On the frontline against the coronavirus pandemic, Saudi volunteers have banded together to fight the same cause. After Saudi Ministry of Health released a call out to recruite volunteers, it received an overwhelming response of people willing to support the community response to Covid-19.
Here are some facts on this growing volunteer effort:
1. There are 400 areas of volunteering that are covered on the website
2. Health care areas include monitoring patients in quarantine, conducting coronavirus tests and delivering medicine to patients’ homes; working in emergency rooms, providing psychological support, travelling to shopping centers and malls to help raise awareness about the precautionary measures.
3. More than 160,000 have registered as volunteers from which, 72,000 are across the Kingdom.
4. 32 percent of volunteers are female while 68 percent are male
5. 27-year-old Saudi female volunteer Duaa Al Bukhari, who's a lab technician, participated in the mass testing in a crowded Makkah neighborhood.
"When I heard about this volunteering opportunity, I was really excited to be a part of it. At the beginning I was scared to volunteer in Al-Nakasah neighborhood, but I knew I had the right potential to face this challenge,” she told Arab News.
6. Another example of bravery is Nebras Al Hajji, a 21-year-old who left the comfort of her home to join the frontlines and gain remarkable experience in the field. "I will not let my fear overcome me; fear is a part of us being human but I will not let it ruin my excitement to be a part of this initiative,” she said. It goes without saying that Nebras Al Hajji is on the way to become a brilliant anesthesia technologist.
