Dubai
Death and loss is an inevitable part of our lives. But, we are never ever truly prepared for the pain it inflicts.
Habiba Ahmed Abdelaziz was a young colleague in our newsroom who was hardworking, dedicated and an excellent team player. She was part of the Readers Desk as a trainee, before going on to become a reporter and firmly believed in the altruism that is needed for the daily work done by our section. Her death last year was shocking and painful.
To see her dedication to the less privileged transformed by friends into a cause that generates funding for clean water, for people in need, is a triumph of the human spirit. It proves that good can be done, no matter the circumstance; it just needs willing minds and hearts.
I take this opportunity to commend the initiative in Habiba’s name, detailed in the community report, “A charity drive to provide water”, by Gulf News reader Ahmad Abugosh, published on February 23. It deserves the first place.
In the same spirit, I would also like to mention the February 12 community report, “Raising cancer awareness, changing lives,” by Hind Yousef Khalifa from Abu Dhabi. It talks about how a young woman took the pain of seeing her sister battle cancer and channeled it into an effort to raise awareness. She set up the Positive Cancer Foundation.
Good people help keep our world functional, they’re our hope and our future.
The second place winner would be the February 2 report, “Camels become victims of our garbage” by Akshay Rajesh. A pupil from Sharjah, the report highlights, once again, the problems faced by the national animal. And the efforts that need to be put in to protect our habitat and animals. We litter and they pay a price with their lives. Where is the justice in that? So, please do not litter. Dispose off your garbage in a safe and clean manner.
Third place goes to the February 3 report, “Motorists cause chaos by breaking rules” by Alex M. It focuses on the problem of people jumping traffic queues.
It is highly offensive when hundreds of cars are in line, following the queue when a few decide that rules are not for them. They break in, take short-cuts and generally cause chaos, along with being disrespectful of civilised society. This is unacceptable behaviour and should be reported when witnessed.
It has been a good month with some excellent reporting by our ever-widening group of community reporters. They help keep us relevant and for this we thank them profusely for their efforts driven by social consciousness.
FIRST PLACE: Ahmad Abugosh
Date published: February 23
Ahmad Abugosh wrote about raising money to fund for clean water, for people in need.
He said: “I think that community reports are an amazing platform to get your message across to people. It gives average, common people the chance to get published in a respectable paper. It’s a great pulpit for anyone who wants to get the word out and give credibility to an idea or a cause. It also gives you a chance to practice your writing skills.”
When asked if it made a difference to his cause, he said: “The response we received was positive. Although we still have a while to go to reach our initial fundraising goal, after the report was published we received over $500 (nearly Dh2,000) in donations! The report also improved the credibility of the campaign and helped people see the humanitarian objectives behind it.”
SECOND PLACE: Akshay Rajesh
Date published: February 2
Akshay Rajesh hopes the community becomes more aware of environmental issues.
He said: “I feel that that community reports gets a positive response from the society. The public becomes more aware of environmental and community problems. The authorities also act quickly to curb these problems.”
After his report was published, Rajesh says he received a good response from his classmate.
He said: “My classmates, teachers and the school’s principal were impressed. My report was displayed on the board so that everyone could see it. My teachers also encouraged me to write more.”
THIRD PLACE: Alex M.
Date published: February 3
Alex M. wrote about bad driving etiquette and he hopes that people will change their behaviour.
He said: “After the report was published, there was a noticeable improvement. For the first few days there was police patrols in that area. And now even though there is no patrol, motorists are not trying to violate the traffic rules. There are still a few drivers who use the sand road. It cannot be controlled a 100 per cent.
“Gulf News gives its readers a great platform to express our concerns as sometimes it is difficult for us to contact the authorities directly and speak up. There are so many people who read the newspaper or online version every day and so reporting this incident made them correct their behaviour if they were among the wrongdoers.”
