Cyprus-Forum.com

[Filitsa]

It has come out in a thread that the Cypriots don't generally do any volunenteer work at pet shelters.
from a previous posting, I have also discovered that there are very few-to-none orphanges in CY. I was told you take care of your own.
I would assume that would be the same for old folks homes.
I also asked once about volunteering in hospitals, and was told that is not allowed as well. Judging from the amount of trash i saw on my recent visit, it appears they don't volunteer to clean up thier communities either.

So where do the Cypriots do thier Community Services? Where do they volunteer thier time for a better community?

GorillaGal, kudos to the society that takes care of its own and not the one that practices false atruism.

From the simple volunteer to the big benefactor, many in our country are phony altruists with personal agendas. So many kids go through childhood without the vaguest idea of what it's like to give of themselves without something other than the satisfaction of helping others in return. Then they get to high school and suddenly they're encouraged to engage in some form of "outreach," not because it's the right thing to do but because it looks good on their college transcript. Most get to college, (which breeds further self-absorption) and for the most part outreach is forgotten. Beyond that, what appears to be altruism is a function of the desire for more money, status, or power. There's always a carrot. Altruism needs to be cultivated from a very young age. Our society stops short at the "politely sharing" stage.

On the other hand, in a society that takes care of its own, altruism is taught at a very young age. The child learns that he is valued and he learns the value of others. This child is more likely to practice what he learns.

[GorillaGal]

Schools, the army, various organisations, they all organise projects to clean areas, plant trees or other activities like that.

GG has accused Cypriots of being lazy but in my opinion its the opposite. All the people I know between the ages of 23-40 work on average from 8am-6pm. I personally work from 8am-8pm and once or twice a week until 10pm.
So for you guys it might be easy to sacrifice an hour of your day to do something good like that, but if you expect me to go pick up garbage from the beach at 8pm then call me lazy, but I aint moving from the couch.

i work 7 days a week, sometimes 15 hour days, sometimes more, sometimes less.
and yet i find time to do community service in my neighborhood, and on a pretty regular basis. even if it is jsut picking up garbage while i am out walking the dogs.

i started this thread, not to accuse anyone of being lazy, but it does sound a little hypotritcal that the cypriots on this forum don't want to help the pets, which is fine. there SHOULD be other charities or people in the community that need help. i don't know where you are from raiseufist, but the only cypriot that chose to respond here treated it like a joke.
just as an observation, it just seems that the expats get degraded, yet they are the ones that should be applauded. as for this forum, it also seems like the lack of Cypriot response to this threas says ALOT about who the cypriots are. i am not calling anyone lazy, lets get that straight. self centered, MAYBE, but lazy, no!

[GorillaGal]

It has come out in a thread that the Cypriots don't generally do any volunenteer work at pet shelters.
from a previous posting, I have also discovered that there are very few-to-none orphanges in CY. I was told you take care of your own.
I would assume that would be the same for old folks homes.
I also asked once about volunteering in hospitals, and was told that is not allowed as well. Judging from the amount of trash i saw on my recent visit, it appears they don't volunteer to clean up thier communities either.

So where do the Cypriots do thier Community Services? Where do they volunteer thier time for a better community?

GorillaGal, kudos to the society that takes care of its own and not the one that practices false atruism.

From the simple volunteer to the big benefactor, many in our country are phony altruists with personal agendas. So many kids go through childhood without the vaguest idea of what it's like to give of themselves without something other than the satisfaction of helping others in return. Then they get to high school and suddenly they're encouraged to engage in some form of "outreach," not because it's the right thing to do but because it looks good on their college transcript. Most get to college, (which breeds further self-absorption) and for the most part outreach is forgotten. Beyond that, what appears to be altruism is a function of the desire for more money, status, or power. There's always a carrot. Altruism needs to be cultivated from a very young age. Our society stops short at the "politely sharing" stage.

On the other hand, in a society that takes care of its own, altruism is taught at a very young age. The child learns that he is valued and he learns the value of others. This child is more likely to practice what he learns.

kudos to the society that takes care of it's own, as long as there are expats to do the rest of the work.

shame on you all.

[Filitsa]

It has come out in a thread that the Cypriots don't generally do any volunenteer work at pet shelters.
from a previous posting, I have also discovered that there are very few-to-none orphanges in CY. I was told you take care of your own.
I would assume that would be the same for old folks homes.
I also asked once about volunteering in hospitals, and was told that is not allowed as well. Judging from the amount of trash i saw on my recent visit, it appears they don't volunteer to clean up thier communities either.

So where do the Cypriots do thier Community Services? Where do they volunteer thier time for a better community?

GorillaGal, kudos to the society that takes care of its own and not the one that practices false atruism.

From the simple volunteer to the big benefactor, many in our country are phony altruists with personal agendas. So many kids go through childhood without the vaguest idea of what it's like to give of themselves without something other than the satisfaction of helping others in return. Then they get to high school and suddenly they're encouraged to engage in some form of "outreach," not because it's the right thing to do but because it looks good on their college transcript. Most get to college, (which breeds further self-absorption) and for the most part outreach is forgotten. Beyond that, what appears to be altruism is a function of the desire for more money, status, or power. There's always a carrot. Altruism needs to be cultivated from a very young age. Our society stops short at the "politely sharing" stage.

On the other hand, in a society that takes care of its own, altruism is taught at a very young age. The child learns that he is valued and he learns the value of others. This child is more likely to practice what he learns.

kudos to the society that takes care of it's own, as long as there are expats to do the rest of the work.

shame on you all.

Not shame on me. I speak as an American. Helping the helpless is noble, helpless animals included. But numerous people in this country treat their pets better than their neighbors and sometimes their own kids. They'd rather spend time primping Fifi than poor Yiayia in the nursing home. Misplaced priorities, GorillaGal.

[GorillaGal]

It has come out in a thread that the Cypriots don't generally do any volunenteer work at pet shelters.
from a previous posting, I have also discovered that there are very few-to-none orphanges in CY. I was told you take care of your own.
I would assume that would be the same for old folks homes.
I also asked once about volunteering in hospitals, and was told that is not allowed as well. Judging from the amount of trash i saw on my recent visit, it appears they don't volunteer to clean up thier communities either.

So where do the Cypriots do thier Community Services? Where do they volunteer thier time for a better community?

GorillaGal, kudos to the society that takes care of its own and not the one that practices false atruism.

From the simple volunteer to the big benefactor, many in our country are phony altruists with personal agendas. So many kids go through childhood without the vaguest idea of what it's like to give of themselves without something other than the satisfaction of helping others in return. Then they get to high school and suddenly they're encouraged to engage in some form of "outreach," not because it's the right thing to do but because it looks good on their college transcript. Most get to college, (which breeds further self-absorption) and for the most part outreach is forgotten. Beyond that, what appears to be altruism is a function of the desire for more money, status, or power. There's always a carrot. Altruism needs to be cultivated from a very young age. Our society stops short at the "politely sharing" stage.

On the other hand, in a society that takes care of its own, altruism is taught at a very young age. The child learns that he is valued and he learns the value of others. This child is more likely to practice what he learns.

kudos to the society that takes care of it's own, as long as there are expats to do the rest of the work.

shame on you all.

Not shame on me. I speak as an American. Helping the helpless is noble, helpless animals included. But numerous people in this country treat their pets better than their neighbors and sometimes their own kids. They'd rather spend time primping Fifi than poor Yiayia in the nursing home. Misplaced priorities, GorillaGal.

that "shame on you all" was not aimed at you Filestra. the Cypriots don't respond to this thread, well, except one that treated as a joke.
and it doens't necessarily refer to community services in the pet care industry. i merely wanted to know WHAT was being done in CY on a volunteer level. obvioiusly, not alot.
what a shame, as i believe there are probably some very talented musicians in this lot who could be playing music for terminally ill patients in hospitals, or maybe some sort of Habitat for Humanity projects, or maybe hospice. there are so many ways to help, but looks like the only problem in all of cyprus is that there is this line seperating the north from the south, the turks from the greeks, and that's all tehy can see.

[Sega]

It has come out in a thread that the Cypriots don't generally do any volunenteer work at pet shelters.
from a previous posting, I have also discovered that there are very few-to-none orphanges in CY. I was told you take care of your own.
I would assume that would be the same for old folks homes.
I also asked once about volunteering in hospitals, and was told that is not allowed as well. Judging from the amount of trash i saw on my recent visit, it appears they don't volunteer to clean up their communities either.

So where do the Cypriots do their Community Services? Where do they volunteer their time for a better community?

Cyprus has this mentality, "take care of your own", and if your own don't care them somebody might help you, but his constantly reminding you, or remind himself, that in reality it should be your own that should cater for you.

It's also true that many have these third world beings catering for their relatives, but this within time will fade and then the real burden will be on them. A Cypriots worse nightmare is an old people home, in fact I think that's true with Brits, judging from past retirement home reports. Only a select few do the job as they should. I would be interested to know if there is some sort of old people's home catering undergraduate and postgraduate degree. This might solve the problem.

Back to the point, in order for somebody to do volunteer work he/she would need to be able to support himself without the need for income. The wages in Cyprus cannot provide this. Everybody has their own problems, financial and others. We cater of our own, this is the way it works, and if your own don't cater for you SHAME ON THEM!!!!!! SERIOUSLY SHAME ON THEM!!!!!

This is how it is, we cannot change things, nor do I particularly want to. In the UK you might have a complete stranger who would give his life for you, just because he felt it was the right thing to do. This is not the case here. You can only trust your own, and soon this will probably change. England use to be the same, and now all the old folks complain how it has all went pear shaped. Use each place for it's positives and try to ignore the negatives. This will help you to be a success anywhere, people are not bad, there just difference, difference is only bad when you cannot comprehend it.

I believe I have exhausted you topic. However if you have any comments I encourage you to continue as I maybe able to help you understand how things are here.

[Sega]

BTW I am Cypriot, I replied to this thread and gave you a serious reply.

[GorillaGal]

BTW I am Cypriot, I replied to this thread and gave you a serious reply.

thank you sega, for a serious reply, and for helping me to understand.

based on your prior post, it sounds like the cypriots can't donate a few hours a week, or even once a month becaues they can't afford it? there is nothing in it for them? is that what you meant, or is that how i interpreted it? i would like to understand that point before i waste my time responding to it.

[Sega]

BTW I am Cypriot, I replied to this thread and gave you a serious reply.

thank you sega, for a serious reply, and for helping me to understand.

based on your prior post, it sounds like the cypriots can't donate a few hours a week, or even once a month becaues they can't afford it? there is nothing in it for them? is that what you meant, or is that how i interpreted it? i would like to understand that point before i waste my time responding to it.

It's a combination of things, time, money, effort and a huge part that it should be your own that caters for you. Cyprus is small, everybody know everybody. If somebody does not do his duties as a human being people will find out, and the chances are that bad things will be said about you. It is true that small people talk about other people's problem, but Cyprus is small and many are small minded. This village mentality will fade with time alongside with saleries and when this happens people will become willing to give volunteer work.

[GorillaGal]

so it's all about money?

funny, i had a job that didn't pay well, and i barely could make ends meet. then 9-11 happened, and i lost my job. but still, i found a way to help the victims. i made a small investment, in post cards, and sold them on eBay, with the proceeds going to help the victims and families. from a $20 investment, i raised over $800 for charity.

i do not think it so difficult to find one day a week to donate a few hours to help those less fortunate. hey, one day a month? 5 or 6 hours out of approximately 720 hours in a month?

god forbid if someone might find out you did something to help someone else.