DOHA: Students from across Qatar University (QU) joined their colleagues from the College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) and the Department of International Affairs (DIA) in a series of charitable activities under the department’s leadership course that engages students in volunteerism and giving back to the community.
During the last week of May and until mid-June, 24 students — 16 women and seven men — in five teams led five charitable and awareness events that helped needy QU students, sick children, the elderly, and disadvantaged members of society. Each leadership event highlighted the importance of connecting people to their community through acts of charity and compassion, thereby building a strong community invigorated by shared experiences.
The first event – QU Comedy Charity — was held on May 29 by Team ‘Empower Education’ to raise funds for QU students receiving financial assistance. The event included stand-up routines and a dinner, proceeds from which were donated to the QU Financial Aid Office. More than 100 people participated in the event, which raised nearly QR50,000.
The following day, the men’s team paid visits to the elderly at Al Ehsan–Qatar Foundation Seniors Home and organised an interactive session that included lunch and distribution of gifts. Team member Abdullah Al Subaie explained: “We wanted to link our generation with our elders and spread happiness, as Islam teaches us. To see their smiles and enthusiasm was emotionally overwhelming”.
The day included a health and fitness awareness activity led by Team Serajm, which coordinated with Weyak Qatar to hold an on-campus 5km marathon that drew around 200 people. The participants said the event was advertised and organised well and acknowledged the support provided by QU international communal specialist Captain Miloud Ouiri.
On June 5, a fun day for patients at the Children’s Cancer Hospital saw Team Al Amal distribute gifts and organise games and entertainment that featured clowns, a large, fluorescent portable stage, as well as light refreshments and a cake.
The final activity, held on June 18 and led by Team Al Joud, raised funds for persons jailed for not repaying their debts. Through a number of activities such as sale of traditional Qatari food and screening of movies on campus, the team raised more than QR55,000, which helped obtain the release of four prisoners, one of whom had been in prison for four years.
“Today, our efforts have resulted in these four individuals walking free at the beginning of Ramadan”, one of the team members said.
“It was a truly life-altering experience and we all felt so empowered to know that we can really make a difference”, Sumaya Al Jaber said.
“We learned to move from ‘I’ to ‘We’,” said Allabiba Al Enzi, while Asma Khairy said the activity had taught her the importance of teamwork.
Leadership course professor Dr Farhan Chak said: “This year the enthusiasm of the teams was truly remarkable. What was so overwhelming was that given the opportunity, our students step up to their potential and talents and find that they can achieve wonders”.THE PENINSULA
