Monday 18 / November / 2024
Muscat: For some, volunteering is a way to network and meet new people, for others it is about helping in the growth and development of the sector they are contributing to.
For Khamis Said Al Alawi, advisor at the Oman Network of Volunteers (Taawon), volunteering is something he is born to do.
Khamis has been a volunteer for several years now, having first started as a scout where he served in different events and took part in several activities.
His interest to help people grew from there.
**media[338945]**
“I have been volunteering since 1995, and it has been such a long and fruitful journey to be able to give back to the community and see your efforts come to life. I couldn’t be more satisfied doing anything else.” Apart from helping out at the Oman Network of Volunteers or Taawon since its establishment in 2010, Khamis has also been associated with a few other NGOs in the country and feels there is a strong need for more people in the country to come forward and volunteer.
Taawon is a very strong network. In an effort to cultivate the culture of giving back among the Omani people, the organisation has trained over 7,000 individuals, helping them develop a range of skills along the way.
“We have already trained more than 7,000 people (both citizens and non-citizens) in Oman in volunteering. These are the people who love this country and want to do something for it. Many of the trained volunteers are now part of different NGOs and associations; some have even created their own teams where they can do voluntary services.”
Khamis was in the education sector for 22 years, and is now an international trainer, but the trait of volunteering has remained ingrained in him. He received his training certificate in volunteering from the United Nations in 2007, which took him to different parts of the world - to the UK, the United States and Egypt. Eventually, he returned to Oman and helped set up different voluntary organisations.
“I helped set-up the UNFPA’s (United Nations Population Fund) Y-peer in Oman which proved to be an amazing experience for the volunteers who enrolled themselves in its activities. There was a lot they got to learn from it, especially in the field of health education.”
According to Khamis, volunteering doesn’t have to be in one specific area, it can be in whichever area that one fancies.
“There are so many organisations which have opened up, and a lot of volunteering initiatives are on. One can choose what one wants to volunteer for. You can choose the sector, the organisation but most importantly, you must do your work properly.”
Khamis says that for volunteering, it is very important that the volunteer does not expect anything in return for services rendered.
“People need to understand that volunteering is giving back to the community. It is a selfless and a generous initiative, so people should not think about rewards. Your reward is to see the fruits of your labour.”
Another thing Khamis wants people to know is that volunteering does not have to be physical work and can be in any form, and rendered from anywhere. “Volunteering is not just physical tasks. You could be sitting and helping out from your office or home and still be contributing as much as someone who does the work on field.”
Khamis says Tawoon is happy to train anyone who wants to volunteer. People only need to register their names with the organization and will get a call once a course is on. “We train people from all volunteering teams in Muscat and outside, and also give them guidance in how to perform their tasks efficiently so that their approach is more consistent.”
