Motivation Toward Volunteerism in Flood Disaster Relief

Abstract

Introduction: Natural disasters could threaten both country and human capabilities and it can be translated in various forms such as earth quakes, floods and landslides. Although Malaysia is a not country within the volcano circle, it is still exposed to other forms of natural disaster including floods. It is reported that between 2014 and 2019, floods are among the highest disasters happened in Malaysia. However, the mitigation process in disaster management is reportedly less effective and this is due to various factors including the lack of volunteerism among people or community. Therefore, this study aims to understand the underlying motivation people involving in volunteerism towards mitigating flood disaster in the country. Method: An inductive qualitative approach using purposive sampling among 27 respondents to meet the objective of this study. Result: The findings revealed that the six underlying factors that motivate respondents towards flood mitigation volunteerism which are i) self-interest, ii) family, iii) friends, iv) environment and, v) religion. Conclusion: From the policy perspective, this study sheds the light for the governing bodies in designing comprehensive package (training, development and remunerations) for a successful volunteerism program. While, practically the understanding on the underlying motivation towards volunteerism are beneficial, not only to produce volunteers who are more prepared but also helpful for volunteers to continue to stay in the field of volunteerism.