabago (Volunteerism: The Way to Change – translation mine). The Philippine National Volunteer Service Coordinating Agency call on every Filipino to “become a change catalyst, even in their own simple ways, through organizing and participating in volunteer activities aligned with the local and international development priorities.”

Volunteerism is a key element in the existence and success of the Manila Street Astronomers. As we always say, without volunteers there is no MSA. As I mentioned earlier, what drives people to volunteer their time, money, and energy depends if they agree with the objective. In a nut-shell the goal is to advocate astronomy education to the public by conducting astronomy outreach in various locations such as schools, malls, local communities and street corners. Getting people to look at objects in space for the first time through telescopes, to give them awe and a sense of wonder, and to promote and communicate science to the general public, that is something we strive for.

However, there is also an underlying reason why MSA exists and it aligns with the theme of NVM2017 – to create change for development. The MSA by nature is an organization that provides neutrality in the local astronomy community. Being strictly non-profit, there is also no agenda or concern for commercial uses. Although some would deny it, the local astronomy community is not a very united community. This is something we strive to change. By being inclusive and neutral, our volunteers get to take part in astronomy outreach for astronomy's sake and nothing else. This setup allows true collaboration in which each individual and organization is on equal terms and working together in a collective effort to promote astronomy and astronomy education to the general public – no matter where they stand on the socio-economic ladder. The growth of MSA and its following reflects the needed change in making the science more accessible to others. We desire to provide an environment where volunteers can work together make a contribution to society.

The effort to make astronomy accessible to the public is not only effort done by astronomy enthusiasts and amateur astronomers. The International Astronomical Union Division C Commission C2 declares that “It is the responsibility of every practicing astronomer to play some role in explaining the interest and value of science to our real employers, the taxpayers of the world.”

Be it the need to educate or the passion to share astronomy our volunteers gain a sense of fulfillment promoting something that is greater than themselves. One of our volunteers Margie Laurence describes her volunteering experience as:

“Nung una Sir nacurious po ako sa inyo. Nung dinala kame ni Ate Phoebe nung InOMN sa Trinoma. Parang "Bakit sila may pa-ganitong event na free for all? Ang galing naman may ganito palang group." Tapos nung first time ko sumama sa ftv dun ko po nalaman yung sagot sa tanong ko nung una ko kayong nakita. Nafeel ko yung ibang klase ng saya pag nakakakita ng mga taong sumisilip sa scope, yung pagkamangha po nila. Yung tipong kahit ilang oras ka nakatayo dun tapos yuyuko, mag aayos ng scope pag di na naka align, magtatawag ng viewers ganon, hinding hindi mo mararamdaman yung pagod kase yung mga reaksyon at ngiti nila sa nakita nila eh para kang nagkakaenergy ulit. Lalo na pag mga bata po yung natutuwa sa sinisilip nila, ay grabe ang sarap po sa pakiramdam. Parang nafufulfill yung pagkatao.”

[At first I was curious. When we were brought by ate Phoebe in the InOMN event at TriNoma it was like “Why do they have an event that is free to all? It's great I didn't know there was a group like this.” Then the first time I joined an FTV that's where I found the answer to my question when I first saw the group. I felt a different kind of joy when I see people looking looking through a telescope, and seeing their amazement. Despite having to stand for hours and bending over to re-align the telescopes, calling out to people to take a look, I don't feel exhausted seeing their reaction and smiles like it revitalizes me with energy. Especially when kids are the one happy at what they see, it really is a wonderful feeling. It's like I am fulfilled as a person.]