Motivations for Volunteering in Oman during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Exploring Faith, Individual Will, and Socio-Demographic Influences in the Context of Local Traditions
Abstract
This paper explores the motivations behind volunteering in Oman during the COVID-19 pandemic. It includes a sample of 492 individuals from Dhofar, in the south of Oman, and focuses on those who have ever participated in any voluntary activity to combat COVID-19. Using a quantitative approach and a non-probability sampling technique, it seeks to describe and analyze the volunteers’ motivations in connection to their social characteristics in the context of local traditions. The majority of volunteers possess a modern education, with a significant proportion being higher education students. Their motivations revolve around faith and individual will, underscoring the significance of personal autonomy in their volunteer decisions. In addition, the study finds a strong association between family size and volunteering, with larger families showing higher engagement rates. These findings highlight the importance of having a differential understanding of people’s motivation to volunteer and how each reason relates to sociodemographic factors within established traditions. They confirm that social and cultural research is a prelude to the design of campaigns aimed at improving volunteer participation rates in Oman's modernizing society.