Dubai: Honouring the hands that built the city brick by brick, the Community Development Authority (CDA) Dubai in association with the Indian Community Welfare Committee and several other non-governmental organisations (NGOs) launched a number of welfare initiatives aimed at improving the lives of workers.
The initiatives are part of the International Labour Day celebrations. Thousands of workers were present at Wade Adams labour accommodation in Jebel Ali on Thursday as the schemes got off to a start and, yesterday, the participating teams had moved on to different camps.
On Thursday, the CDA in association with Wade Adams accommodation authorities inaugurated computer education classes for workers. The computer classes are being conducted in batches of 20 with each batch undergoing five sessions of training lasting two months. The classes will be held in several languages.
"We have a wonderful workforce that is building Dubai and it's about time we honoured them for their service. The initiatives that are being launched are small tokens of appreciation for their hard work," said Khalid Al Kamda, director-general of CDA, as he inaugurated the computer classes on Thursday.
Shibu Baby John, minister of labour of India's Kerala state, hailed Dubai's efforts to ensure the protection and empowerment of its workforce, while at the same time reminding the gathered workers of their responsibilities and commitment to their jobs. Consul general of India Sanjay Verma was also present on the occasion.
On Friday, thousands of workers gathered at two medical camps organised by the Pakistan Association at Al Ahmadiya labour accommodation and the Indian Ladies Association at the Indian consulate respectively. Consul General of Pakistan Tarek Iqbal Somro was present at the Al Ahmadiya camp.
Among other activities, a talent programme called ‘Camp Ka Champ' was launched at Dulsco village, where blue collar workers will be given a chance to showcase their singing talent. The three-month programme will be an annual feature and is being organised by Western Union in association with CDA.
Labourers were also given subsidised mobile cards that will enable them to make international calls for as low as the local call rates courtesy du and ITL cosmos. The calling cards will be distributed across a number of camps until May 15. English language classes as well as musical instrument training classes were also launched yesterday at Al Ahmadiya Camp by Welfare of Mankind. The classes are being offered in a number of batches, each lasting three months.
Imparting social messages through movies, Al Mansoor Video will screen movies every month across various camps, while Zulekha Hospital and City Hospital are spearheading anti-alcohol campaigns.
