Many years ago, young university student Azza Abu Shar approached the Red Crescent team in Gaza.
With hesitation in her voice, she asked them a simple yet profound question: "How can I help you?”
In that moment, Abu Shar was taking her first step towards volunteering – a path that she has been on through years of illness, war and alienation.
Abu Shar, a volunteer in many initiatives with Qatar Foundation (QF), said: "I began my journey as a volunteer at a very young age. I worked during wars, accompanied ambulances, and learned what commitment truly means in the most difficult times.”
"Volunteering gave me strength and completely changed how I see life, work, and community service,” she added.
In Gaza, Abu Shar became a fitness trainer and later a sport teacher, and even after earning her master’s degree, volunteering remained a constant in her life, eventually becoming a core part of her identity.
Alongside her volunteering work, Abu Shar faced a major health challenge.
"I was diagnosed with a pituitary gland tumour and had surgery in Jerusalem before the war,” she recalled. "The tumour returned, and when the war started, border restrictions made treatment nearly impossible. My condition worsened, forcing me to resume treatment with higher doses.”
Despite her illness, Abu Shar spoke with faith and sees it as a hidden blessing, it allowed her to visit Jerusalem, pray at Al-Aqsa Mosque, and have deep spiritual experiences.
When the Gaza war began in October 2023, she arrived in Qatar to receive medical treatment, and she immediately found ways to give back by helping wounded individuals and families evacuated to Qatar from Gaza, who the QF has been involved in supporting.
"I heard that the QF volunteering team was looking for a female fitness trainer,” she said. "So, I volunteered right away.”
Abu Shar also volunteered at the QF’s Education City in areas of sports to disability support – all of which profoundly reshaped her worldview.
At the QF’s Ability Friendly Programme – designed to empower persons with disabilities through sports and community engagement – she had a transformative experience where volunteers, like her, participated in activities that simulated the challenges faced by persons with disabilities.
"We used wheelchairs, covered our eyes, and relied only on hearing,” Abu Shar explained. "That’s when I truly understood how difficult it is, and that we can never fully grasp another person’s struggle unless we put ourselves in their place.”
She later applied for a position as a physical education teacher at a school in Qatar and was accepted.
Abu Shar sees this as one of the natural outcomes of her volunteering journey.
"Volunteering strengthened my relationships,” she said. "In a new country and a different culture, it turns you into an active member of society rather than a spectator.”
Yet Abu Shar’s memory remains heavy with scenes from the war in Gaza – families wiped out; children pulled from beneath the rubble.
"In those moments I realised that people standing with each other is not a choice, it’s a necessity for survival,” she said. "Volunteering became my way of resisting collapse.”
Today, Abu Shar dreams of earning a PhD to widen her impact.
As a teacher, she aims to educate with compassion.
And most importantly, volunteering is central to her life, it’s not just what she does, but who she is.