Abdul Monem Mustafa, a prominent local social activist, said the main obstacle facing volunteer work in Jeddah is the lack of rules and regulations and proper systems.

“We should also set out objectives correctly and direct our efforts to realize them,” he said. During the Nov. 25 Jeddah floods, huge efforts were made to support flood victims.

“If those works had been organized properly, the result would have been fantastic,” Mustafa told Arab News.

Abdul Aziz Abdullah, another activist, spoke about the mercenary attitude of some volunteers, who expected money for their work.

“During health and other campaigns, the volunteers will be given some remunerations to encourage them. But some people demand remunerations for their work, forgetting the fact they did the work voluntarily,” he said. Another drawback of some volunteers is lack of interest and enthusiasm. “In the beginning of the program, they will be very enthusiastic in their performance, but later on they lose interest. This puts the whole program in jeopardy,” he pointed out.

Renovation of houses of the poor damaged during floods was one of the projects that failed to get continuous support of volunteers. The Jeddah Friends’ Society started the project two years ago. About 16 volunteers had taken part in the project. They contributed a total of 480 hours. They also engaged in activities such as fighting dengue fever and enlightening the public against the disease. But the program was stopped as a result of dwindling zeal of volunteers.