Mobilising cub volunteers

Abu Dhabi: 'Takatof' literally means shoulder-to-shoulder. It is the name and credo of the Emirates Foundation's latest popular initiative, which aims to mobilise volunteers across the UAE to take socially responsible actions towards community needs.

"It was the vision of General Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Abu Dhabi Crown Prince and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, to see young Emiratis supporting each other and doing social work," says Khulood Al Nowais, director of projects at the Emirates Foundation, a philanthropic body.

"We want to develop the culture of social work among the youth of the UAE."

To launch Takatof last month, over 140 volunteers headed to Qidfa, Fujairah, to give a school a "28-hour makeover". "We didn't want to launch with a gala dinner or anything like that," explains Khulood.

"We wanted to launch with an activity to show what we are about. The school, Zayed Ibn Al Khatab Primary School, needed a lot of help. It was very old and in really bad condition, and needed a complete overhaul.

"The area behind the school was not used, so we offered the school a grant to set up football and basketball fields. We bought 500 student desks, painted the walls, reorganised the science lab and the library, set up computers and cleaned the grounds."

Humaid Al Hammadi was a volunteer leader during the school project, and acted as a motivational speaker for the group.

"The first project was not only within the borders of the school," says Al Hammadi, a 26-year-old engineer. "It exceeds it and goes across the whole nation. It is most importantly about the great spirit that is going around between the volunteers which will spread all over the country."

The Emirates Foundation is working on developing more projects for Takatof initiatives, with projects spanning a multitude of sectors including the environment, women's issues, special needs, arts and culture, youth, the elderly, disaster and emergency response, and special needs.

"We are working with the Ministry of Education to integrate volunteering activities in school curriculums," says Khulood.

"We are also working with an Abu Dhabi hospital to create opportunities whereby volunteers could escort patients, or read to the children or the elderly. We provide training for volunteers before they participate, and there are no obligations. We take in the volunteer's schedules and call them up when we have opportunities."

Finding institutions

Registration to Takatof can be done through website www.takatof.ae or by calling 800-TAKATOF.

Khulood says Takatof aims to act as clearing-house for volunteers, matching volunteers with humanitarian institutions in each emirate, offering the institutions a steady supply of helpers. "Although we focus on Emiratis, we would never say no to anyone else if they want to volunteer."

"What's great about the Takatof programme is that volunteers can give ideas," says Al Hammadi. "It's a team effort and if someone suggests an idea that is implemented, that person would be in charge of the planning."