The untrained but well-intentioned volunteers do not mean to be a hindrance in rescue and relief work. But they need to be properly trained and organized in groups before rushing to disaster-hit sites.

Nevertheless, they should not shoulder all the blame for the chaos their presence causes at disaster-hit sites, because they could have been of immense help with proper training and better preparation.

Volunteers as a group are new to China. Many people living in remote areas of the country may have not even heard of the word. Unlike in some countries, the experience of volunteering to help people during disasters is not a highly recognized part of social training. And there are not many non-governmental organizations that share relevant information on and organize training for volunteers.

The government should, therefore, take the lead in organizing volunteers and fixing their responsibilities. It can, for instance, devise policies to encourage NGOs to provide training. And government departments can directly coordinate and cooperate with social organizations to train volunteers so that they can be of real help during relief and rescue missions with their skills and professionalism.

This will allow government agencies to immediately establish a functional mechanism after a disaster hits an area to organize volunteers to make them a truly helpful team in rescue and relief work, and release timely information on how many volunteers the disaster-hit area needs.

The author is a senior writer with China Daily. xinzhiming@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 08/07/2014 page9)