By Fahd Bin Jolaid
Al-Jazirah
In 2030 we’ll be seeking one million volunteers in Saudi Arabia in light of the national vision to boost developmental, charitable, social and humanitarian activities.
Today we cannot give an exact figure of volunteers in the country. According to some estimates, their number would reach 11,000 and they would work in different parts of the Kingdom.
Some of these volunteer organizations were established by individuals while others by government agencies and private firms. Some of them are small while some others are seasonal.
Actually we have more than five million volunteers in our schools and universities whose capabilities remain idle and untapped. The Ministry of Education has so far failed to unleash their energy.
It should have at least tried to prepare primary and intermediate school students through academic ad training programs to realize the objectives of Vision 2030, which targets these students.
I am sure that Arab and international experiences in creating and promoting a culture of volunteerism in societies are well-known to the Education Ministry.
The Ministry of Labor and Social Development has been trying to organize volunteer work as per Vision 2030 to realize six strategic objectives. But the question is whether its efforts were enough to realize those objectives?
In my opinion we should have an independent authority for volunteer work to be linked with the social development agency of the ministry. An independent entity is essential for promoting volunteer works across the Kingdom.
The ministry’s bureaucratic practices as well as inference of different agencies are likely to discourage and destroy volunteerism. You can imagine the present situation of volunteer organizations in the Kingdom, as they do not have even a legal adviser.
Before issuing a bylaw for volunteer organizations, I would like to ask the ministry whether it had conducted any study on prospects of volunteer work in the Kingdom, its present situation and what are the problems it faces.
The ministry would be able to prepare an effective law in the light of the previous activities and experience in the field. We also need a definition for model volunteer work and new ideas to promote a culture of volunteerism in the country.
We have to think beyond the traditional method of setting up of small groups to carry out various volunteer works. This can be started from districts and schools before thinking about volunteer work through electronic means and programs.
