Hassan Cheruppa

Saudi Gazette

MINA — There were thousands of volunteers, including women and teenagers, in action to render help to Haj pilgrims at the holy sites of Mina and Arafat during Haj. Pilgrims from all over the world were the beneficiaries of their selfless, untiring and dedicated service. What prompted them to set out for the Holy Sites from various cities and regions of the Kingdom was nothing other than winning Allah’s pleasure through serving His guests. They are fully aware of the reward for social service in Islam, which is a religion that deems serving people as worship to God. The Prophet (peace be upon him) has said that those who are keen to alleviate the suffering of people are very dearer to Allah. Needless to say then about the rewards for serving the guests of God.



Saudi Gazette saw volunteers everywhere in Mina where they have proved to be a great help and support to mainly sick and elderly pilgrims and those who had lost their way or got separated from their mahrams (blood relatives). They also served food to pilgrims and were busy engaged in offering a wide variety of services.



These volunteers belong to different Indian social, cultural and religious forums, such as the Jeddah Haj Welfare Forum, India Fraternity Forum (IFF), the Indian Pilgrim Welfare Forum (IPWF), Haj Cells of the Kerala Muslim Cultural Center (KMCC) and Risala Study Circle. Scores of students from various schools have also joined them.



Well-known trainer Dr. Ismail Maritheri of King Abdulaziz University was in Mina as a field coordinator of volunteers. He told Saudi Gazette that the volunteers, with their selfless service, have made a lasting impression in the minds of Hajis from all corners of the globe. “Linguistic barriers and other material factors did not stand in the way of rendering services to pilgrims. Their dedication and commitment have made an electrifying impact on most of the Saudi muallims,” he said while citing names of muallims like Dr. Waleed Yousuf and Ghazzali.



The credit for fielding the largest number of volunteers goes to the KMCC and India Fraternity Forum, with each mobilizing more than 1,000 volunteers.



Ashraf Vengatt, general secretary of KMCC Saudi national committee, told Saudi Gazette that there was an overwhelming response from members of KMCC who poured into the Holy Sites from all parts of the Kingdom. “We have expected around 1,000 but a total of 1,884 volunteers turned out to serve the pilgrims,” he said. Ahmed Palayatt, president of KMCC Jeddah Central Committee and treasurer of the Haj Cell, said around 800 volunteers from Jeddah were on duty in Makkah and the Holy Sites.



“Muallims of four maktabs have allowed us to prepare rice soup and pickles at the common kitchen of their camps. Tens of thousands of pilgrims have benefited from this. In addition to this, we rendered various other services like first aid, and guiding lost pilgrims to their tents.”



Naser Edavanakkad, acting general secretary of Jeddah KMCC, said that the sharp decline in the number of domestic pilgrims has made things easier for the volunteers.



Tipped as the most organized among volunteers groups, IFF this time fielded more than 100 women and students also. These expatriate volunteers, who belonged to different states of India, come from various corners of Saudi Arabia after getting the best ever training in field voluntary work. It rendered services to pilgrims in Makkah and the Holy Sites and the services include guiding pilgrims to their accommodation, taking sick pilgrims to hospitals and clinics, and distributing drinking water, said Iqbal Tirur of IFF. Our women volunteers helped many sick women pilgrims in need of medical assistance at their camps and some of them were taken to intensive care units. About 50 members of the Students Fraternity were stationed mainly at Mashair train stations in order to guide pilgrims to their tents and assisting them to get on wheel chairs. The Holy Sites Location Map designed by IFF was widely used in Mina. Volunteer service was managed by a committee with Mudassar Naser as convener, Abdul Raoof joint convener and Mohammed Ali as volunteer captain.



The Jeddah Haj Welfare Forum, which is an umbrella organization of around 21 social and cultural organizations, deployed 500 volunteers at the Holy Sites. “We have so far distributed 15,000 packed rice soup to pilgrims, of which 5,500 on Monday. This year, we extended our services to Jeddah Haj terminal also, said Abbas Chemban, chairman of the forum. The forum rendered various types of services, including helping lost pilgrims to find their accommodation. Haj Welfare Forum branch committees in Makkah and Madinah also offered services to pilgrims who started flocking to the holy cities from all over the world.



The Care and Share wing of the Saudi Risala Study Circle (RSC) has mobilized 625 volunteers from various region of the Kingdom, according to Khaleelu Rahman Vettiyadan, spokesperson of RSC. “Our volunteers were mainly engaged in attending to sick pilgrims and ensure that they were getting the best medical care and treatment on time. We offered emergency nursing to several sick pilgrims, besides offering services for completing burial procedures of deceased pilgrims.” RSC has been in the forefront of serving the pilgrims over the last six years, Vettiyadan added.