Ripple effect

At first, the guests didn't see her come in, but a few of us did.

Her husband Ali and son Dawood hoisted her over four steps because the villa doesn't have a ramp. Her brow was slightly furrowed and damp, probably from the exhaustion of travelling to Dubai from Umm Al Quwain. Her gaze though was calm.

The "shhhs" surrendered into silence and the group of adults and children watched her make her way in.

It's hard to say whether their collective visage was that of surprise, empathy or admiration. But they seemed to ask, ‘Is this 85-year-old lady, who is confined to a wheelchair, the same person who made those 40 rag dolls placed on the mantle?' The dolls were unique - colourful and sequinned with hand-drawn eyes, nose and lips.

Zahra has severe arthritis and suffers from diabetes and high blood pressure. Yet for the past three years, she has been using her lack of mobility to drive a message of love, making dolls by hand and spending up to 10 hours a day with sowing needles and skeins of coloured threads. She donates her handmade dolls to underprivileged children in Tehran. We had all read or heard about her story (Friday, March 12, 2010). Yousef Khan too, who was overwhelmed by her presence.

Six weeks before the gathering, a charity musicale actually, Khan, a Dubai-based music composer and teacher, approached Ajami's family with a sense of trepidation, wondering whether Zahra would appreciate his offer to raise funds for her cause. The money wasn't going to be much, but he hoped it would help her make more dolls.

It was an idea that was still at an embryonic stage. He wanted to organise a student musicale to showcase the talents of his young students and raise money. He also wanted to give the children at the musicale a doll each. Unlike the orphans who play with Zahra's rag dolls, he was aware that these children may never add hers to their dollhouses. Still he wanted the rag doll to remind them of how privileged they are.

Khan didn't know if Zahra would agree to accept the money. If yes, he wondered whether she would attend. All he knew is that his students were willing to practice for weeks, and sell raffle tickets at school, their neighbourhoods and at the event. And that the parents would be generous enough to help out in any way they could.

The outcome: the Styles' villa was decorated for the charity musicale with Zahra's dolls in the limelight, and parents, friends and children waiting to meet her.

Khan cleared his throat, and bent to reach out for Zahra's hands, and said, "Thank you for your presence."

The musicale kicked off with 30 smartly-dressed students performing 27 musical pieces of voice, piano and guitar. We watched and clapped, following the specially-designed programme guide.

An hour later, six-year-olds Dishti Gopalani and Sahar Ebrahimi, walked up to Zahra and presented her with a bouquet. In English, Gopalani expressed how touched she was by Zahra's work and then Ebrahimi said the same in Farsi.

Zahra's face lit up. And we realised that she doesn't understand English as well as she does her native language. After which, Khan signalled that it was time to hand over certificates of participation and give each child a doll.

Zahra had the honour.

***

Khan recalls the scrum on the day of the musicale in making sure that the money raised was presented to Zahra before she left. "We handed over an envelope containing Dh3,950," he says.

A month after the event which took place in June, he called Dawood who said that his mum thoroughly enjoyed the performances and that she never felt this appreciated before. "Dawood even offered to sponsor next year's musical recital," he says.

It took Khan almost four weeks to arrange the event, speaking to individuals and corporate companies. He figured that the only way to sell raffle tickets was to collect gifts and giveaways. He received generously from companies like Jerboa Books, Magrudy's, The Music Room, Beyond Get-Set-Glow, Skywards and The Edge Hair Salon.

It wasn't the first time he was involved in fundraising. Last year, he organised a musical recital to raise money to sponsor his airfare - in connection with Dubai Cares - to help build primary schools in rural villages in Cambodia.

This year his work commitments didn't allow him to take time off. "I thought the next best thing would be to support someone who is making a difference. After reading Zahra's story, I thought, ‘perfect!' She isn't part of an organisation; everything she does she does on her own," he says.

Zahra's work dovetailed neatly with his own principles of hands-on charity work. He believes that one should "go where the money goes". A paladin of this kind of charity, it explains his choice of visiting Cambodia.

He says, "Instead of donating towards children in, let's say, Liberia, I want people to use their money to buy a [plane] ticket, meet the children, live with them, and understand the true purpose of their chosen charity. If you can't do that, at least be interested in finding out where your money is going and how it is being used."

Khan feels strongly about helping people at grassroots level. "They require more help than large, established charities... Those with fancy letterheads and advertising budgets need no more than their brand names to raise millions.

"But what about the Zahras of the world? People who patiently and selflessly work with no backing or help from governments or corporate funding? You hardly ever hear about them," he says.

In Zahra's case, Khan was so moved by her beneficence that he felt compelled to support her cause. He says, "She proves that age isn't a deterrent and that it's never too late. She also proves that you don't have to travel far away to make a difference. She does what she does in a wheelchair and from her home."