[gallery size="medium" td_select_gallery_slide="slide" td_gallery_title_input="Volunteering in Grand Mosque" ids="149443,149444,149445,149446,149447"] By Badea Abu Al-Naja Saudi Gazette THE National Center for Volunteering, which is run by the Ministry of Education to serve Umrah performers and visitors, has been launched in Makkah. More than 3,000 school students will work along with 600 Boy Scouts as volunteers in the Grand Mosque throughout the month of Ramadan, said Muhammad Al-Harthy, director general of education in Makkah province and supervisor of general service camps in Makkah and the holy places. "The center offers free services to Umrah performers and visitors in partnership with different government agencies and local foundations. We want to help the guests of the Grand Mosque perform Umrah rituals with ease and comfort," he said while thanking the volunteering students and teachers for taking part in the center's activities. Al-Harthy described serving the guests of the Grand Mosque as a religious duty and a national honor for the residents of Makkah who have worked hard to provide all services to Umrah performers and visitors of the Grand Mosque for ages. The center's activities are in line with the objectives of the Saudi Vision 2030 aiming to instill positive values in the minds of students and arm them with skills to become independent and build sense of initiative, perseverance and leadership. Helping Umrah performers with many tasks can teach volunteers great lessons about the importance of volunteering and a commitment to the community. "The Ministry of Education constantly aims to utilize the capabilities of students during holidays as well as Haj and Umrah seasons to help them do something constructive with their spare time while at the same time pay back to community. By their dedication, perseverance and patience, those students set a great example of Saudi young men who love to serve the guests of God," he said. Dr. Saeed Hassan, director of student extracurricular activities at the Makkah Education Directorate, said more than 3,000 students compete with one another to serve the pilgrims. The students have shown high level of commitment by showing up on time, working hard and non-stop and coming to the help of Umrah performers and visitors whenever necessary. The students are positioned at different locations inside the Grand Mosque, its courtyards and the mataf (circumambulation piazza). They maintain public order and peace and are trained to report any suspicious activity to the pertinent security authorities in order for the latter to take swift action and necessary measures to ensure the maximum security and protection for visitors of the Grand Mosque. The services the students provide vary. The most importance ones include helping control and organize crowds inside the Grand Mosque and in its courtyards, providing various services to Umrah performers while circling the Holy Kaaba; distributing iftar meals and Zamzam water inside and outside the Grand Mosque; helping elderly people who cannot walk by pushing them on wheelchairs in the ritual sites as well as back and forth to bus stations. They also help charitable organizations with various tasks such as distributing food and water to Umrah performers. The student volunteers are also posted at the hospitality center for teachers set up specifically to host public school teachers who come to Makkah to perform Umrah from all parts of the country. The teachers will be provided with iftar and suhoor meals for three days.
