OmanPride: Khalid’s Stars Team brings twinkle into children’s eyes

More sports Monday 05/June/2017 19:42 PM
By: Times News Service
OmanPride: Khalid’s Stars Team brings twinkle into children’s eyes

It was a personal tragedy that encouraged Khalid to choose the path of volunteering. Khalid bin Khusaif bin Said Al Hasani, who works as an Investment Relation Coordinator in Omran, was distraught when his uncle and family died in an accident, leaving behind their children. That was when he decided to do something for the orphans of Wadi Andam, a small village located in the Governorate of North Al Sharqiyah of Oman.

Khalid, who has been working for Omran since 2006, is a strong believer in charitable programmes and giving back to the community. Talking about his involvement in the Wadi Andam initiative, Khalid said, “It’s a community in Wadi Andam, where, along with other members of the team, I help support the orphans.”

In 2014, Khalid started this initiative with just two people from his village. Today his team, called Stars Team, has over 160 participants and volunteers, and he is the leader. The Stars Team meets with key community members of the village and organises activities to support the orphans. The team either gives away gifts to orphans or hosts special events for the community, as the team supports the orphans staying with their extended families.

“One thing good about our initiative is that even though we focus on orphans, when we host events or sponsor a community event, we do not segregate, but make it a community affair by involving all the children in the village,” he remarked.

In 2014, Khalid’s growing team of volunteers joined hands with the Omani Women’s Association in Mudhaibi, which supported their initiative. They worked together and provided shopping coupons to families with whom the orphans stayed.

“In 2015, our initiative was noticed by other charity teams in and around Wadi Andam, and they started contributing, too, by giving children vouchers for entertainment programmes. In 2016, we took a step forward and started organising events for women and children, not just for orphans,” Khalid stressed.

It was around this time that the staff of Omran approached Khalid, extending their support to his cause after hearing about his voluntary work.

“Omran strongly believes in supporting and empowering local communities, as part of its social responsibility programme, while we also support our employees’ voluntary initiatives to build a responsible working environment that reflects our company’s values of ‘Know-how, Respect and Beyond,” Badriya Al Siyabi, CSR Manager of Omran, noted.

“We helped Khalid to raise funds by organising a food festival and a garage sale at our head office, where employees contributed by selling local cuisines, and some household items and products. That money was given to Khalid’s project. As a result of this remarkable contribution, the initiative has left a positive impact on our employees,” Badriya added. [email protected]