Watch: Over 300 UAE volunteers pack relief aid for flood-stricken Brazil

Dubai: Around 300 volunteers gathered at the Dubai Exhibition Center (DEC) in Expo City today with one purpose - to help those impacted by the floods in the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul, following heavy torrential rains.

The volunteering drive was organised by the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in partnership with Expo City Dubai, Emirates Airlines, and Dubai World Trade Center, as part of the humanitarian efforts undertaken by the country.

“Trying to help others is in the UAE’s DNA,” Sultan Al Shamsi, Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation for International Development Affairs told Gulf News.

As part of the drive, North Hall 2 of DEC was divided into two stations on Wednesday. At one station, volunteers carefully packed food items such as tinned legumes, wheat, and oil - one box per family.

And, at the second station were boxes with sanitary supplies and toiletries for women and children.

These boxes will be sent in UAE’s third relief plane on Thursday, May 23, to Brazil.

“The flight will leave tomorrow evening,” Al Shamsi added, noting that other than the 2,000 boxes packed during the volunteering drive, the flight will also contain “generators, solar slide panels, blankets, and mosquito nets”.

“The UAE has a solid system when it comes to crisis monitoring and assistance,” he added.

He said the UAE is quick to provide urgent humanitarian relief through its foreign assistance programmes. This aid helps people in affected countries recover from the devastation, especially vulnerable groups like women, children, and the elderly, he said.

This week, torrential rainfall unleashed catastrophic flooding across Brazil, leaving some parts of the country under water.

Many homes were destroyed, and lives were lost. The floods also displaced hundreds of thousands of people and left many Brazilians without access to power, clean water, or necessities.

Speaking to Gulf News, Sidney Leon Romeiro, Brazilian Ambassador to the UAE said: “This is one of the saddest tragedies to have affected Brazil. More than 500,000 families have been affected. We are now reaching the second phase of the tragedy, wherein people will need the equipment and materials for their re-settlement.

"We have a lot of gratitude for the UAE and its government for this relief assistance, and to the volunteers from the Brazilian community and other nationalities who joined today in the volunteering drive."

Al Shamsi added that the UAE sent the first relief plane carrying 100 tons of food, medical, and relief aid, in 24 hours of the crisis, followed by a second plane on May 21.