The Almighty said: "But whoever volunteers goodness, it is better for him" (Al-Baqara - 184).
Volunteering has been a crucial topic over the ages. In Arabic, the term "Ta'awun" encompasses several concepts, including:
Cooperation, good intentions, righteousness, and the worship of Allah.
As Muslims, we have been taught to do good and help others. Volunteering is, before all else, a religious, human, and patriotic instinct. The Kingdom is among the leading countries in volunteering, charitable, and humanitarian work through the International Islamic Relief Organization in the past, and through the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center in the present. The Kingdom has a marvelous history and heritage in volunteering.
Volunteering is defined as “the effort that any person makes for their community without any compensation in an attempt to support the institution that provides social care." It is also known as: "a financial, in-kind, physical, or intellectual donation that a Muslim makes with conviction. Motivated by religion, this contribution expects no return and is intended to contribute to lawful interests that are needed by certain groups of Muslims." It is also "a patriotic humanitarian service that aims to protect the country and its people from any danger." In some countries, such as Switzerland, volunteering is mandatory for those who do not meet the requirements for military service.
- The Almighty said: "Help one another in righteousness and piety."
- The Almighty said: "Whoever does an atom's weight of good will see it."
- The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said: "Lending a helping hand to a fellow believer is better than 10 years of i'tikaf [worship in solitude]."
As for volunteering at the international level, the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) program is an example. The UNV is a UN agency established in 1970 that deploys volunteers to directly support other UN entities on the ground. Moreover, UNV is administered by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP). It is headquartered in Bonn, Germany and uses UNDP headquarters in operating countries since 1971. More than 30,000 volunteers have worked with this volunteer program in more than 140 developing countries.
There are several and different motives for volunteering, and one of this is religious convictions. Many religions encourage volunteering, helping others, and altruism. Volunteers are altruistic and love helping people. Another motive is the desire to improve the standard of living: the volunteer wants to improve the community's standard of living through learning and acquiring new experiences and skills. Moreover, filling some free time may be one reasonable and practical motive, in addition to a few social reasons, such as the fact that volunteering opens the door to meeting new people.
Volunteering offers several benefits. One of them is reducing the burden of governmental efforts, as volunteering efforts save many resources if carried out by specialized staff because they can determine the true needs of the community. Another benefit is achieving cooperation among society members, as each person can realize the importance of their contribution in achieving the goals of society while reducing delinquent behavior, especially among jobless young people.
The importance of volunteering for the volunteers themselves can be summarized as follows:
1- Boosting self-confidence.
2- Acquiring status in society.
3- Developing skills.
4- Achieving personal goals by choosing to participate in certain volunteering projects.
5- Investing some free time in social activities that result in spiritual and moral satisfaction and fulfillment.
6- Getting rewarded from Allah Almighty.
The history of volunteering and the reason for coining the term as such show that the verb "to volunteer" was recorded for the first time in 1755 from the name M.Fr.Volunteire, which meant "to volunteer." In the 1630s, the word was first recorded in a non-military field, and the word "volunteering" has recently acquired new uses referring to community service.
As for volunteering in the Kingdom prior to Vision 2030, there were many obstacles, challenges and difficulties that male and female volunteers were facing, most notably:
1- Lack of a platform to highlight volunteering opportunities and initiatives.
2- Failure to protect our rights as male and female volunteers.
3- Lack of awareness among volunteers of the concept of volunteer work.
4- Poor awareness as individuals of the need to participate in volunteering opportunities.
5- Little knowledge of what we had to offer.
6- Scarcity of time to volunteer.
7- Lack of desire and energy by male and female volunteers to participate in available volunteering opportunities.
8- Lack of knowledge of available volunteering opportunities.
However, when discussing volunteering and its importance in Saudi Vision 2030, the government of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, may Allah protect it, has considered the preservation of male and female volunteer rights to be one of its most important goals. Therefore, the government launched the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development's National Volunteer Portal, a Saudi incubator for volunteer work that provides a safe environment and serves, organizes, and facilitates the relationship between the entities providing volunteering initiatives and volunteers in the Kingdom.
Among the most important objectives, characteristics, and features of the National Volunteer Portal:
1- Integrated connection to the National Information Center.
2- Easy and facilitated access to volunteering opportunities.
3- Access to notifications of volunteering opportunities based on the volunteer's interests.
4- The ability for volunteers to monitor and record their working hours.
5- Availability of specialized volunteering opportunities that have a social and economic impact.
6- Preventing arbitrary selection in volunteering work and initiatives.
By 2030, the Saudi Vision aims to reach 1 million volunteers and record 5 million volunteering hours. The Kingdom has offered volunteers many training, educational, motivational and encouragement courses, and prepared us properly for volunteer work, in addition to granting several awards, certificates and prizes for outstanding volunteers.
One question remains: What are the main reasons for the Saudi Vision's interest in volunteering and making it a priority?
As for the most prominent volunteering fields available in the Kingdom today, the most important ones are serving the pilgrims as well as religious, health, touristic, recreational, educational, organizational, administrative, and public volunteering.
In conclusion, we, as volunteers, are proud that our role model in giving and loyalty is the founder of this country, King Abdul Aziz, may his soul rest in peace. His sons Saud, Faisal, Khaled, Fahd and Abdullah, may Allah have mercy on them all, followed in his footsteps. King Salman, may Allah protect him, followed the same path of generosity and became our first leader, and was followed by the honorable prince with the ambitious vision, Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman, who compared our endeavor to Tuwaiq Mountain.
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