•Dr. Mawya Khafaji is a medical physicist expert from Saudi Arabia and a social influencer at King Abdulaziz University where she facilitates an environment for the youth to conduct several volunteering ideas and equip them with the tools to deliver it.
Studying in the UK has widened Dr. Mawya’s vision and ideas of volunteering – from being a student at the University of Exeter and meeting people who taught her the real meaning of volunteering to oversee the Saudi school in Exeter for a year and putting into practice volunteering activities. The floods in Jeddah were a turning point in her life and she was able to involve youth by providing more opportunities for them to volunteer, create an impact and feel that they are part of the society.
Despite the challenges, Dr. Mawya was able to establish a volunteering office at King Abdulaziz University hospital, which recently celebrated 200,000 volunteering hours in October 2019. Her expertise has been used in the university and beyond, including in the Ministry of Health to increase the involvement of students in their communities through volunteerism. The foundation of the Generation for Generations ‘G4G’ team is an example of this that aims to educate scholars on how to benefit from their studies and maximize their experience.