Young volunteers step up to show leadership on COVID-19 response

AMMAN — Despite the stress and uncertainty of the COVID-19 crisis, young people in Jordan have stepped up to create positive change in their communities — from combatting the spread of misinformation to ensuring the most vulnerable community members have food during lockdowns, their collective dedication has demonstrated the power of volunteering.

UNICEF supports young people as they transition to adulthood to help them engage, build skills and prepare for meaningful employment. 

One of the programmes supported by UNICEF, Nahno aims to instil a proud tradition of volunteering in young people, while also offering them valuable opportunities to build their skills and work experience, according to a statement made available to The Jordan Times. 

To date, Nahno has engaged 47,000 young volunteers in over 1.2 million hours of volunteering work benefitting local communities, government, civil society and the private sector across Jordan.

Online volunteering 

Batool, 22, is a university student majoring in business. In 2019, she was one of the first young people in Jordan to start volunteering with Nahno and became a youth ambassador for the platform, promoting volunteerism in her university.

Before the beginning of the pandemic, Batool participated in several volunteering projects but, since the COVID-19 pandemic has restricted her movement, she has started volunteering online — helping with translation and data entry, as well as communicating with vulnerable families to collect critical information.

“During lockdown, I had a lot of free time and I was feeling depressed but then I started online volunteering. It helped me to stay productive and introduced me to great people. Unlike what you might think, you can meet a lot of people from volunteering online.”

Food parcels 

Tamara, 23, a recent university graduate from Mafraq, has been volunteering in different initiatives since 2014. During the comprehensive lockdown at the beginning of the pandemic in Jordan, she volunteered on the frontline of the COVID-19 response efforts in her community.

At first, Tamara volunteered to collect names of families in need, preparing lists and communicating with the families. For the next stage, she joined the teams working on the ground — helping to pack and distribute much-needed food parcels to the most vulnerable families.

“I’m a social person and that motivates me to volunteer. I love to engage with my community and do good in any way I can. I also encourage the people around me to do the same.”

Keeping children active 

Twenty-one-year-old Leen is a university student majoring in physiotherapy. While still in school, she attended her local UNICEF-supported Makani centre to receive learning support services. After graduating, she wanted to give back to her community and started volunteering at the Makani centre, offering physiotherapy and exercise sessions for children.

When the pandemic hit Jordan and people went into lockdown, Leen volunteered to switch her sessions online to help children to exercise at home and stay active and healthy. As restrictions started to ease, Leen was first in line to volunteer to prepare and distribute hygiene kits to vulnerable families.

“Volunteering is a wonderful experience. It has helped me to develop my skills working with children and practise what I learn at university. I enjoy helping children and encouraging them to love sports and stay fit and healthy.”

Bringing communities closer together

Ahmad, 23, is a university student from Salt majoring in business administration. In 2019, he started volunteering as a youth ambassador for Nahno to promote volunteerism in his university.

As COVID-19 related restrictions were implemented, Ahmad looked for ways to utilise his time at home by volunteering online. He started a new initiative The Language Club to provide free language classes for young people across Jordan. In August, as restrictions eased, Ahmad joined other youth volunteers working on production lines to package hygiene kits to be distributed to students and teachers as schools reopened.

“Even in times of hardships like this, we should all stay aware and well informed. Volunteering is one thing that can bring the people closer together.”