Queen urges leading volunteers to scale up their initiatives

AMMAN — Her Majesty Queen Rania on Tuesday met with the founders and members of local volunteer organisations that are part of the Initiative for Jordan (i4Jo) network at Saqyet Al Daraweesh in the capital's Jabal Luweibdeh neighbourhood.

The Queen listened to a briefing about the work of the network’s five volunteer initiatives that cover various community service projects catering to underprivileged children, women, elderly citizens, and persons with disabilities, according to a statement from Her Majesty's office. 

The Queen commended the volunteers and the creative initiatives they have crafted to empower local communities.

 “I am happy to hear about these initiatives from those who have a real sense of the existing needs on the ground. You’re the ones interacting with the people and responding to their needs from where you are, so you are effectively planting seeds of change in our communities,” Her Majesty said.

Queen Rania added that “the most important thing is to always be ambitious in our plans and to never settle for small numbers". 

"We should always scale up. Sometimes we can come up with an excellent idea that makes a difference in a specific environment. But the bigger challenge is how to replicate this good example to reach a bigger group of people,” she noted.

The founders of the volunteer organisations included Sanad Abu Assaf, Alaa Al Bashiti, Hutahifa Al Tamimi, Sheikh Yousef Al Momani, and Faten Al Ghazu, according to the statement.

i4Jo Network Founder Ghada Saba, who moderated the discussion, explained that i4Jo started out as a group on the messaging mobile app WhatsApp, connecting volunteers to various initiatives and volunteering opportunities. 

It then grew to become a network connecting activists, social media influencers, and members of the private sector to member initiatives.

The Queen heard from Bashiti, the founder of the Nashmi Centre for Youth Empowerment, who explained how Nashmi has helped young volunteers find diverse volunteering activities across the Kingdom with the help of specialised supervisors. To date, Nashmi has 2,200 active volunteers across the country.

Bashiti is also the International Peace Organisation for Relief and Human Rights representative to Jordan, and has led a campaign to help release 30 women with no criminal backgrounds, who were imprisoned for being indebted, by collecting funds to repay their dues, the statement said.

Right now, Nashmi is working on an initiative to link up volunteer caregivers to senior citizens living outside homes for the elderly, where each volunteer will be dedicated to looking after one elderly citizen.

Her Majesty also heard from the founder of "Cumestair", Abu Assaf, who explained the work his initiative has done to advocate for people with disabilities and facilitate their inclusion in public life.

Momani, an Ajloun-based mosque imam and founder of Al Juneid Cultural Forum, briefed Her Majesty on the work his organisation has been doing to support young talents and raise awareness through mosque sermons on the role of women in politics and the importance of differentiating between social traditions and religion.

Her Majesty also heard from Ghazu, who established an initiative that caters to beneficiaries residing at elderly homes and aims to improve their morale.

Also speaking at the discussion was Tamimi, the founder of the Thinking Hats Training and Development Institutes, who explained how his initiatives have helped individuals develop their leadership and strategic planning skills to prepare them for the job market.