The National Kidney Foundation (NKF) thanks Mr Lee Yao Zheng for his letter (Youngsters shouldn't rely too much on volunteers; July 15) and shares his views.

Volunteers help enrich lives and bring the community together. Charities, including the NKF, greatly appreciate their dedicated services. Volunteers serve with lots of compassion and dedication, and without them, many charities will have a tough time in adding value to the lives of their beneficiaries.

While NKF works with volunteers who have the passion and skills to help care for our needy kidney patients on their journey towards rehabilitation, we have to be mindful not to create a mindset in our beneficiaries that might make them over-reliant on the services provided by the charities and, in the process, unknowingly create an overdependency among our beneficiaries.

In helping patients lead normal lives, we encourage them to be proactive partners in rebuilding their lives to ensure optimal treatment outcomes.

This increases their sense of involvement in their own treatment and gives them some control over their illness so that they are empowered to be self-reliant, to get back on their feet and to contribute back to their families and society.

Hence, while we continue to create meaningful volunteer opportunities and make a positive impact in the lives of our beneficiaries, we also want to ensure that patients are not overly dependent on volunteers as it might actually hinder them from achieving their full potential.

Tim Oei

Chief Executive Officer

The National Kidney Foundation