From left, Adel Al Banagali, Fatma Assisi, Mahasen Shiub and Dr Marwan Alsafadi are among 100 medical volunteers assisting with Hajj this year.
From left, Adel Al Banagali, Fatma Assisi, Mahasen Shiub and Dr Marwan Alsafadi are among 100 medical volunteers assisting with Hajj this year.
From left, Adel Al Banagali, Fatma Assisi, Mahasen Shiub and Dr Marwan Alsafadi are among 100 medical volunteers assisting with Hajj this year.
From left, Adel Al Banagali, Fatma Assisi, Mahasen Shiub and Dr Marwan Alsafadi are among 100 medical volunteers assisting with Hajj this year.

Hajj 2021: medical volunteers given specific missions


Balquees Basalom
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Follow the latest updates on Hajj 2021 here

A select group of 100 volunteers will be helping the Saudi Health Ministry to keep pilgrims safe during the second Hajj to be held during the coronavirus pandemic.

The medical workers, ranging from specialists in fields such as infection control and respiratory health to therapists and nurses, were chosen from more than 3,000 applicants, Hamad Feehan, spokesman for the Makkah health authority, told The National.

“This year we have a unique volunteering opportunity, with specialists and consultants from rare specialities joining us,” he said.

The volunteers will be overseen by Mahasen Shiub, who has 14 years' experience assisting the faithful as they perform one of the five pillars of Islam.

“Even if I thought of not volunteering, I just couldn't,” Ms Shiub, a resident of Makkah, said.

Mahasen Shiub, a resident of Makkah, has volunteered during Hajj for more than a decade.
Mahasen Shiub, a resident of Makkah, has volunteered during Hajj for more than a decade.

The volunteers have been divided into four groups, with the specialists to be based at the East Arafat hospital and a second group assigned to work at six clinics near the holy sites in Mina, Arafat and Muzdalifah.

Ms Shiub said one group was specifically assigned to ensure Covid-19 protocols are observed.

“They will be placed in all the places that the pilgrims will be: around the Holy Mosque, and at the points of gathering when they arrive and leave Makkah,” she told The National.

Adel Al Banagali, a respiratory therapist from Makkah who has been treating Hajj pilgrims for 20 years, decided to offer his services as a volunteer three years ago.

“It is a different feeling when you work for free. You don't feel like you are under pressure to go to your duty, or you have to do your work; you only feel you want to do this for God,” he said.

He felt blessed to be chosen again this year.

“They usually don't take many people, so when you are among the few chosen to serve the guests of Allah, this is a great honour.”

He said the best feeling was when the pilgrims pray for him.

“When you help for free, and then they pray for you with tears, it just touches my heart.”

For Fatma Assisi, volunteering in Makkah involves a 700 kilometre journey from her home in Jazan, a trip she has made every Hajj and Ramadan for the past four years.

“I have a passion for volunteering and a profound love to always give the best,” she said.

The Saudi Red Crescent employee said volunteering during Hajj was particularly rewarding.

“You receive the honour of working in a holy place and during holy times.”

Palestinian doctor Marwan Alsafadi will be working as a volunteer during Hajj for the first time.
Palestinian doctor Marwan Alsafadi will be working as a volunteer during Hajj for the first time.

After helping the health ministry to raise awareness of the pandemic and offering free consultations online, Palestinian family medicine consultant Marwan Alsafadi will be volunteering at the Hajj for the first time in his 20 years of practice.

“I'm excited and will give it all that I have. It seems like a different experience being placed in the centre of action,” Dr Alsafadi told The National.

Like many other volunteers, he will stay at the hospital in Mina while working at one of the clinics near the holy site.

While the experience will be new for Dr Alsafadi, it is something Ms Shiub cannot imagine living without.

“Since we were young, we have been used to seeing pilgrims around us and hearing their Talabya [Hajj prayer]," she said. “That feeling lives in our hearts, so not a single Hajj can pass without us trying to give everything we can for the pilgrims.”

If you go

The flights

Etihad flies direct from Abu Dhabi to San Francisco from Dh5,760 return including taxes. 

The car

Etihad Guest members get a 10 per cent worldwide discount when booking with Hertz, as well as earning miles on their rentals. A week's car hire costs from Dh1,500 including taxes.

The hotels

Along the route, Motel 6 (www.motel6.com) offers good value and comfort, with rooms from $55 (Dh202) per night including taxes. In Portland, the Jupiter Hotel (https://jupiterhotel.com/) has rooms from $165 (Dh606) per night including taxes. The Society Hotel https://thesocietyhotel.com/ has rooms from $130 (Dh478) per night including taxes. 

More info

To keep up with constant developments in Portland, visit www.travelportland.com. Good guidebooks include the Lonely Planet guides to Northern California and Washington, Oregon & the Pacific Northwest. 

 

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Tips for used car buyers
  • Choose cars with GCC specifications
  • Get a service history for cars less than five years old
  • Don’t go cheap on the inspection
  • Check for oil leaks
  • Do a Google search on the standard problems for your car model
  • Do your due diligence. Get a transfer of ownership done at an official RTA centre
  • Check the vehicle’s condition. You don’t want to buy a car that’s a good deal but ends up costing you Dh10,000 in repairs every month
  • Validate warranty and service contracts with the relevant agency and and make sure they are valid when ownership is transferred
  • If you are planning to sell the car soon, buy one with a good resale value. The two most popular cars in the UAE are black or white in colour and other colours are harder to sell

Tarek Kabrit, chief executive of Seez, and Imad Hammad, chief executive and co-founder of CarSwitch.com

Other acts on the Jazz Garden bill

Sharrie Williams
The American singer is hugely respected in blues circles due to her passionate vocals and songwriting. Born and raised in Michigan, Williams began recording and touring as a teenage gospel singer. Her career took off with the blues band The Wiseguys. Such was the acclaim of their live shows that they toured throughout Europe and in Africa. As a solo artist, Williams has also collaborated with the likes of the late Dizzy Gillespie, Van Morrison and Mavis Staples.
Lin Rountree
An accomplished smooth jazz artist who blends his chilled approach with R‘n’B. Trained at the Duke Ellington School of the Arts in Washington, DC, Rountree formed his own band in 2004. He has also recorded with the likes of Kem, Dwele and Conya Doss. He comes to Dubai on the back of his new single Pass The Groove, from his forthcoming 2018 album Stronger Still, which may follow his five previous solo albums in cracking the top 10 of the US jazz charts.
Anita Williams
Dubai-based singer Anita Williams will open the night with a set of covers and swing, jazz and blues standards that made her an in-demand singer across the emirate. The Irish singer has been performing in Dubai since 2008 at venues such as MusicHall and Voda Bar. Her Jazz Garden appearance is career highlight as she will use the event to perform the original song Big Blue Eyes, the single from her debut solo album, due for release soon.

Updated: July 18, 2021, 6:22 AM`