During my time abroad, some of my most cherished memories spun from the requirement by the school I attended to fulfil an allotted amount of hours of community service each year. This encouraged my classmates and me to explore how we could interact with our community and pushed us to be creative with what we did. We were encouraged to go out in search of opportunities to volunteer, from working at day care centres to spending weekends at a nursing home.
A community-orientated focus is one of the foundations that has pushed the UAE to where it is today and what will sustain its future development. This was beautifully expressed by the late Sheikh Zayed, the founding father of the UAE, when he said: “Since God bestows His graces on us providing us with wealth, it is our role to use this wealth for the benefit and prosperity of our people as an expression of gratitude to our Lord.”
I believe this all stems from one of the five pillars of Islam, zakat, which is the amount of money, every adult Muslim, female and male, who is financially able and of sound mind, is obliged to pay to charity. As a result, wealth can be redistributed and foster a sense of solidarity between members of a community. This is why I also believe that we need to encourage a more proactive community service culture from a young age.
The older generations of Emiratis witnessed first-hand the transformation that has taken place over the past 42 years since the founding of the UAE. We need to ensure that future generations are appreciative and grateful of the comfortable lifestyle and standard of living that we are blessed to lead. I think community service should be more actively encouraged at schools and included in the curriculum as an element that is beneficial to their overall development and education.
In the US, these types of extra-curricular activities are highly encouraged in schools because they are known to boost a student’s application to university. While being charitable is widely encouraged in the UAE, experience has shown me that there is a real distinction between donating money to a charity and actually going out into the community to help out in any way you can. The physical interactions, the manual labour and the hours spent add a whole other level to the experience.
That said, it is important to note that there are plenty of opportunities available around the country. Bayt Mitwahid is an association that was formed recently with seven initiatives across the seven Emirates, including a university mentorship programme, an initiative to encourage healthier lifestyles and a special majlis for the elderly community in Ras Al Khaimah. Students at NYU Abu Dhabi have a community outreach office dedicated to connecting students with volunteer opportunities. A quick search online reveals plenty more, but the desire to engage has to start somewhere. Furthermore, I believe that many young people do actually want to get involved, but are just not sure where or how to. If more widely encouraged in schools, this would give children and teenagers the ability to do work that they would not necessarily be exposed to and people that they would not normally meet. In a society such as the UAE where such a huge per cent of the population do behind-the-scenes type work, this could help raise awareness and also bridge the gap between members of society who come from different socio-economic circles.
Beyond the educational benefits, community service initiatives can serve to counter some of the social isolation and alienation that we see with too much time spent on social media. The UAE boasts higher than global average numbers when it comes to how many people are connected on social media platforms. While there are many benefits to taking advantage of all the new technologies, sometimes we need to take a step back from the virtual world and get grounded within a real community.
At the end of the day, the whole point of community service is to enhance a person’s connection with other people, and society as a whole. The experience is beneficial not only to those who receive the service, but to those who partake in it. We don’t need large actions to show that we care, but having those things instilled in us at a young age can make a big difference. After all, as the Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) said: “A smile for your brother is charity.”
Fatima Al Shamsi is an Emirati who recently returned from New York City after pursuing a master’s degree in Global Affairs at NYU
