CAIRO: World Environment Day is coming up and the event has always caused volunteers to flock from all over the country to work behind the scenes and in the actual event to make it a huge green success. Volunteer Week has been held across the world since 1974. It celebrates and acknowledges the various efforts of volunteers in all fields and walks of life. Many entities of relevance have taken it upon themselves to promote this initially national effort from the USA. In April and May communities, NGOs, charities and universities in various parts of the world encourage volunteers by recognizing their efforts and passions, and celebrate the culture of service. Many entities in Egypt promote volunteer work and need it to undertake some if not all of their projects. If you've heard of idealist.org, you already know that you can search for volunteer opportunities in any country. As of May 17th, there are 7 volunteer openings in Egypt. Some of the entities include Ashoka, Makan Egyptian Center for Culture and Art and St Andrew's Refugee Services and are asking for help with designing promotional materials, event coordination, and teaching English. Similarly, idealist.org is a good advertisement option if you're an entity looking for volunteers. We suggest all the avid volunteers stay updated with this website as it's been tried and tested by our own team and landed them an environmental internship at the Mediterranean Center for Sustainable Development. Volunteers in Egypt are abundant. There are various clubs in universities that train and encourage youth to volunteer with senior citizens, underprivileged societies, orphanages, pets and certainly, environmental issues. In addition, there are various organizations that attract a wide range of volunteers, such as Rotaract, UN Volunteers, Hands Along the Nile, Lions Club and many more. Nada Rady, 21, has been volunteering since she was about 13 years old. She has participated in several projects covering many issues, some of which were environmental. Her true involvement, though, started after she took a course on environmental studies in the university of Lund. After her experience as a student, she further went on to become a mentor and now a teacher to current students. Nada will travel from her home town in Alexandria on June 5th and be one of the many volunteers that the World Environment Day attracts. In 2008 the Cairo Azhar Park event attracted between 70 and 80 volunteers from Egypt alone to help in all aspects of the event organization and make sure it runs smoothly. Another volunteer we've come across is the Egyptian American Cindy Abdelaziz, a second year graduate student studying Applied Behavior Analysis. Cindy became active in the ‘green' field after learning about the harms of landfills on the environment. Thankfully, she realized she can make a difference with a few lifestyle changes. While living and studying in the USA, she came across a local volunteer group in her community that offers free recycling services. She explains to us, “They rent 3 trash trucks and members of the community drop off their recyclables. The program is run by the local park commission.” Like anywhere in the world, recyclable materials are profitable and in this specific case, they use their return from the events to donate to the park which in turn plants new trees, contributing to the absorbance of Carbon Dioxide and production of Oxygen. Cindy enjoys the volunteer work she does, and gets to socialize with like minded people as well as pick up used books and magazines from the book exchange table that is always present in the events. Additionally, Cindy also participates in a tree planting initiative by her local mosque, through which they planted 720 trees in 3 years. After the eco-consciousness feeling wears off after a long day of volunteering at the mosque or the neighborhoods, Cindy realized she acquired many personal traits. “My volunteer positions have inspired me to lead new projects and be fearless when it comes to community work. I've educated myself and family on a green lifestyle.” Luckily, the entire family has been keen on adopting various means of green living, but Cindy is still looking for better ways to lower her and her family's footprint on the planet. Finally, Cindy advises people to take on volunteer work to benefit their communities and gain heaps of self discipline. Here, or abroad, Egyptians are volunteering, youth are keen on giving back, and most importantly, influencing their communities and enhancing the environmental situation around them. So what are you waiting for? Leave a positive footprint in the world and erase your carbon one! The country is full of opportunities. All you need to do is stay up to date and then you are ready to go! Eco Options Egypt
