Story number 3 for 29 Jan 2003

(International)–Fears of war and terrorist attacks around the world have slashed the number of volunteers preparing to work in developing countries, so says The Volunteer Services Association. The Independent Sector shows a nearly 12-percent drop in those responding to a call to action. However, FARMS International’s Joseph Richter says they’re bucking the trend. “Any volunteer organization knows that there’s volunteer burnout after a time; and we always pray that these committees would keep the vision and see that they’re really effectively helping their own people at the grassroots level.” Richter says their financial programs operate on the volunteer resource in order to encourage believers to ministry. “The volunteer approach helps us avoid the problem of dependency. I’ve been amazed at how they take ownership of the program, and the local people trust them, and they know the local situation.”