Volunteers urged to keep up ‘good work’ this Ramadan

A new law that bans volunteering without permission will not prevent community groups from carrying out good deeds during Ramadan, a government official said.

Ahmed Julfar, director general of the Community Development Authority, said the goal was for people and organisations to understand the new legislation, which was announced in Dubai last month.

“We don’t want to stop anybody from volunteering. We want to encourage more people to volunteer. Gradually, we want to make sure people are aware of the requirements [of the law], so those who have been volunteering can continue,” said Mr Julfar, speaking after a CDA conference on Tuesday to announce plans to distribute 32,000 suhoor meals during Ramadan.

Asked if organisations and individuals who regularly distributed meals to workers during Ramadan need to register all volunteers and inform the CDA about their plans, he said people should continue to do “good work”.

“We want to create awareness, not stop people. We would like volunteering to be a way of life. The law is to protect the rights of volunteers,” Mr Julfar said.

About 700 people volunteered with the CDA during Ramadan last year and the authority hopes the number will double this year.

Community groups and other organisations are required to get permission to carry out voluntary work under the new laws.

Under legislation to regulate the voluntary sector, the CDA should be contacted before any voluntary work is undertaken, volunteers must carry official ID cards and organisations registered with the CDA should keep records of their activities.

The move announced by the Dubai Government follows the introduction of laws governing charity fund-raising in 2016.

This legislation set out fines and jail terms of up to a year for the unauthorised collection of money.

The recent volunteering law also states that fund-raising can be carried out only by a government-registered charity to ensure that the money is being raised for legitimate reasons.

Volunteers who visited workers’ accommodations to conduct health, nutrition, exercise and educational classes said small groups did not have the budget or administrative staff to maintain records of people who volunteered their time, ensure they signed agreements and provide insurance coverage against injuries.

J V, a volunteer who works with labourers, welcomed the CDA statement, but said groups need more clarity.

“It’s good that people can distribute food during Ramadan, but there are still grey areas and people are scared of doing good work. People would take dry food like rice and lentils to a camp every week, but now they must find a group that is registered and only then can they approach workers’ camps. It is a much longer, time-consuming process,” he said.

J V said he understood the need for the law, “but most people are taking time off from work and personal life to distribute foodstuff and essentials to people in need. The law requires more clarity, so all volunteer work does not need to be through a registered organisation”.

The CDA on Tuesday called for volunteers for a youth-led programme – Their Suhoor Is on Us – to get residents to distribute meals near seven mosques in Dubai and two mosques in Umm Al Quwain.

Halima Mohammed, head of CDA’s youth council, urged the young and elderly to come forward and register via the Dubai Volunteering app or on the CDA website.

“People who live in the workers’ accommodations don’t have money to buy suhoor meals that may cost Dh7 or Dh10 every day for 30 days. Instead of going to a restaurant to chat or a mall to hang out for no reason, this is a good opportunity for the youth to do valuable work and give back to people who need food,” she said.

The meal packages will contain rice, vegetables, chicken, juice, fruit and dates. There are also plans for packages to be distributed directly to the labour accommodation via a drone that will be monitored by people with disabilities.

The drone, which will carry about 10 meal packets per trip, is in the testing phase.

Community groups and other organisations are required to get permission to carry out voluntary work under the new laws