Dubai: More than 10,000 bottles of water, plus handshakes and smiles, were on Saturday distributed among workers in Dubai by volunteers as part of the Water for Workers campaign organised by the Sameness Project, a Dubai-based social innovators group.
The 13th edition of the campaign brought together more than 500 volunteers with the aim of breaking stereotypes.
“It is not about the water, or charity and giving. It’s about creating moments of sameness, moments that can look past the things that separate us from another, and see what makes us the same in our humanity,” said Lina Nahhas, founder of the project.
Each volunteer distributed 20 bottles of water, along with a face cloth, that shared the message ‘We care about you’ in seven languages as an excuse for a conversation starter, explained Nahhas.
“The point is not to give out 100 water bottles, it’s about giving out less and having more conversations. Each volunteer spent at least two minutes with each worker,” she said.
The empathy-based project spread from neighbourhoods in Al Ghusais to Jabel Ali and the Palm, where volunteers were given the chance to choose an area that is convenient to them.
“We discourage people to go to big construction sites with thousands of workers that we can’t accommodate, and encourage them to approach small construction sites instead, as well as security men, attendants at petrol stations, gardeners, and delivery men,” Nahhas said.
The volunteers have already registered for the second round of the campaign set to take place a few days before Ramadan.
Residents can log on to www.thesamenessproject.com for details.
