2,000 Indian volunteers help pilgrims in Holy Sites

MINA — A group of 35 Indian expatriates from various regions in the Kingdom came together about seven years ago to establish a group of volunteers under the name of "Indian Brothers' Society" to serve the guests of Allah during the Haj. Mohammed Iqbal, a founder, told Al-Hayat newspaper on Monday that the membership increased steadily to reach more than 2,000. "We never expected the number of volunteers to reach this level thanks to the social media and the Facebook in particular," he said. He said they used English and Urdu newspapers in Jeddah to publicize the group but now they are using the social media. Iqbal said the volunteers are working in various jobs and living in various areas of the Kingdom but were joined together by their desire to serve the guests of Allah voluntarily. He said they were able to make their group an official body through close cooperation with their consulate in Jeddah and the embassy in Riyadh. "We are working under the umbrella of the World Assembly of Muslim Youth (WAMY)," Iqbal said. He said the group has official headquarters in Makkah and the Holy Sites and is a recognized body of volunteers. Iqbal said the members are rigorously trained on the voluntary work through study courses and specialized seminars. He said in addition to guiding lost pilgrims, the group helps the old and disabled people to complete their Haj rites, take the sick ones to the hospitals and distribute water and foodstuffs among the pilgrims. Iqbal said about 150 male and female students from the International Indian Schools in Jeddah are members of the group. "We also have 50 women volunteers to provide services to female pilgrims," he added. According to Iqbal, the volunteers speak about eight various languages including Hindi, Urdu, Arabic and English. Mohammed Rafiq, a salesman in a private company in Dammam and Amir Sultan who works for a private establishment in Jeddah expressed great happiness to be part of the volunteers to serve the pilgrims.