Volunteering in Saudi Arabia to combat COVID-19
Hisham Gweda, took a bold step and joined the Saudi Red Crescent Authority’s Active Ready Health Volunteers Program.
One of the fundamentals of a community is the unspoken agreement to run to the aid of others, and give selflessly. It may sound completely logical and many of us have thought about it at least once during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Hisham Gweda, Boehringer Ingelheim Saudi Arabia decided that the best way he could help would be to join Saudi Arabia’s call for volunteers to support COVID-19 programs. He took a bold step and joined the Saudi Red Crescent Authority’s Active Ready Health Volunteers Program. It needed seven extensive exams before being certified and then he signed up to a series of ‘missions’ to combat COVID-19 in the Kingdom.
Hisham's first mission was related to awareness activities in a hypermarket. This involved working with a team to implement social distancing protocols for customers, hygiene and sanitization practices for the staff and quality control for storage of goods.
His second mission took him to high-risk areas where proactive screening activities are being conducted to contain and manage the outbreak.
Since his efforts to support the healthcare authorities through volunteering, Hisham has become a role model and is often consulted by others to advise on whether they should pursue their aspiration to help as well.