Crown Prince makes surprise visit to Aqaba volunteers

AMMAN — HRH Crown Prince Hussein, the Regent, paid a surprise visit to youth volunteers who were repairing a family home on behalf of his charitable foundation in the port city of Aqaba, in southern Jordan on Thursday, a Royal Court statement said.

The volunteers had been organised by the “Haqiq” Initiative, whose name means “achieve” in Arabic. The initiative was started by the Crown Prince Foundation in 2013 to allow Jordanian young people to gain “practical skills” and to practise “democratic thinking” through service to their community, according to the foundation’s website. 

After being greeted by the residents of house under repair, HRH Crown Prince Hussein donned rubber gloves and joined the volunteers in repainting one of their home’s walls, and shared tea with them before departing, according to a video provided by the Crown Prince Foundation to The Jordan Times.

Crown Prince Hussein also met with a number of other local families in Aqaba, located 330km south of Amman. He checked on their living conditions and held a discussion with “Haqiq” volunteers, who include male and female Jordanian students from the 9th and 10th grades.

“I urge my fellow Jordanians to participate in voluntary initiatives throughout #OurJordan,” the Crown Prince later wrote on Instagram. “Volunteering builds character and strengthens our community.”

The Crown Prince’s volunteer visit was first announced by the Royal Court, which said in a statement that he preferred to spend his 24th birthday participating in the volunteer efforts of the members of his youth initiative.

His Royal Highness highly prized the efforts of “Haqiq” students, their role in contributing to society as active members, and their continued attempts to spread the concept of volunteer work across the Kingdom, according to the Royal Court.