Taking Lessons from the Sustainable Volunteer Spirit of the Village Security Team Along the Border of Loei Province

Abstract

This research, titled “Lessons Learned on Sustainable Volunteerism of Village Security Units along the Border Areas of Loei Province,” aimed to 1) examine the characteristics of volunteer spirit among village security units along the border areas of Loei Province, 2) develop key performance indicators (KPIs) for measuring volunteer spirit based on the Iddhipada 4 principles, and 3) apply the KPI results to further develop a sustainable volunteerism model for village security units and expand it to other communities. This study employed a qualitative research methodology consisting of document analysis and in-depth interviews with key informants, including local leaders, subdistrict heads, village headmen, village security unit members, Buddhist scholars, political science scholars, representatives from the public sector, and local administrative organizations.
The findings revealed that: 
1) the characteristics of volunteer spirit among village security units in the border areas of Loei Province consisted of eight attributes: awareness of roles and responsibilities, in-depth operational experience, situational assessment based on environmental conditions, rapid response to threats, effective communication skills, teamwork, public-minded sacrifice, and endurance in duty performance
2) the development of KPIs based on the Iddhipada 4 principles Chanda (satisfaction), Viriya (effort), Citta (attention), and Vimamsa (investigation) helped strengthen the model volunteer characteristics and enhance the effectiveness of village security unit performance, resulting in greater stability and sustainability of the eight volunteer attributes
3) the sustainable extension of the volunteerism model should be carried out through the development of a volunteer training curriculum for village security units and the preparation of an operational manual to serve as practical guidelines for further development and expansion to other communities.