Retired?
Share your expertise
by Kristine Berey
Are you a retired professional with at least ten years’ experience in
your field? Do you want to share your expertise with someone who can benefit
from it? Do you agree with Benjamin Franklin, who wrote that retirement is fine
as long as it doesn’t interfere with one’s work? If so, then you
are considered a precious Canadian resource that the Canadian Executive Service
Organization (CESO) would like to tap.
Since 1967, CESO has invited older Canadians to share their experience and skills
to meet a variety of needs in developing countries, aboriginal communities in
Canada, and more recently here in Montreal, through its program to help small
and medium-sized businesses.
“Those who come to us want to continue to do things, meet new people,
gain new experiences and discover new cultures,” said Joanna Dupras, CESO
regional director for Quebec and Labrador. “No matter what your expertise
is, we can use it.”
Volunteer advisors are asked to donate their time and knowledge, usually to
help communities with some facet of economic or social development. While the
client pays for accommodations and food, CESO takes care of the traveling expenses.
Volunteers never have to pay out of their own pockets. In this way the clients
have access to knowledge that would not be available to them if they had to
pay the fees of a professional consultant, explained Feyzah Abdelmoumen, coordinator
of the Support to Small and Medium Enterprise (SME)-Youth. The role of the volunteer
is to advise. “You do work with a person and show him how to do the work,”
Dupras said.
Volunteers can work here in Montreal at the office, or may assist with projects
in aboriginal communities in Quebec or overseas. There are 3600 Volunteer Advisers
in Canada, with about 550 here in Montreal, said Abdelmoumen. “Once we
find a match for a young business owner, the volunteer and the client meet here
in our office,” she explained. “We leave it up to them to decide
what time-frame they are going to use. Sometimes it is just one visit, sometimes
it is longer.”
Dupras has traveled to northern Quebec and has only good things to say about
her experience. “Travelling to aboriginal communities is just as adventuresome
as going overseas,” Dupras said, adding that the people she met were always
warm and friendly. “These are our people, they are part of our country,
yet they are so different. Their culture, their traditions, their priorities
are not the same as ours. It’s an incredible learning experience.”
In Africa, much emphasis is placed on helping women develop small businesses
and raising awareness of their rights and place in society, said Apollinaire
Ihaza, operations manager for Francophone African countries. “Women are
starting to organize activities that promote profits, like sewing, pottery,
crafts, and are beginning to create small businesses,” Ihaza said. “There
is a growing public awareness of women’s rights, and advisers are needed
in the areas of literacy and primary health care.”
When traveling to Africa, volunteers are given an orientation, usually staying
between two weeks to three months. On their return from assignment, they are
often ready to begin another one and remain involved in the organization for
many years. “I received more than I gave; I learned more than I taught,”
was how one volunteer described her experience. For more information, call CESO
at 875-7226.
