Dubai: It is about 11.45am. Close to 100 labourers are engaged in pipe-laying in a street in Al Safa 1 area, where they have been working for about nine months now.
After the midday break stopped on September 15, they only get an hour’s break in the afternoon. Just before they stop work at noon, they hear the sound of a shopping trolley rolling down to their worksite.
As the youth pushing the trolley nears, the workers crowd around him. Each of them is then given a packet containing a water bottle, an apple and a can of lemon-flavoured non-caffeinated soft drink.
Once the trolley gets emptied, the young man returns to a villa in the neighbourhood. He fills it up again and comes back to distribute the packets to the rest of the workers who didn’t receive the packets in the first round.
The youth wearing a T-shirt with the logo of a nearby supermarket, who introduced himself as Sunny, said his ‘madam’ whose family runs the supermarket has been sending the packets for the workers.
“We bring the items from the shop and pack them in madam’s villa,” he said.
When contacted, the Indian woman, who has been living in Dubai for nearly three decades, said she preferred to remain anonymous.
“I happened to see them working in my neighbourhood one day while I was driving. Some of them take shelter under the trees in front of our villa. I wanted to do something for them and started sending water, apple and juice or soft drink in packets.”
“I am not doing this for publicity and I don’t want my identity to be revealed. I am just happy to give them some relief and happiness.”
Though we understood that the kind woman supports children with special needs also, she preferred not to publicize her generous deeds.
During their break, the workers said the arrival of Sunny with the trolley is something that they eagerly wait for every day -- for about six months now.
“Our company has kept two water coolers at the site. But we are happy to get the water, apple and juice or soft drink from him every day,” said Abdul Aziz, a worker from Rajasthan in India.
Workers said they occasionally received chocolates and sweets, and one day all of them received a kit containing a pair of socks, a towel and a hat along with some goodies.
However, they had no idea about the Good Samaritan who has been sending them this special gift every day without fail.
“We don’t know who it is. But our prayers and wishes are there for that kind person and family,” said Ganga Ram, from Telangana, India.
