Nada Al Toufaily: A Time for Service to One Another

Nada Al Toufaily is a 2020 Alumna of the International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) at the Presidential Precinct. Along with seven colleagues, she came to the Precinct in January 2020 for a five-day program titled “Volunteerism and Civic Action”.

—

Alongside her colleagues participating in the International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP), Nada Al Toufaily arrived in Charlottesville, Virginia to discuss best practices in volunteerism and civic action with the area’s thriving nonprofit community. The Program Coordinator at USPEaK in Lebanon, Nada works to raise the level of social engagement and public achievement among youth and women through low-cost English courses. Her return home to Lebanon came just before the first global cases of COVID-19 were identified by the World Health Organization (WHO).

While in Charlottesville, Nada’s group visited the Women’s Initiative, Innisfree Village, and the University of Virginia among other community partners. Nada spoke with volunteers from each of these organizations, noting in each of them a personal story propelling their service. She was also encouraged by a special emphasis on investing in the next generation of volunteers – learning from particular opportunities to engage youth in supporting area organizations. Towards the end of their time in Charlottesville, the group had an opportunity to serve dinner for Charlottesville’s homeless community in partnership with a local church. Quick to jump in and help, Nada affirmed that “people’s passion for helping others is universal.”

In Lebanon today, Nada’s spirit of helping is needed deeply. At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Lebanon had already been in the midst of a revolution. Grappling with what is being called its most severe economic crisis in decades and resulting distrust in the government, many expected the country of nearly seven million to struggle in its official response to the virus. By mid-March the national government put in place a stay at home order and halted public transportation, regular business activity, and use of airport for anyone not returning to the country as a citizen. These policies worked for a time, but lack of trust and concerns of food security overcame, driving many of those with jobs back to work and those without jobs back to the streets for protest.

Despite the daily changes and disruptions of normal life, Nada believes that “the world is going to change into a better place [after the pandemic] because people know their priorities.” Now is the time to take care of each other and spend time becoming passionate about others. Daily, we are called to a collective opportunity for volunteerism and civic engagement. As we continue with social distancing and other best practices to stop the coronavirus, we can stretch our muscles of service to one another.