October... a month of volunteerism

Natural calamities can be transformative so can personal tragedies and situations.

In came October 17 the day designated as Omani Women’s Day. It is a day to celebrate achievements and reflect and we did too with Omani Women’s Day live on Facebook.

Of course the day has come in the midst of recovery work in North Al Batinah and the impacted wilayats around it.

So on the day and the weekend leading to the Omani Women’s Day, ladies chose to volunteer at the cyclone affected areas.

Why is that one feels best when we are helping or contributing to the society? Is it because we feel useful? It is interesting how we can go all the way to extend a helping hand and yet get defensive when we sense a slight hint of being used or taken for granted. The difference is the small word, ‘will’.

The ‘will’ is a powerful feature built in each human being. Is it part of human instinct or is it trained and cultivated?

Even an infant has likes and dislikes and finds means to express his preferences. The tears and acceptance later moves onto become rejection and responsiveness.

But there is so much we learn from family and society between infancy and adulthood that at times we have to unlearn quite a bit when we have to face and interact in an international level. We also learn that a lot of our impressions had been driven by emotions. Each family has their own orientation, leave alone cultures. When we are exposed to other cultures, it Is not just outlook that changes but also our obligations.

The successful ones are the ones who are able to keep both values no matter how many ever cultures or environments they are exposed to.

Volunteerism is a spirit of helping and being useful to the community.

October is a month of cancer awareness through out the world as declared by United Nations. In Oman, in every sense it is turning out to be a month of volunteerism as well. And it will be remembered so in history. The cyclone brought in heavy rains to Muscat uprooting several trees changing popular landscapes, but the loss has been much more through the wadis where the flash floods flowed through when the cyclone Shaheen had made landfall. And now there is yet another opportunity to volunteer and this is because the Environment Authority of Oman has invited everyone interested to join in the initiative to participate and volunteer in the campaign to rehabilitate damaged trees and plant wild trees to overcome the tree loss caused by Shaheen. The days of the campaign are on Wednesday and Thursday (October 20 and 21), to be held in the affected wilayats. To register, all one has to do is contact 92159060.

Environment is equally important as our homes, besides trees, especially the indigenous trees are part of Oman’s heritage. To get them back to stand is equally important for the whole ecosystem.

This month has shown what can be achieved with the power of hands united in volunteerism. From donation to distribution and cleaning to construction what has been achieved because of collective will is no small achievement. We have been seeing groups and groups of men and women, nationals and residents going all the way to the affected areas trying to bring relief and normalcy as it was prior to Shaheen.

What has been achieved is not a simple gesture but an immense assurance that these united hands of volunteerism could and can contribute to the cause along with government organisations and armed forces.

So here is to you - for taking time to make a difference.

THE ‘WILL’ IS A POWERFUL FEATURE BUILT IN EACH HUMAN BEING