Saturday, Aug 27, 2011
Gulf News
Dubai At a stage when most of their peers are seeking direction to shape their lives, these youngsters are setting an example by contributing their bit to the society.
In sync with the spirit of Ramadan, they opted to spend more time during their vacations for volunteering activities.
“I am quite glad that I am able to devote time toward volunteering as I have my vacations. Volunteering has opened an entirely new world to me. I started around a year ago and simply love it. The extra time that I have during my holidays, I decided to be more regular with it. If a little effort on my part can make a difference to someone’s life, I would certainly do it,” said Eman Birji, a grade 12 student, who hails from Pakistan.
“What can be a more meaningful way to utilise your time and energy than to volunteer. It is my holidays and I decided to utilise this time offering help toward a cause. I have participated in ‘Karama Kanteen’ event earlier and every experience seems new,” said Rabiya, a third-year engineering student and a volunteer from Volunteer In Dubai (VID).
It is not only the joy of being of some help to those who need it, these youngsters feel that engaging in volunteering helps them in multiple ways too.
“Volunteering,” she added, “not only made me look at life from a different perspective, it also brought a lot of new experiences, I have learnt to work in a coordinated way, handle different kinds of tasks and also got to interact with people from different nationalities and different walks of life. I find it joyous.”
From packaging of food, clothes and other charity stuff, cleaning up beaches, helping children with special needs to extending their care for animals and numerous other activities- these youngsters seem to take up every task with total dedication and commitment.
At a recent food packaging initiative by VID in Jebel Ali, the perfect coordination and energy with which a group of school and college students took up the task was nothing less than what professional hands would do. Almost instantly after they were given the instructions they swung into action, every step was well coordinated and carried out.
Many times, these young volunteers are new to the activities they offer their help for and on several occasions there are activities like taking care of children with special needs which require extra sensitivity along with dedication. No hurdle seems to deter them from lending a helping hand.
“When I offered to volunteer for Funday Sunday programme which involves taking care of children with special needs, I was a little hesitant as I did not know how to interact with them. I was unsure whether I would be able to do it properly, but with guidance, once I did, it opened an altogether new world to me. I will definitely continue to volunteer,” said Sabahat Moman, who finished 12th standard.
The spirit to continue these efforts is not a short-term phase for them. “I started volunteering when I was in high school and love it. I started with Al Noor and try to do it as frequently as possible. I want to keep doing it for as long as I can,” said Sana Momon, a university student.
Dalia Al Barrani, a grade 10 student, who hails from Egypt, feels fortunate to be part of “best buddies” programme where she gets to befriend a child with special needs. “I also enjoyed beach cleanup and other activities. My parents are very supportive and I wish to continue doing this forever as it is very satisfying.”
By Shveta Pathak?Staff Reporter
Gulf News 2011. All rights reserved.
