Ahmad Afifi Okaz/Saudi Gazette MAKKAH — Some 3,000 young Saudis have volunteered to provide services to Umrah pilgrims and visitors to the Grand Mosque during the holy month of Ramadan. The services they are expected to provide include first aid, guidance, interpretation, delivery of iftar (fast-breaking) meals and any other assistance the pilgrims may need while visiting the Grand Mosque. Ibrahim Al-Zahrani, who regularly joins iftar services at the mosque, said it was a great honor to be part of the team rendering services to the visitors of the Haram during Ramadan. Mohammad Al-Otaibi has been a volunteer pushing wheelchairs of elderly and sick pilgrims for eight years continuously. Despite the fatigue from pushing wheelchairs amid huge crowds of people within the mosque complex, he feels contented, especially when a visitor supplicates for him. Saleh Al-Zahrani has volunteered through Al-Ihsan charitable society and considers it a great honor to serve visitors to the Grand Mosque. He says the joy and happiness when a stranger from a far-off corner of the world supplicates for him is indescribable. Wesam Fatani, a volunteer for two years, provides first aid services to visitors and cannot forget some very emotional situations he has experienced. He said once a Yemeni visitor was walking toward the Zamzam coolers to drink. He slipped and hit his head on the floor and passed out. His wife and two daughters were alarmed, and Fatani along with some colleagues administered first aid on the Yemeni and were able to revive him. Abdullah Al-Otaibi said he was overwhelmed by happiness when he was selected to serve pilgrims and visitors to the Haram. Al-Otaibi said a visitor once handed him a child who was lost. He searched for more than two hours until he could find the child's mother and handed him to her. He said he listened with great satisfaction when the mother supplicated for him. Al-Otaibi encourages all young men to volunteer to their services to visitors to the holy city. The Haram mosque is the focal point of the Haj and Umrah pilgrimages and millions of Muslims from around the world visit the sprawling prayer complex throughout the year. The pilgrimage is one of the five pillars of Islam, and is required of all able-bodied Muslims who can afford the trip.
