Muscat, June 2 - A volunteer team has taken up a challenge to renovate one of the non-profit organisations in Muscat. The noble gesture has come with the inspiration of holy month of Ramadhan. The founder of the initiative as well as the organisation have been overwhelmed by the deluge of voluntary labour offer as well as support in kind. It started when Mohammed al Zedjali (pictured) requested Oman Association for Children with Disability the opportunity to renovate the building with the help of volunteers.
That was how Oman Volunteers Team (OVT) came into being. With just having a presence in the social media, the strength of the volunteers currently stands at 850 as the team continues to accept more and more members. Thus began the innovation in renovation.
“We are rebuilding the whole association. We found the manpower through the volunteers and the resources from sponsors. Supporters have come from both the private and the government sectors after hearing the idea and they have helped us tremendously. Without them we could not have finished this project. Our objective has been to finish the project in one month. It is not impossible because we have the manpower and the resources,” said Al Zedjali.
The volunteers are a mixture of age group. Initially it began with a range of 18 to 25 years and as work progressed, there have been an interest from persons aged 35 and above.
There are students and professionals with a varied expertise and even company owners as well as decision makers from prominent organisations. They have the opportunity to work together. The interesting factor is that they begin the work around 9 pm as many of the volunteers have their own work in the day time.
“We work way into early hours of the day. The food and refreshments are also provided here,” added Al Zedjali.
Very much in place is the HSE measures. “Health and safety are our top priority. We have amongst us volunteers from the oil and gas sector and their expertise in HSE has been extremely important for us as they have set the guidelines for our work.” The volunteers are provided with logistical support such as petrol in addition to certificate of recognition for their efforts. Besides, because of the sheer number of volunteers, the team can afford to work in shifts.
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