AKDN operates 700 health facilities and 200 schools, provides financial services to over 50 million people and plants over three million trees each year. This work, and much more, would be impossible without tens of thousands of volunteers in offices, schools, universities and hospitals, based in cities, villages and increasingly online. What inspires these volunteers to give their time, knowledge and skills? What results do they see?

Addressing local needs

Many volunteers are inspired by the need within their own community, to improve the quality of life for those around them. In Tanzania, one in 45 women die in pregnancy or childbirth, but many of these deaths can be prevented with health information and professional care. Joyce Nyanda is amongst the AKDN community health volunteers who provide lifesaving information about maternal and child health and ensure community members have access to the care they need.

“I was pregnant with my fifth child. And that was when I chose to become a community health volunteer. I wanted to use it to save the lives of women, together with newborns and children. I just keep on working as I feel very sad for the community, and for how the women suffer.”

At the Aga Khan Schools, community service is integral to the curriculum. Venkat Reddy, who coordinates these activities at the Aga Khan Academy Hyderabad, tells us about some recent student projects:

“They teach children at orphanages and government schools, sharing their communication, sports or IT knowledge and learning Telugu, culture and games from them in return. They have raised funds to contribute to fixing a water plant at a government school, providing water for 500 students. When the husband of a housekeeping supervisor had a brain haemorrhage, the students arranged a food stall at a football match, making around 15,000 rupees ($184) for his treatment.

When students take ownership of this service, they do it 100 percent. And they pass the year-long projects down to the juniors, so that they are sustainable. I’m very proud of them.”

Simaloi Wanjiru Ndegwa, from the Aga Khan Academy, Nairobi, was inspired by her interest in nature to enter – and win – a photography competition. “Some of my winning photographs were images of pupils at a school I visit for community service. Because of the effects of the COVID pandemic, I decided to gift my prize money to these pupils. Seeing the pupils happy and delighted to receive art supplies in their family gift packages made this experience so extremely special to me. From that experience, I founded the initiative ‘Art for Change’, promoting creative expression for less privileged young students. I learned how good it feels to give back to my community. I truly believe that if we all start giving, then we will grow to be better people.”

Paying it forward

As well as those working to increase the self-reliance of their own communities, AKDN has many volunteers inspired to give something back to their family’s country of origin, or to pass their own advantages forward. Meanwhile, they are able to develop their own interests and build their career.

Raeesa Mohamed volunteered at the Aga Khan Foundation’s (AKF) World Partnership Golf tournament, which since 2000 has raised over $18 million CAD ($13 million) for projects to fight poverty in Asia and Africa.

“I was lucky enough to be born in this developed country, with everything I could ever need at my fingertips. It is devastating to think that this was not the case for my parents and is still not the case for millions of people on this planet. Changing the world may seem like an impossible feat at times, but this event is truly impacting lives. The feeling of making a global difference is truly unparalleled.”

Some of the tournament funds enable AKF’s International Youth Fellowship programme. This helps young Canadian professionals such as 23-year-old Jenna Mulji launch careers in development by working for a host organisation in Africa or Asia.

Jenna is working for the Aga Khan Health Services (AKHS) in Kisumu, Kenya, where her mother grew up. “At its core, public health is meant to serve the most marginalised and vulnerable communities, and it's almost comforting to know that you are always working towards supporting others to make life a little easier or more fulfilling.

The Fellowship seemed like an amazing way to gain experience and to challenge myself. As a Clinical Support Fellow, I support the Aga Khan Hospital's outreach projects, which improve healthcare access and strengthen health systems. Currently, we are developing a COVID-19 immunisation campaign to ensure communities have access to both the vaccination and accurate information.

I am growing both personally and professionally! I’m able to apply what I learned in my studies to the work I am doing and am learning so much about the field of international development. I understand my mom a lot more through working where she grew up and experiencing her culture. This is definitely an experience that I will carry with me for the rest of my life.”

While a student at the University of Ottawa, Angjelos Fero volunteered as a Visitor Programme Guide at the Delegation of the Ismaili Imamat, giving tours and assisting at events. The guides inform visitors about sustainable development and pluralism and how AKDN and the Delegation tackle the global challenges of poverty, inequality and exclusion. “My volunteer experiences have taught me to enter every possible situation I encounter with an open mind”, says Angjelos. “I have never left a chat without having learned something new about development, the Delegation, or the global Ismaili community. I always draw inspiration from the experts that come to speak, as I hope to pursue a career in development myself.”

Volunteering for self-empowerment

In many cases, volunteering is not only a personal development asset but a fundamental source of empowerment.

Gul Mahoor helps people access micro-loans to seek urgent care. With six children, livestock to feed and a dried cherry and apple business to tend, Gul still finds the time to manage a health relief fund in Nasirabad, Pakistan. Under Gul’s supervision, the fund – which AKF helped establish – has supported over 90 women and children.

“We provide emergency loans to anyone who needs one. I maintain records and register those who take a loan. When the man who used to run the fund got too old, the group of women appointed me manager. Before, men were responsible for household revenue and financial affairs. But now we have businesses and run the finance for our homes. We have equal rights and we work together.

During delivery, many children cannot survive due to the lack of facilities. The women don’t have money to go far away for delivery. In her last few days of pregnancy, a woman was referred to Gilgit, 80 kilometres away, for an operation. Her husband came in at midnight and asked for money for transport. The operation was successful and she now has a healthy daughter.”

Onno Rühl, General Manager of the Aga Khan Agency for Habitat (AKAH), says: “We have 40,000 volunteers in the countries in which we work, and 40 percent of them are women. And of the latest recruits, it's 50 percent because we made that an explicit goal. It's a tremendous source of empowerment at the community level. All volunteers are very proud that many of the women volunteers in particular have gone on to be community leaders. And I think that's a very powerful mechanism.”

Shukria Amiri, aged 23, lives in Serchishma village of Badakhshan, Afghanistan, a high-mountain region susceptible to avalanches. Unable to continue her education in recent years, she has found fulfilment in helping others manage the threats to their lives and homes. As a member of an AKAH avalanche preparedness team, she helps people evacuate, rescues their property and informs them about the dangers of avalanche-prone zones.

Shukria is one of 40,000 volunteers who work with AKAH, preserving lives and livelihoods in Afghanistan, India, Pakistan, Tajikistan and Syria. Working with the support of AKAH, governments and international partners, they may check weather posts to help predict avalanches, clear snowy roads between villages, evacuate residents in emergencies or specialise in search and rescue.

AKAH’s head of disaster management, Shodmon Hojibekov, comes from a mountain community in Tajikistan. “Voluntary service has always been part of people’s lives and identity in mountain areas… I think the intensity of hazards really makes people realise how important it is to reach out to each other. Despite the village getting globalised, despite economic concerns and high turnover among our volunteers in some countries, the spirit of volunteerism remains strong.”

Solidarity is part of mountain life. But the volunteers here also serve for other reasons, including the opportunity to train in areas such as incident command management, new friends, appreciation from peers and acknowledgement from local authorities and governments.

Their impact stretches beyond AKAH’s territories. Donors and partners such as the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, the European Union and the United Nations are impressed by the extent of volunteerism’s contribution to natural disaster preparedness and response efforts. The UN World Food Programme selected AKAH as a partner to distribute food packages to over 78,500 households in Badakhshan and Bamyan Corridor of Afghanistan in 2020 and 2021. Other NGOs have approached AKAH to see how to replicate work in new locations, or to use the weather data that the volunteers have collected to inform programming in other sectors and parts of the country.

A gift of time and knowledge

Volunteers push AKDN’s capabilities forward at all levels and in many countries, from improving the local quality of life to advancing international scientific progress that can help solve national and global challenges. Over 5,000 AKDN volunteers are Ismailis who have offered their Time and Knowledge Nazrana (TKN), as a gift to the Imam and to build on a centuries-long tradition by contributing to their societies.

Faruq Vishram brought over 40 years of experience in the power generation industry to the AKHS-operated hospital in Bamyan, Afghanistan, helping improve the Solar PhotoVoltaic plant. The solar panels fully power the facility throughout the day, storing power for night use and reducing the need for diesel.

Onno Rühl of AKAH recalls: “Another TKN volunteer put a team together at Harvard, and they're working with our emergency management team, piloting avalanche prediction systems based on AI learning in Pakistan. Which development organisation has access to AI, let alone for free?”

Each generation brings new AKDN volunteers, working together to improve the quality of life for themselves and others in over 30 countries. Building on tradition and embedding new ones, they are ensuring the future of voluntary service. AKDN thanks them all.

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