Dubai: It doesn’t take much to bring a smile to a person’s face, just a token of appreciation or mark of respect would do a world of good for many.
A group of people including government officials, corporate executives as well as volunteers have managed to do just that — bring a smile on the faces of thousands of labourers.
As part of the Community Development Authority’s (CDA) Honour Labour initiative, which was launched in May this year, the Smile on the Face programme tries to reach out to at least 200,000 labourers across Dubai.
Spearheaded by Ras Al Khaimah-based events management company Tamquest Events, the first phase of the Dh500,000 project involves distributing iftar packs and goody bags to at least 10,000 labourers over the four weeks of Ramadan.
“We have several big firms on board and several individuals have contributed as well. All the activities, logistics, packing and planning is carried out by volunteers and we all have single objective bringing smile on the faces of labourers,” said Uttam Kumar, Managing Director of Tamquest Events.
The target of the project is to supply 10,000 meals during the whole month of Ramadan, however, the group is ready to do more if more sponsors come forward.
“So far 5,000 meals have been sponsored and we feel more people will come forward once they know about the programme. Anybody can sponsor a meal which costs just Dh25 and includes chicken biryani for two, water, juices and fruits,” said Mhannad Saeed, Acting CEO of Community Services Sector at CDA.
People can sponsor the meals by buying coupons from www.marhabadeals.com.
According to Saeed, this is the first time CDA is working on such a project with the private sector and there will be more of these in the long run.
“The CDA would love to be a bridge between the communities and the providers. We will continue to act as a platform where people can come together and do a world of good for the community. These labourers are part of us, and we thank our sponsors for coming forward and doing their bit in bringing smiles of their faces.”
The delicious Hyderabadi chicken biryani was supplied at subsidised rates by Mezbaan Hyderabad Restaurant while the goody bags which include grooming kits are supplied by Supermax and Unilever. The logistics support has been provided by India Club.
Other major sponsors of the campaign are EmiratesNBD, Emax, Danube, Radio4, Klear Bottled Drinking Water, Chilly Willy Quality Food Products and United Colour Film.
The year-round activities of the campaign can be followed atwww.facebook.com/smileontheface.
