New centre aims to ‘place Jordan on the map’ for volunteerism

AMMAN — The Nashmi Centre for Youth Empowerment was launched on Wednesday to promote social work and volunteering across the Kingdom.  

The organisation is the result of several initiatives tackling social issues in Jordan, said Ala Bashiti, the centre’s executive manager. 

“We aim to promote social work and volunteerism in Jordan. After years of working on initiatives, we are finally announcing the launch of this organisation, which will help young Jordanians interested in volunteering to find the right activities for them,” Bashiti told The Jordan Times.

Supervisors will follow up on volunteers’ progress in activities across the Kingdom, Bashiti added. 

“It is healthy to progress in social work and volunteerism. The organisation will make the process of participating easier for citizens living in governorates,” the activist added.

“Volunteering is everyone’s duty. We have to understand that volunteerism should be part of our daily lives and not just to pass time,” he said.

Community service hours will be set for each activity, and volunteers will receive certificates for the hours of service completed. 

“We also have ranks for volunteers — gold, silver and bronze — each depending on their contribution to the activity,” Bashiti explained.

The volunteers’ ages range from 6 to 70, he said, which “proves society’s commitment to social work”, he added. 

More than 700 people signed up to join the organisation during its launch, which Bashiti noted was a positive indicator.

“It shows that Jordanian youths want to participate and contribute, but they cannot find the right time or place to do so. We will connect the volunteers to the organisers of different initiatives all around the Kingdom,” he said. 

“We aim to place Jordan on the map of community service and volunteerism. This is a step we took to show the world that we have initiatives and people are willing to participate.”

Volunteers who would like to take part in social initiatives organised by Nashmi can contact the organisers at https://www.facebook.com/nashmi.hkj/.