Accra, Nov. 22, GNA - Mr Mike Adjei of the Office of the President on Tuesday cautioned voluntary organizations against intra-coalition conflicts and strife but articulate their concerns and views for the benefit of mankind.

Mr Adjei gave the advice when he launched activities for this year's International Volunteers Day (IVD), which comes off on December 5, under the theme: "Volunteering, Making National and International Development Targets Achievable" in Accra.

The day is set aside to check what measures have been taken by the State and volunteer promoting organizations to facilitate volunteer contributions, and which factors encourage or inhibit volunteer behaviour and also what impact has volunteering have had on the different targets under the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Mr Adjei said in the face of the world's economic hardship, volunteering and sacrifices could liberate and propel Ghana to a middle-income economy by 2015, adding that, the MDGs could be achieved if the people were prepared to sacrifice and contribute to the socio-economic development of the nation.

"If we shall not be demanding money for whatever we shall do for our communities and be prepared to sacrifice time, energy money, knowledge and skills for its development, then the MDGs would be achieved by 2015", he said.

Ms Norma Messam, United Nations Volunteers (UNV) Programme Officer, said this year's activities would kick start with a seminar on November 28 at the Teachers Hall in Accra. It would be followed by a blood donation exercise in collaboration with other voluntary organizations at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital.

She said volunteers would participate in a painting and clean-up exercise in schools in Tamale on December 4 and would be climaxed with a durbar of chiefs and an award ceremony in Tamale on December 5. Ms Messam said in 2001, the UN volunteer programme spearheaded the International Year of Volunteers (IYV) Campaign, which created global awareness of the enormous contributions that individuals had made to development through voluntary actions, and added that, this year's IVD would provide opportunity for IYV to reflect on achievements for the past five years and to look forward to new collective challenges in voluntary action and how it could help to achieve the targets of MDGs.

Mr Nii Dodoo Doodoo, Programme Officer of the Voluntary Service Organisation (VSO), said volunteering was an activity done out of free-will and without any financial reward but said in some cases allowances could be provided to facilitate the volunteer's activities. He urged the other organizations within the present 15-member coalition to endeavour to work all year round so that institutions could look up to them for recruiting volunteers for national assignments.