Organisation of Islamic Cooperation
The Collective Voice of The Muslim World
Date: 05/12/2007
As we celebrate International Volunteers’ day, a unique opportunity is availed for various stakeholders to work together in attaining common goals by enhancing the role of volunteers in support of peace, relief and grass-roots development initiatives around the world to transform communities.
In the Islamic perspective, the spirit of giving is grounded in Qur’anic verses such as: “None of you shall attain piety/righteousness until you give from what you love (Al-Imran Sura 3:92)”.
Volunteers have been observed to play a complementary role in emergency situations as was evidenced in the aftermath of the December, 2004 devastating Tsunami which left untold suffering in its wake prompting volunteers in joining hands in search of survivors, distributing food and providing emotional support to survivors.
Volunteers are perceived as a catalyst for change in modern society and in the case of the OIC they are bound to help in furthering of the goals of 10-Year Programme of Action (POA) geared towards poverty alleviation, hunger eradication, and provision of humanitarian relief in concert with other development partners by focusing on post-conflict peace building process in many areas such as food security, land and water resources management, small-scale development projects, health care and education etc.
International volunteers’ day is a day for all of us to focus on how to contribute to improving on the lives of the less fortunate and vulnerable in society.
