Volunteers share their experiences in the fight against COVID-19

While doctors, nurses, and other essential health-care workers are rightly lauded for their work on the front line of the ongoing battle against the COVID-19 pandemic, the contribution of thousands of Saudi volunteers will not be forgotten either.

Following a call from the Ministry of Health back in April, more than 160,000 people registered as volunteers on the online portal. The volunteers have been divided into more than 400 different categories, and there are currently 72,000 active volunteers across the Kingdom. Arab News invited a few of them to share their stories.

Lyla Ashry, who is currently in the last month of her medical internship, said that her initial reaction to the idea of dealing with COVID-19 patients was a mixture of apprehension and a desire to be helpful.

“I was worried based on what we experienced with MERS-CoV (Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, the previous strain of coronavirus in the region), but glad to be in a position where I could help and put my medical experience to use. I’m a healthy young person and hoped I could be useful, but also considered how it might impact my family if they caught it,” she said.

The cost of Ashry’s help ended up being high, as her entire family came down with COVID-19 symptoms. Her mother tested positive for the virus.

“I was not swabbed, but my mother was confirmed positive and, because I was nursing her at home, I stayed in quarantine with her,” Ahsry said. 

“My experience nursing my mother was different from nursing someone with severe respiratory symptoms. Every patient’s requirements may vary. In the end, caring for her as a COVID patient was difficult but thankfully temporary and my mother made a full recovery.”

Ashry added that, while volunteering is a noble thing to do, people should only consider it if they think that they are capable of keeping themselves and their loved ones safe, especially if they work in the medical field — suggesting that medical students, interns and residents who are at higher risk of contracting the disease should reconsider.

“We need all doctors to keep their safety in mind. On the other hand, I do believe that anyone capable of volunteering and keeping precautions in mind can offer to do so,” she said.

Regarding the general public, Ashry pleaded with people to follow government advice. 

“I recommend everyone do their part and try their best to stay home unless absolutely necessary. This virus has shown a deceptively high mortality rate (globally) compared to what was originally expected and it is highly contagious,” she said. 

“When thinking of those numbers, also think of your loved ones and please avoid visiting anyone, especially the elderly.”

Turki Alaudah, a medical student who volunteered at a call center for the COVID-19 hotline, said the highlight of his experience was the camaraderie between volunteers from different health specialties, all united by the common goal of serving their country, and the sense of self-improvement he gained from it.

“Volunteering is a positive experience that makes you realize your own value and boosts your self-confidence. But at the same time it teaches you that, no matter how accomplished you think you are, there are people better and more productive than you, which in turn motivates you to constantly raise the limit of your own ambition and be better than you are,” he said.

Alaudah said that the training he underwent was developed by the Saudi Commission for Health Specialties, and covered all the requirements for the fight against COVID-19.

“We learned the principles and skills of community volunteering, the basics of infection control, and took courses on volunteer work in quarantine centers. We also did voluntary work with epidemiological investigation teams, and learned how to deal with psychological stress in times of crisis. We were also given personal protective equipment tests,” he said.

Alaudah said that his experience of volunteering has made him reevaluate his outlook on the pandemic, and he wants people to be more careful now than ever before, having seen the magnitude of the crisis firsthand.

“I felt closer to the events than ever, despite the lack of direct contact with infected patients. Just communicating with them and hearing their stories over the phone was enough to impress upon me the gravity of the situation,” he said, adding that preventive measures must be followed. 

“Everyone must sense this responsibility and play their role until the end of this crisis.”

He was quick to recommend volunteering to others too. “The door to volunteering is open in several areas. Everyone who has the ability and time to find the right opportunity should consider applying, because volunteering is not limited to the health field,” he said.

Salman Al-Mutairi, who works for an accounting firm, told Arab News that he had initially been reluctant to volunteer for fear of putting his family at risk of contracting the disease. However, the rise in confirmed cases and the fact he had witnessed widespread lack of adherence to rules prompted him to sign up for the ministry’s volunteer program.

“The few times I’ve had to go out during quarantine, I’ve seen people without masks, not socially distancing, breaking all the rules. I felt so helpless about that at first,” he said. 

“But realizing that there are ways that I can help that don’t involve actually interacting with COVID patients gave me the boost I needed to try and get something done.”

Al-Mutairi says he hopes more people will be inspired to do their part to give back to the community, and that they realize, as he did, that there are more ways to help than people might think.

“You can help in such simple ways as distributing masks and hand sanitizer, encouraging people to stay home and practice social distancing, educating people about the severity of the virus, and so much more,” he said. 

“This country is fighting so hard to protect us. The least we can do is try to protect it back.”