Saudi Gazette

 

JEDDAH — Joy of Youth (JOY), a volunteer organization made up of young Saudis, renovated and furnished the home of a struggling family in Jeddah, bringing some happiness to their lives.

 

“We found a family of two women and their elderly mother,” said the organization’s cofounder, Walaa Abusabeen. “One of the women is divorced with three children.”

 

Around 30 JOY volunteers and members worked for 8 hours nonstop in the house, setting up a brand new set of IKEA furniture, painting the walls, redoing the flooring, renovating the bathroom and adding the finishing touches to the rooms.

 

The volunteers said the family of six didn’t have enough beds, and their bathroom and other parts of the house were in poor condition.

 

The family handed the volunteer’s their house keys and waited nearby with their neighbors until the renovation was completed.

 

“We did everything from A to Z, in painting, carpentry, setting up furniture, among other things,” said the organization’s founder, Saeed Azhar.

 

“It was definitely a challenge,” he added. “It was a chance to prove we could do a big project in a short amount of time!”

Joy of Youth was established in 2013 and is made up of young Saudis students who studied in the United States and want to dedicate their time to volunteer and charity work.

 

The organization has run a number of different charity campaigns since it was established.

 

For the renovation project, the team members also made sure they were well prepared, dividing themselves into groups with an assigned leader.

 

There was also an emergency team at hand, in case they needed anything urgent.

 

Azhar said: “We did actually need our emergency team to run back to the store and get some missing supplies. There was a lot of traffic that day but they were able to come back in time.”

 

JOY member Jana Linjawi said: “We did our best to make their living room a comfortable setting with a brand new TV. Also, one of the beds was missing a mattress so we arranged for a new one and set up another bed.”

 

Volunteer Mohammed Affan said: “When I signed up for the campaign, I wasn’t sure we would be able to do it. But it turned out to be a success due to the collaboration among the group's members.”

 

Despite being pressed for time, the volunteers were able to keep their promise to the family and accomplished their goal of renovating the house.

 

The volunteers said that as soon as the family came back to their newly transformed house, there was nothing but cries of joy to be heard.

 

As the children excitedly rushed into their new bright rooms, their mother along with the aunt and grandmother were in a state of awe and happiness, hugging the girls with tears of joy.

 

The mother of three said: “I only wished to see the bathroom changed but I didn’t expect the entire house to be transformed.”

 

Her sister said: “I would see such things on TV but I never imagined it would turn into a reality.”

 

For volunteer Raneem Kayal, it was the first time she took part in such an initiative.

 

Kayal said: “The group was dedicated and committed, showing great team spirit. We were cooperative and helped out each other.

 

“It was also enjoyable at the same time. The hard work paid off once we saw the joy in the family’s faces.”

 

Joy of Youth’s Jeddah leader Mohammed Ashram said: “It turned out to be a successful campaign. After hours of hard work and seeing the happiness brought to the family, we only felt proud.”

 

Azhar said: “The reaction of the family at the end was really overwhelming for me. I’m sure the rest of the volunteers felt the same way.”

 

Another volunteer, Afnan Barasheed, said: “It was an honor working in this campaign. It was a really wonderful experience.”

 

She added that she was glad to meet others who liked to volunteer and give back to the community.

When asked if the organization would do similar projects in the future, Abusabeen said: “We would definitely repeat it. It was really hard work but it was worth every moment.”