The month of Ramadhan is when Muslims all over the world fast. It is a month of meditation, spirituality and a greater focus on doing good. In Dubai, I have witnessed, and been inspired by, many ordinary individuals who go out of their way to help others and specially those less fortunate. Some have made it their personal goal to change the lives of others for the better and work for that all year round. In Ramadhan though, there is always a spike in the generosity of people giving to those less fortunate. Here are some of my favourite places to volunteer and also a couple of new ones that I have spotted in the city:
- Saher Shaikh is truly an inspirational woman. She founded AdoptACamp which was born out of 1 act of kindness and is now helping over 32,000 men!
AdoptACamp Care Package Night. Awesome!
AdoptaCamp hold an annual Care Package night in which volunteers help pack boxes filled with daily essentials, such as soap, toothpaste, tooth brush, etc, for laborers working in Dubai. The vibe there is very positive, high in energy and what I like the most is that everyone is smiling while working! It’s a proper event with entire families participating and groups of friends attending. This year I went with some friends and five kids who were volunteering for the first time. They thought the whole place was in their words ‘awesome!’. 🙂
2. A new find of mine on the streets of Dubai has been MotiRoti! They have a wrap stand and have decided to feed around 175 laborers working in the area, every day, starting the ‘Feed a Blue Belly’ campaign. Have not volunteered there yet as I help out at another place at the same time but love what they do and the way they have generated a lot of enthusiasm and support, and they seem to have a knack with coming up with creative names!
3. The Barsha Boys. Well this technically has no name but a friend of mine gives out food every evening in Ramadhan to low income workers in the Barsha area. It’s a small effort with only a few involved and I had decided to be more hands on this year and it has been very rewarding. The men are so grateful to receive the food packages and are always greeting us with smiles and we started to call them our Barsha boys. It is a very humbling and rewarding experience to serve those who have it less easy than you. We are truly blessed to have food on our plates, a good place to sleep and the every day comforts that we take for granted. We might have our problems, but there are always those who are worse off than us.
The smile says it all…
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