For the past couple of months, the UAE's focus has been the health and safety of its citizens and residents. The country has been tireless in its efforts to counter the spread of the coronavirus in several ways, of which testing for Covid-19 has been the top priority.
Tying together all other measures – the crucial mandating of working from home and social distancing, to name a few – the efforts of volunteers have been undeniable and exemplary.
On Thursday, the UAE government said 18,740 people had signed up so far to volunteer. UAE nationals and residents alike are taking the initiative to help in a variety of way. There was still room for more to join the endeavour to counter the impact of the virus.
The actions of some of these several thousands of volunteers, as reported in The National, have been especially altruistic. People have some given up to six hours of their day to assist in fighting the coronavirus, all the while physically distancing themselves from their children and families for weeks, to help those stricken by the virus. It is the sort of sacrifice that has bolstered the country's efforts to keep people safe and infection figures down.
The sheer number of volunteers who signed up makes clear once again how much people listen to the leadership. A unique strength of UAE society is its abiding trust in the rulers. This is clearly compounded by the leaderships' ability to resonate with and influence people in the country.
So when leaders urge people to channel their humanity and help out via government campaigns launched well in time, and people go out of their way to show their support, it shows how far individuals are willing to support national projects by helping where needed for causes greater than themselves.
There is also the matter of following by example.
At the national level, even before the World Health Organisation declared coronavirus to be a pandemic, aid from the UAE had begun to be shipped out to countries with strained resources and relatively low bandwidths to cope with the disastrous consequences of the virus.
Since then 716 tonnes of aid have been dispatched to 63 countries in need. On Friday, 6.6 tonnes of personal protective equipment were flown to the UK.
It is to the credit of the UAE that more than 716,000 medical professionals received assistance around the world. While the medical aid has naturally been sent to countries with whom the UAE shares long-standing bilateral ties, it was not dispatched only to friends and allies. A concern for people's lives undergirded the UAE's gesture of sending two plane loads of critical medical equipment to Iran. This was the second time after an initial dispatch of Dh1 million in aid was flown to Tehran earlier in March.
When people see goodwill measures being carried out at a federal level, a moral responsibility through the official channels becomes a duty. Citizens and residents do what it takes to help their community and country. Volunteering has been the need of the hour across the world and within the country, the leadership inspires as much. To continue the fight to contain the virus, there is room for more volunteers.
