They are the volunteer social workers, the unsung heroes, who serve neither for applause nor because it is their job, but rather because they care for their fellow human beings.

One such man is Indian national Mohammed Ali, who has been doing social service for the past 22 years.

“I do not look for reward from people for what I do, my reward is with Almighty Allah,” he said. “I don’t identify people as Muslims and non-Muslims, or see if they are from Kerala, Hyderabad or Utter Pradesh. If they are human I consider them my brothers and sisters and I help them.”

Ali’s social work includes taking sick men and women from under the Kandara Bridge to clinics. He is well known at the Indian Consulate and gets his authorization to carry out his service from there.

There are many social-service organizations in Saudi Arabia, members of which are all volunteers who take time out of their personal lives to help strangers without asking for anything in return. And many of these social service organizations are run by Keralites.

One of these bodies, India Fraternity Forum, received a certificate of appreciation from the Saudi Ministry of Health and the local municipality for their service to the people. The group consists of members from various states of India.

“We started out a group of about 35 people and went to help Haj pilgrims,  then people started joining the group and soon we became a more than 1,000-member group. We represent India, and not just one state,” E.M. Abdulla, the group’s coordinator, told Arab News.

The India Fraternity Forum has been serving people for eight years now. Members of the group serve and attend to Haj pilgrims from their arrival at the airport until their departure. These social workers serve in all the areas where pilgrims need assistance and guidance such as Makkah, Madinah, Mina, Muzdalifah and airports. They have worked on many hospital cases, lost pilgrim issues, guidance camps, food distribution and Mutawaf related subjects, among others.

The India Fraternity Forum has a 24-hour help desk operating from Jeddah using advanced technology mainly for locating missing Haj pilgrims.

The group has even served in flood-relief operations in cooperation with the Civil Defense and Marakis El-Ahyaa. It has worked with the Ministry of Health to help flood victims move to various hotels in Jeddah.

It has conducted health awareness campaigns in coordination with the Indian Consulate, and also H1N1 awareness campaigns in collaboration with the World Health Organization.

It set up health camps for low-paid Indians, especially those working in remote locations. The camps were conducted in cooperation with private medical centers and polyclinics.

The group has also resolved many issues related to housemaids, drivers and laborers.