Volunteering on the trails of Pindos.
This year marked the completion of a decade of volunteer activities in scattered parts of our great mountain range. Ten blessed years, with excitement and many new friends! The actions were attended by a total of hundreds of friends and supporters of the initiative, who helped significantly to bring forgotten strata of Pindos back to life. It is a remarkable event for us and before we continue with open invitations for the New Year`s actions, we thought we would share our thoughts on volunteering, as acts of solidarity are necessary to exist and spread.
We can say with great confidence that there is no greater reward in the soul of a human being than the satisfaction received by giving back to the whole.
Here is the answer to anyone who wonders about man`s tendency to give unselfishly for a common cause.
Usually the volunteer`s motives are humble. Sometimes the need for collective fairness in the administration of an idea, sometimes mere curiosity.
Nevertheless, volunteering is a great activity, which should be taught intensively in schools as a fundamental concept and benefit society, helping all of us to interact positively on multiple levels, gathering knowledge and serving each other.
The participatory process in volunteer invitations and challenges is a healthy thing and only by being in the midst of a diligent effort, in the company of your fellow human beings, can you feel the immediate return benefits and level of contribution.
Most people, find it hard to believe that there would be a way to attend the efforts of others, even going so far as to spend time and sometimes money, in order to help a cause.
Of course, this is not at all unreasonable, as most of the population follows individual goals and commitments with high demands, having limited time and opportunities to be more actively involved in volunteering.
Others not so much, either because of more suitable conditions, or because a sense of responsibility prevails and defies established logic, taking on such roles more readily.
Volunteering, however, is spreading and succeeds in bringing people with common concerns together in common goals and this is an achievement nowadays, considering how far modern man has moved away from the idea that his own kind can do something reliable and useful, selflessly and even without monetary reward.
One thing is certain: volunteering, regardless of the style and size of the contribution, makes us better people and leaves a good imprint on society. It should not be the role of a few romantics, because it is a human participatory act, a good and compassionate attitude towards any good citizen mobilisation, which tends to improve the living standards of all of us.
Since the countryside has lost its population and the primary sector has suffered such a serious and hardly reversible blow, volunteerism for the maintenance of mountain paths connecting settlements and rural areas is nowadays in the category of "emergency", as there has been no care for decades and historical routes of our country are being lost, so we are becoming culturally poorer with few options for hiking.
The use of trails in recent decades has changed, especially since the 1980s. Unfortunately, it has gone through the transition stage brought about by the desertification of the countryside and, much as we need it, it seems impossible that the once busy paths will be refilled by active villagers, traders and cattle grazing on their doros to maintain them.
Volunteer actions to keep the mountain trails alive are more than just an action in nature, than an outing with friends and a nice incentive to socialize. It is a social responsibility and it concerns all of us, regardless of our location or background.
Trails don`t make preferences, they welcome us all, they don`t have color or fringe, but neither do they have an unlimited lifespan if they don`t receive frequent use and proper care.
We have all at some point and for some reason needed to use a trail in our lifetime.
Elders attest to the use of trails within cities until a few decades ago. It remains a fact of life that there is a vague legislative situation around the preservation and now use of trails and if we want to have them we must maintain and enhance them to the best of our ability, as they are no longer the public thoroughfare for the vital functions of a community, but a means of education and recreation for visitors coming from the urban environment.
The direct transmission of basic information from nature to humans occurs through its exploration, interpreting the simplicity, but also the complexity of the ecosystem we belong to and complete.
Without pathways, the possibilities for the average person to access nature are limited and this does not help the evolution of their relationship with it.
Participation in the maintenance and proper use of trails are gifts that we owe to ourselves, enhancing at every opportunity the possibility of good communication with the whole through a creative way of life.
The spirit of volunteerism and social solidarity exists and is within us.
We may be intrigued by it, but we don`t have the way to act on it, perhaps we bury it, perhaps we don`t understand it, but it is there!
Friendly, Apostolis Tsimpanakos