INJAZ Kuwait Steps up Volunteer Recruitment and Acknowledgement
Volunteer participation offers unique opportunities for Kuwait's corporations, business leaders and professionals

Kuwait - 28 Jan 2007: INJAZ Kuwait, a non-profit organization dedicated to educating young people about business, economics and entrepreneurship, has stepped up efforts to recruit business people and professionals as volunteers in 2007.

To launch the recruiting campaign, INJAZ Kuwait held an introductory volunteers' seminar at the Marriot Courtyard last night. INJAZ outlined its schools-based programmes for 2007 while past and present volunteers shared their experiences of working with students.

"Our volunteers are so important to the success of INJAZ," said INJAZ President, Rana Kamshad. "It is their enthusiasm and willingness to share their expertise and life experience that enables us to inspire future generations of business leaders."

INJAZ Kuwait is part of JA Worldwide™ (Junior Achievement), the world’s largest and fastest growing organization dedicated to economic education.

“Volunteering with INJAZ Kuwait offers a major opportunity for corporations and business who want to give something back to the community,” Rana Kamshad added. “Companies can give their employees the time to go into schools and share their knowledge. It is an excellent Corporate Social Responsibility initiative.”

INJAZ Kuwait volunteers discover that participating in the programme has many rewards, from being able to make a contribution to the community to developing their own skills in presenting and communicating.

“I’ve really enjoyed seeing how motivated the students are,” said Danah Al Tourah, a financial analyst at Global Investment House who was an INJAZ volunteer in 2006. “It is so fulfilling to know that the students are learning things that a text book cannot teach them.”

Volunteers have the opportunity to be a part of the Company Programme in which students establish and run their own businesses. Volunteers provide support and guidance to the companies as students learn to understand the role of business in Kuwait society.

“Last year, 305 students participated in the Company Programme,” Rana Kamshad said. “With start-up capital of just KD 75 each, the ten companies from eight schools made a combined net profit of more than KD 30,000. It was a highly rewarding experience for all of the volunteers and the Company Program will be even bigger this year.”

INJAZ provides specialized training to prepare the volunteers to help prepare them for the classroom environment. Volunteers learn how to facilitate role plays, team exercises and brainstorming sessions. Most importantly, they learn how to communicate with teenagers, an age group with which they don’t normally work. All the volunteers found that these are skills which can help them in their own careers. As one INJAZ volunteer said, “Learning how to deal with those students will make me the best manager ever.”

“INJAZ Kuwait is now a year old and we are growing from strength to strength. There has never been a better time for companies and individuals to be involved and to make an important contribution to Kuwait’s future development,” Rana Kamshad concluded.

To find out more about becoming an INJAZ volunteer, and all the INJAZ programmes and activities, visit the INJAZ website, www.injaz-kuwait.org