July 25, SALALAH - Often working behind the scenes, they are the thread that connect communities together. They are driven by the passion to do good and make the world a better place to live. Among many volunteer groups active in Dhofar, White Hands and Nasayem Al Ataa, are participating in the Salalah Tourism Festival (STF). They are attracting interest from the visitors for their noble work and zeal to serve the society. These volunteers are drawn from different walks of life. Some of them are students while many others are private or public sector employees, businessmen and even housewives. The White Hands is mainly into identifying people with healthcare needs who are unable to meet their medical expenses, while Nasayem Al Ataa is driven by helping all those who are in need.
It may be anything from food to housing, education or even some sudden requirement for money and Nasayem Al Ataa volunteers are there for them.
White Hands, According to Mohammed al Amri, an active volunteer of the group, started some seven months ago with 15 like minded people.
Today it has following of 2,000 people, all willing to help anyone who needs healthcare but have no money to bear the expenses.
“We take help of social media to connect to people. For example we have 10 groups on WhatsApp comprising 100 members each and 8 women groups almost with same numbers. We are getting extensive support from across the communities as our goal is serve all the nationalities,” he said.
Explaining the functioning of White Hands, Said al Yafai, another active volunteer, said, “We volunteers contact people to join our group and contribute whatever they can.
We do not have any control over the money collected from the contributors as it goes directly to the Oman Charitable Organisation (OCO). Our job is to convince people about the noble job that White Hands is doing and recommend the needy for assistance.”
The group, according to him, is open to all and there is a OCO bank account number in which the contribution is deposited.“We are getting overwhelming response and working with White Hands gives me a sense of satisfaction that I am able to contribute something to the society,” he said.
Similar is the case with Nasayem Al Ataa volunteers. It has wide range of volunteers from 45-year-old to 12 years. The group started in 2013 hardly with two or three volunteers. Now it has 40 volunteers spread all over Dhofar.
Sharifa al Yafai is a dedicated volunteer of the group. Her passion to serve the humanity in her own limited way led her to lead the group. She is ambitious and generous.
She wants to become an engineer after completing her course in Civil Engineering from Salalah College of Technology (SCT). Her course is demanding still she spares time for her job as a volunteer.
“If you have interest in something you do not feel like doing something extra. It comes automatically in you and in fact you feel like missing something if you don’t do that.Thus by doing this I am not obliging anyone. I do this for my own satisfaction,” she said when asked how she balances her study and job as a volunteer.
Helping poor is her passion. He/ she can be anyone from any nationality. Apart from this she organises holy Quran learning for children.
The group’s activities are limited only in Dhofar but depending upon capabilities she is open to expand her activities all over Oman.
The youngest volunteer of the group, Sultan al Yafai, 12, was also present at the Nasayem Al Ataa stall at the STF and was happy over his role as a volunteer. “I do whatever I am assigned and I enjoy helping people. It doesn’t take much of my study time but gives me huge sense of satisfaction,” he said.
Kaushalendra Singh
Oman Observer is now on the WhatsApp channel. Click here
