When rain began to fall on Jeddah on the morning of Wednesday, Nov. 25, no one expected the human tragedy that would unfold or the horrifying revelations about the fragile infrastructure of the Kingdom's second-largest city. Afterwards while many were busy playing the blame-game and while institutions were going on record denying responsibility for the catastrophe, a group of young people emerged who were more concerned with easing the pain of the thousands who had been affected by the floods – those who had lost their homes and property but had managed to escape with their lives. Many volunteer groups were formed in the Kingdom's major cities to come to the aid of the victims of the Jeddah floods. Among them, the Musanadah campaign was launched in the Eastern Province by Niamah Nawab, a well-known writer, photographer, lecturer and poet. One evening recently at Dammam's Joud Charity Society, members of this volunteer group could be seen preparing packages of relief materials to be sent to Jeddah for distribution to flood victims. Young men were at the back door of the society's headquarters in charge of receiving donations and delivering them to women volunteers inside who would then sort, arrange, label and pack them for shipping. H.G., a computer engineer in a large company, who was one of the young men receiving goods talked to Saudi Gazette about his volunteer experience. “I have volunteered for a number of organizations but this is the first time that I have been a part of a campaign on this scale. In fact many of our volunteers are first timers. It has been an eye-opening experience which has re-enforced our belief in the capabilities of the people, especially Saudi youth. It has brought about a sense of nationalism and unity that many believed did not exist in Saudi society,” he said. H.G. also said that there has been no shortage of donated goods to be sent to flood victims. “Donations have been increasing everyday as the word spreads around about the campaign. The number of volunteers is also increasing which has helped to keep things running smoothly,” he said. H.G. also expressed his opinion on the role of the media as opposed to the importance of social networking in getting out the news about the tragedy in Jeddah. “Facebook has been our main medium for spreading the word about the campaign. Newspaper coverage was also helpful. However, I believe social networking sites and, more importantly, word of mouth have been the most effective mediums for us as far as letting people know what they can do to help victims of the tragedy. Our hotlines have been very busy with calls from people asking about ways in which they can help. The volunteers themselves have been a big influence in this as they spread the word within their families and social circles. Having new volunteers join us everyday has helped in distributing the news even further,” he explained. There have been rumors about donation frauds in Jeddah who have taken advantage by accepting goods that they really did not need. When H.G. was asked what measures his group has taken to ensure that donations end up being given to those who really need them, he pointed out that “Musanadah has been dealing with two trusted collection centers in Jeddah: Al-Bir and the volunteer collection center at the Jeddah Conventions Center. The first is an official organization that has a long legacy of charity work and the latter was established under the sponsorship of the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI) as a coalition of volunteer groups involved in collecting and distributing aid for flood victims. We are in close contact with both groups and we get status reports on progress and aid requirements on a daily basis. We also have one of our officers working in Jeddah to ensure that the aid gets to those who really need it.” The female members of the Musanadah volunteer group have set up an operations center in the basement of the Joud Charity Society. On the evening that Saudi Gazette visited, the center was crowded with women who were students, teachers, office workers, and housewives, with a number of children in attendance who were also lending a hand. Activities had been well organized with women performing different roles and processing the goods in a step-by-step fashion. The first step involved those women who acted as a sort of filter inspecting the donated items to ensure that they were of decent quality. After that other women acted as sorters, dividing items into different groups, such as, clothes for women, men, girls or boys. Other volunteers packed boxes and still others counted items and wrapped and labeled the boxes. While a few people donated items that were not acceptable and had to be rejected, the vast majority donated things that were as good as new, while others actually purchased new items specifically for the flood victims. The contributed goods included food supplies, clothes, house ware items, medical supplies as well as stationary and other school supplies. The working atmosphere was very friendly. While new arrivals were at first somewhat hesitant and shy, they were soon mingling with everyone getting into serious discussions mostly related to the situation in Jeddah, sharing a few laughs, and passing around snacks and soft drinks. Those in charge seemed to be those who had been with the volunteer group the longest. They were busy registering volunteers, giving them guidelines and job descriptions and generally coordinating the work that was being done. One of these leaders was Bayan Abdurahman Hariri, a demonstrator at King Faisal University, who has been involved in various volunteer groups for the past four years. “I have a passion for working with people who follow the natural human instinct to give something back to society and to those in need without receiving anything materialistic in return,” she said. “Seeing such people gives me peace and reassures me that today's Muslim youth are capable of leading the Muslim world to a great awakening,” she added. She described people's response to the Jeddah flood tragedy as “a great response from both donators and volunteers. People were very generous and donated clothes and food. Some were kind enough to label everything and pack it nicely, making our job so much easier. People were ready to give up their precious time with their families and volunteer in the campaign. We had an average of 20 new women volunteers every day,” she said. “One of the volunteers that I worked with during this campaign, told me that ever since the campaign started, she cries herself to sleep when she gets home, because she's overwhelmed by the wonderful feeling of being a volunteer. It is her first time volunteering,” Hariri said. Regarding the role of the media in the flood tragedy, she seemed to agree with H.G. “Honestly, none of the public media agencies were really effective in conveying the message. All the accurate stories, events and images came into view through different online social networks and forums,” she said. – SG (Tomorrow we will feature an interview with Niamah Nawab, the director of the Musanadah campaign, and Reem Al-Arfaj, Managing Member of the campaign and President of Al-Etihad Youth Volunteering Clubs Union.) __
