At a ceremony organized by the Student Affairs Deanship, Dr. Bakri ibn Ma’atuq A’asas, the University president, honored 600 students volunteered in Haj 1437. Present were Dr. Abdul-Aziz ibn Rashad Sruji; the Educational Affairs Vice President and the colleges’ deans. The ceremony took place at the King Abdul-Aziz historic hall in the dormitory in Ala’abidiah.  

Still, Dr. Amr ibn Taha Alsaqaf, the Student Affairs dean, lauded the efforts made by the students took part in the voluntary work during the Haj season. This aims at making a success of this voluntary work, the noblest voluntary work the University’s students can provide for the Haj performers.  He went on to add that the number of the students participated in the  Haj 1437 voluntary work reached more than 600 ones from all the medical colleges. He further noted that the nature of their participation within the hospitals and the medical centers in Makkah and the Holy Sites is to provide the medical services in all specialties as well as the health education programs for the Haj performers and taking part in filling the questionnaires of the scientific researchers conducted by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Institute for the Haj and Umrah Researches.   

Within the same vein, Ahmed Alsaqfi, a student, gave a speech in which he pointed out that the concept of treatment has differed at the present time as treatment has mainly become dependent on prevention before developing a disease. Based on this, in cooperation with the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Institute for the Haj and Umrah Researches and under the auspices of the Ministry of Health, a group of the volunteering students did four researches: a research on the health impacts for the climate changes in which 509 questionnaires have been filled; a research on awareness and hand washing in which 5000 Haj performers have been educated to that regard and a research on detecting diseases and illness cases in which 1016 questionnaires have been filled.

Afterwards, Dr Abdul-Aziz, the Education Affairs vice president, remarked that such voluntary work the Educational Affairs Vice Presidency is keen to establish is part of the Umm Al-Qura University Students’ values and initiatives, topping the priorities the University is interested in applying.  He similarly noted that such voluntary work embodies for our students the human aspect and the social cooperation and interdependence. He also lauded the support the Educational Affairs Vice Presidency receives from the University President, as well as the efforts made by the Student Affairs Deanship in supporting extra-curricular activities.      

By the same token, Dr. Bakri ibn Ma’atuq A’asas, the University president, boasts about serving the Haj performers in many fields: the scientific research conducted by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Institute for the Haj and Umrah Researches; and the voluntary work supervised by the Student Affairs Deanship. Likewise, he pointed out that the Wadi Makkah for Technology represented by the start-ups it houses took part in serving the Haj performers through many applications and smart technologies, implemented in cooperation with a number of the governmental and civil entities active in serving the Haj performers.

Further, Dr. Assas underlined that the University works on implanting the value of voluntary work into our students’ minds, noting that the voluntary work targeting the Medicine College students in the Haj season has become main part of the curriculum; to the effect that the student becomes well-versed in the medical services provided for the Haj performers. He went on to commend the efforts made by the Student Affairs Deanship and all the colleges participating in the voluntary work. 

As such, the University President honored the students who took part in the voluntary work.