Takatof volunteers come home from fourth humanitarian mission to the US

Abu Dhabi: Twelve volunteers from Emirates Foundation’s Takatof programme have come home from an eight-day humanitarian mission in New Jersey, USA. The young volunteers lent a hand in the renovation of houses destroyed by Hurricane Sandy, and participated in the UAE National Shaikh Zayed Kidney Run in New York City, which coincided with their trip.

This was Takatof volunteers’ international trip for the fourth consecutive year.

The team of six Emirati male volunteers and six Emirati female volunteers collaborated with Habitat for Humanity Monmouth County — a non-profit housing organisation that builds simple, affordable housing in partnership with people in need — to carry out the renovation, building, and painting of the houses destroyed by Hurricane Sandy in New Jersey.

The volunteers travelled to the working class community of Sea Bright area in New Jersey to rebuild the Morris family home that was completely destroyed by Hurricane Sandy. The volunteers worked alongside local volunteers to build a foundation for the house and then moved towards building the frame and the installation for the main scaffolding structure.

Their work did not go unnoticed by the community of Sea Bright. Mayor Dina Long met the Takatof volunteers and thanked them profusely, while the local police came on site to thank the young volunteers and show their appreciation for the work they have done. The welcoming and hospitable people of Sea Bright aided the volunteers with breakfast and lunch as a gesture of gratitude, while several others came from other areas to personally thank them.

“The entire world was touched by the devastation caused by Superstorm Sandy. Given the scope of this disaster, we felt it was important to provide assistance,” Yousuf Al Otaiba, the UAE Ambassador to the US, said. “The UAE is honoured to lend its assistance in rebuilding these great communities. Over the past year, we have witnessed New Jersey’s courage and determination as its citizens worked tirelessly to restore their homes and schools. So, it is no surprise to see our volunteers lined up to come over and lend a hand.”

“The success of the programme is a testament to the enthusiasm of the UAE youth that step up to volunteer every year whenever there is a crisis and help is needed,” Maitha Al Habsi, Chief Programmes Officer at the Emirates Foundation, said.

The mission coincided with the annual UAE National Shaikh Zayed Kidney Run, organised in Central Park in New York City on May 10.

The Run is annually held in memory of the country’s founding president, Shaikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan, who underwent a kidney transplant in the US in 2000. The UAE Healthy Kidney race, founded in 2004, is a 10km race through Central Park marking Shaikh Zayed’s successful kidney transplant at a US hospital in 2000. With a prize money of $10,000 (Dh37,000) to be won, the proceeds collected from the run went towards the US National Kidney Foundation to support research efforts on kidney diseases which threaten the lives of millions of Americans.