By Caline Malek www.thenational.ae
DUBAI // With temperatures soaring across the UAE, a group of Dubai residents is on a mission to remind others about the tough conditions some have to endure on a daily basis.
Seven hundred people spent more than three hours handing out 10,000 water bottles to labourers, gardeners, delivery drivers, petrol station and road workers last Saturday, as part of the Sameness Project’s Water for Workers initiative. The drive is an ongoing project.
For Dana El-Kalache, a 27-year-old Lebanese expatriate who used her blog The ScoopDXB to promote the project, it was her second time taking part in the initiative.
“I love to promote homegrown organisations and businesses as there are so many amazing concepts to be proud of in the UAE,” she said.
“The Sameness Project stands out with their main purpose being to create moments of sameness across the UAE and you really realise how much a smile and few kind words can make a difference. The energy that’s transmitted is amazing, and the workers are so approachable and fun.”
She said the reward was priceless.
“They really appreciate the fact that you’ve chosen to go out of your way to make a nice gesture,” Ms El-Kalache said. “The things they’d say – like call me ‘sister’ or say ‘God bless you’ – gave me goose bumps and made me truly happy.
“We are all workers in Dubai and, no matter what our occupation is, we are all the same in our humanity, so it’s nice to appreciate the work of others and to go the extra mile to make someone around you smile.”
Embroidered handkerchiefs with messages translated into different languages were also handed out.
“The volunteer flags have beautiful quotes, like ‘Where there is Life, There is Hope’ or ‘I wonder how many people I’ve looked at all my life and never seen’,” she said. “I absolutely loved it because I think it’s the main purpose of the initiative, to simply see the people that are a part of our day-to-day life.” More info
