Giving – big or small – comes from the heart
During my practice teaching in 2009 in the Philippines I witnessed a heart-breaking scenario inside the classroom. I noticed that most of my students didn’t even have any paper and pens to use every time we had a writing activity. What makes it worse is that it happened every day in six different classes that I had handled. So, I came up with the decision to do something for these young dreamers. I wrote a letter to the head of our university and asked for permission to raise a fund inside the campus to buy school supplies for the less fortunate students. Without any hesitation, it was approved immediately. My professors, classmates, friends and fellow college students gave their support and, as a result, 100 students received a pad of paper and a pen each.
This was followed by another project in my first year of working here in the UAE, in 2011. Since I’m away, I tried my luck to ask for any assistance from my flatmates and, again, people always want to help. We made ‘Paper and Pen Project Year 2’ possible. It resulted in 150 students receiving three notebooks and two pens each.
‘I Like, I share’ is what I’ve called my previous ‘Paper and Pen Project’, which happened in the third year I decided to help. I was quite nervous and worried that people might find me annoying, but much to my surprise, I received positive feedback saying that they are most willing to give school supplies and some were expressing their gratitude for I became a means of helping others since they are away from our homeland like me. On our behalf, my mother distributed 600 sets of plastic envelopes to two different schools. Each contained one pad of paper, one notebook and three pens.
Acts of kindness do not necessarily require us to be grandiose. It doesn’t matter how big or small it is. It’s all about doing so from the heart.
From Ms Lizzie Gamboa
UAE
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A smile and a prayer
Unfortunately, I don’t get to do charity on a regular basis, but I have seen my parents do it. They keep aside a tenth of their monthly pensions for the poor and needy. I’ve seen them donating money to the less fortunate for weddings, tuition fees and medical expenses. Whenever I tell them to keep some money aside for any emergency, they tell me that God will take care of their needs. They hardly complain about anything and move about their daily life with a smile and a prayer on their lips. I wish and pray that I could be more like them!
From Ms Sibi Joice
UAE
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The homeless prayed
Once I read in a newspaper while I was on vacation in India that homeless people were dying out in the cold due to the harsh winter conditions. This hurt me, so I took this news very seriously and we decided to have a winter campaign where we collected used and new clothes, as well as blankets. We asked our neighbours, friends and family for items to give away to those in need, especially the homeless who spend nights on the roads, footpaths and shades. These people suffer greatly from the winter cold. Finally after three days of collecting, we sorted the clothes in order to start distribution. While distributing, we saw children, teenagers and elderly benefitting from the donations. It was really touching that the homeless were praying by raising their hand towards the sky as they received the warm clothes. Many beautiful and glorious Islamic teachings motivate and encourage us for charity.
From Mr Qassim Abdullah
Dubai
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Sharing what little he had
Years ago, on my way to school, I used to pass by a house that was under construction. I often saw a man in his late 50s who looked homeless and dirty. He always searched trash bins for food and collected it in a plastic bag and went to that semi-constructed house. So one day, I told my mother and she felt bad for him. The next time, she came along with me carrying food for the homeless man. We didn’t know why he took the food from us and quickly ran back to that house under construction. As my mother and I got more suspicious and curious, we decided to follow him. The next day after we gave him the food and he thanked us, we secretly followed him into that sight only to find out that he was sharing the food we gave him with a cat and her many kittens. He was eating the rice and had kept the chicken pieces in front of the nursing cat. Ever since, I have made it a point to be kind to animals, too. I have participated in so many campaigns to rescue stray cats and helped them find foster homes and currently have two adopted cats at home that are both very attached to me.
From Ms Tayba Mohammad
UAE
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Distributing happiness
There are still good people in the world. The other day I saw one man with a very low salary buying sweets and distributing them in the street to the poor just for the happiness of the small children playing in those streets. He is doing charity all the time when he gets his small salary every month. In doing so, he is also distributing happiness among the people.
From Mr Yasser Afridi
Sharjah
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Happens often, but still amazes me
It happens all the time in the UAE, but it was something that I hadn’t really seen in my home country. After work one day, I saw a man stop his car beside a labourer, looking exhausted, walking down the street. He got out of his car, spoke to the man (I’m not sure what he said because I was too far away) and then reached into his car and handed him a bag of food. He shook his hand and got back in his car and drove away.
From Ms Anita Johnson
Dubai
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Giving back and connecting
I am part of a mixed religious group that contributes and organises Ramadan iftars for labourers and poor workers in Al Nabba in Sharjah during the month of Ramadan. It is our way of giving back to the community and connecting to others regardless of caste, creed, religion or nationality. It also goes well with the UAE policies of tolerance for all.
From Mr Ajay Bhatia
Dubai
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Feeding the cats
My cousin goes for morning walks every day before work. Every time he goes, he brings pockets full of cat food to give to the neighbourhood’s stray cats. It started off as something small, but now he has a following. They wait for him with excitement in their eyes. It’s cute and you would never suspect him of having such a soft spot in his heart for the local cats.
From Ms Janice Chance
Dubai
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Giving once a month
I’m a cashier in a supermarket, my salary is not big, but at least once a month or one Friday after my salary, I always give something to charity.
From Mr Shane Dela Cruz Manalo
UAE
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The gift of giving
There is something that my family does on birthdays. For our children’s birthdays, we make food packs and my son and husband go around distributing it to the labourers working in our area. I am mentioning this as an idea for people to practice. Our intention is to please God, but seeing the amount of money people spend on birthdays, I would like to put this as a suggestion to all parents. May He guide us all.
From Ms Mahnaaz Shaikh
UAE
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Helping
I don’t like to speak about the good deeds I do, but whenever I see a poor construction worker I give them water and biscuits. I also take care of the cat at my building by making sure she has sufficient cat food.
From Ms Jackie Patricia Waqas
UAE
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