KT special: How UAE is leading the way in volunteering efforts

Dubai - Thirty-five new organisations also joined the Dubai Volunteering Programme.

UAE citizens and residents have set a global example by supporting government and non-government authorities in its efforts to eradicate Covid-19. Emiratis and expatriates worked tirelessly on the frontlines to distribute aid, medicines and food to vulnerable families. Volunteering efforts doubled since March this year.

On the occasion of International Volunteer Day for Economic and Social Development, celebrated annually on December 5, the UAE’s leadership came forward with praises and incentives for volunteers.

Ahmad Julfar, director-general of the Community Development Authority (CDA), said some 29,661 volunteers of all ages and nationalities had been active in the first six months of the year, and about 2,200 of them are new.

Thirty-five new organisations also joined the Dubai Volunteering Programme.

Volunteering has conspicuously stood out during the Covid-19 health crisis as a sublime humanitarian value, said Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and Chairman of the Supreme National Committee for Volunteerism during crises.

He made the remarks on Thursday marking the committee’s win of the Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum Award for Medical Sciences. “The value of volunteering as a testament to the Emirati society’s ability to turn challenges into opportunities.”

While forming this committee a few months ago, he said: “Our volunteers, from Emiratis and residents, have embodied an epic of human giving. The integrated and sustainable drive of volunteering in the UAE is a culmination of the visionary vision of late Founding Father of the UAE, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan. Our leadership has ensured volunteering is a way of life in our society, and highly appreciates giving in times of distress.”

What inspires people to volunteer?

Learning new skills is one of the most important reasons for volunteering, according to the ‘volunteerism survey’, conducted by the Friends of Breastfeeding Association of the Health Promotion Department at the Supreme Council for Family Affairs in Sharjah.