Abu Dhabi: A group of Sri Lankan housemaids who save salaries to help the poor in their home villages during Ramadan said their own homes have been destroyed in heavy floods.
Despite this, the women, who earn between Dh1,200 and Dh2,000 a month and started shopping four months ago, will still distribute these items to the poor during Ramadan, an act of charity they have doing for the past nine years.
Over a week ago, the floods, which displaced over 300,000 people, has submerged most of their houses and destroyed their life’s work. Despite losing everything, the women are still continuing to purchase what they can for whom they call “the needy”.
“What can we do? Some people have lost more than us, we have to help them,” said 40-year-old Nazeema. She has been told her house in the village of Wellampitiya is almost completely under water.
The women said they have been saving money throughout the year to pay for the items and its shipping cost. The shipment cost for the boxes they send home alone is around Dh1,200 each, a month’s salary for most.
“We buy a little every night until we send them in a container,” said 43-year-old Fatima.
They buy a wide range of items from cooking oil, rice, sugar, milk powder, tinned food to adult diapers. “Most people in the villages don’t have fridges so they can’t buy things like fresh milk, that’s why we take powdered milk or tinned food for them,” said Nazeema. “But now even people who had fridges probably lost them to the water.”
“We are sending some clothes and small electrical items as well now,” said Fatima.
Some friends and other members of the community have provided them with used clothes, toys, and household items.
Their purchases are planned to be shipped this Thursday but for now these take over most of their rooms and even the sides of their mattresses. Each women will be sending around five boxes measuring about 1.2 metres by 1.2 metres.
Asked why they are giving up their salaries for others when they do not have much left themselves, the women share the same view, “We can’t go empty-handed, they [people in their villages] are counting on us,” said 36-year-old Roshana.
Roshana also revealed that she is due to get married when she returns home in the summer. “I am not sure how or what we will do now but God will help us,” she said.
When pressed about whether they will accept help from people they do not know, the women smiled shyly and said only if it is not an inconvenience to them. “We want to do this, especially because of Ramadan. You have to help others in Ramadan,” said Fatima.
“This is typical of Sri Lankans, they have big hearts and an infinite will to give,” Sri Lankan ambassador to the UAE Sulaiman J. Mohideen told Gulf News when he heard about the women.
The Sri Lankan embassy in Abu Dhabi has been collecting aid for the flood victims in the form of items or cash donations. Filled boxes ready for dispatch can be seen on the embassy’s premises. According to the embassy’s figures, the disaster has affected over 500,000 people, with many killed and hundreds still missing.
If you are interested in helping the women, contact Gulf News Readers Desk at readers@gulfenews.com
