Okaz newspaper

In an animated discussion session with my students on the subject of opinion writing, one of them chose the subject of volunteerism to be the topic of her opinion article. Discussion then began over the idea of volunteerism and its goals.

Opinions differed and that sparked a heated debate with some saying that they see volunteerism as a way to exploit youth energy by institutions that are earning large amounts of money when, at times, the volunteers themselves are getting nothing. They refuse to be exploited in this way and ask for money to compensate their volunteering efforts.

Others see volunteerism as a great opportunity to acquire needed skills for the job market. They see themselves as too young and with very little experience and, therefore, unable to ask for financial compensation for volunteering.

As a result of this discussion, I felt that we are dealing with a new generation that is aware of what is happening in the world, what they want and what they can offer. Volunteerism, although it is a noble cause, must have defined goals that balance supply and demand.

What made me happy about this discussion is the new definition formed by youth about the concept of volunteerism. This concept is not limited to charity work where we seek reward from Allah only. Volunteerism extends to providing assistance to all without exception, even to those who are different from us in religion and culture. With this great concept, we can say that we are seeing a new Saudi Arabia.

However, the question remains: Are you willing to volunteer for free?