Okaz/Saudi Gazette MINA — A number of Saudi children have broken the monopoly of the old men and women on charity works. They have joined them to gain reward from Allah for serving His guests. Two brothers, who are hardly 10 years of age, chose a major street in Aziziyah district in Makkah, where a large chunk of pilgrims prefer to live as it is close to Mina, and started distributing tea and water among the pilgrims. The two brothers, Mazen and Bassim Al-Zahrani, said they came from Al-Baha in the south with their parents for the Haj. They said they made use of their free time to serve pilgrims with water and cups of tea to obtain reward from Allah for their charity work. They said their mother always encouraged them to do charity and to volunteer in the service of others especially during these blessed days. The two brothers said they saved their petty cash to purchase bottles of water, tea and food for distribution among the pilgrims. Mazen and Bassim are not alone in this work. Other Saudi children are competing to extend services to the pilgrims. It has become a phenomenon to see Saudi children offering hot meals, fruit, water and soft drinks to the guests of Allah. The children usually buy water and food out of their saved pocket money. At times, their families would supply them with cash or they obtain the confectionery from the numerous charity organizations in Makkah which assign them the job with the purpose of training them on the voluntary work. Abu Ghaida, a Jordanian pilgrim, said he saw a number of Saudi children giving food and juices to the pilgrims in Mina. "I am extremely happy to see Saudi children do this work. They are the future generation who will continue the good work of their fathers" he said. Ibrahim, a pilgrim from Palestine, said he was not surprised to see Saudi children competing to serve the pilgrims in the Holy Sites. "It is not a surprising phenomenon to see Saudis and their children serving the pilgrims. They are generous people who always honor their guests," he said.
