Dubai: Festivities bring out the best in a community. Whether it is Ramadan or the Christmas season, there’s a huge number of people out there who make a difference with their little acts of kindness. XPRESS looks at some simple gestures ahead of this Christmas which are warming hearts momentarily or could even change lives forever.
Open invitation
A post by a Dubai mum on an active community forum recently received much appreciation after she spontaneously issued a heartening Christmas lunch invitation to any mother who was feeling lonely or was without anything to do on Christmas Day.
Without much ado, the woman said in her post that she didn’t have much to give them, but she would be more than happy to offer a place at her dinner table for a Christmas lunch. It remains to be seen how many people will take up the open offer.
#Ubergiving
Private taxi service Uber launched a campaign on December 17 to encourage people to donate “gently used” clothes and toys to people in need. All that anyone interested in the drive had to do was to make a request to UberGIVING from the Uber app and a driver would come to their location at an allotted time to pick up the donation.
A spokesperson for Uber told XPRESS, “The response to the campaign (which ran from 11am to 4pm) was fantastic, so much so that we want to explore running it over more days next time in order to meet the demand. We had nearly 700 requests and most collections were clothes, books and toys. All goods were donated to Emirates Red Crescent.”
Letters for strangers
The Goodwill Tribe, a social initiative, is reaching out to lonely strangers this Christmas by writing letters of love to them. Sonia Parekh, the woman behind the tribe, said the letters are being written out to people who had been referred to them on their website. The kind words in the messages, it is hoped, would bring much-needed cheer and positivity in their lives.
The tribe also held a ‘music under the stars’ evening at Zabeel Park, bringing like-minded people together for some carol singing and fun activities.
Jingles for a cause
Jingles, a group of friends and their families, in association with the Emirates Red Crescent and Islamic Affairs Charitable Activities, is doing the rounds of select homes singing Christmas carols and raising money for the treatment of three ailing children – Omar, 4, Mohammad, 1-plus, and Emica, 2-plus – in a Dubai hospital. While two of them are suffering from leukaemia, the third has a kidney problem.
Jingles founder Rajiv David (above) said the group has already raised Dh280,000 of the targeted Dh400,000. “We hope to raise the remaining amount before Christmas. Friends, colleagues and acquaintances have shown great generosity and opened their hearts and homes to us,” said David.
Playing Secret Santa
Every Christmas, the Entertainer office staff do a Secret Santa act buying a gift for one of their “unexpecting colleagues”. They give out candles or a box of chocolates and wish the person a “Merry Christmas”. This year, they took the initiative to the next level.
Every staff member of Entertainer Middle East, led by Donna Benton (photo), brought a Christmas present and placed it under a bedecked Christmas tree at a specially organised get-together.
The presents included pens, pencils, colouring books, toiletries, clothes and much more – all meant for children in a New Delhi slum who they are reaching out to through Harmony House, an Indian NGO supported by a Dubai couple.
