A greater good

Farida siddiqui, humanitarian, volunteer for Red Crescent, the Women's Union and recipient of an Abu Dhabi Award, 2007.

"Some people are just born to make this world a better place. The world needs its reserve of generous people, to share love and joy with others. In this divided world of ours, we need to live in a circle of love."

Abu Dhabi has been more than a home for me these past 30 years. The people that I have met here have become my close friends. I have been helping construction workers, taking personality development classes for children and giving help to the sick for more than 20 years. I have lost count of the number of people I have helped. I can't stop myself from assisting people in trouble, to the best of my abilities and means.

Even as a child, I had the urge to lend a hand to others. We had servants in our home.

My mother was very strict with them. "Why do you shout?" I used to ask her. "If you talk to them in a calm tone, they will work better for us." Even then I knew at the back of my mind that they came to us because they were poor. They had no options other than being househelp.

I hated to see any beggar go empty-handed.

I was incredibly grateful to be a recipient of one of the Abu Dhabi Awards.

The Abu Dhabi Awards are a prestigious recognition programme that are a result of the commitment of President His Highness Shaikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan to preserve the legacy of the father of our nation, the late Shaikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan. The awards recognise individuals who have made a positive contribution to the community through their generosity and kindness.

God expects each and every one of us to help humanity and the downtrodden. This is my call from God; I hear it from the bottom of my heart.

I never go around trying to raise funds for my philanthropic work.

Mostly it's my husband who pools in. I have a large circle of friends who respect and appreciate the difference I am trying to make.

Out of the blue, one of my friends will call and offer me a generous amount. This has happened many times, mostly
at a time when I am in great need of aid. Some good Samaritans will leave anonymous donations with the watchman of my apartment building.

I wasn't very familiar with the outside world when I was just married.

When my husband used to work for an oil company, the ladies would hold coffee parties. At that time,I didn't know what a coffee party was. At these parties, the tables would be laden with the finest of foods. When the parties ended, I realised that a single family would not be able to eat the leftovers from the party in a day. But at the same time, I couldn't ask them to give me the food either. There are so many people starving in this world and here was the best food with no one to eat it. This got me thinking about alternative solutions.

Getting my driver's licence changed things.

Once I got my licence, I started collecting used plastic water bottles from neighbours and friends. Every morning I would pack small parcels of chopped apples or oranges, boiled eggs and chilled bottles of water and deliver them to the construction workers, road cleaners and gardeners who work under the hot sun. Many times, the watchman of my previous building has helped me carry the heavy water bottles to my car. The labourers who recognised my car would come running to me from a distance because they knew they would get cold water to drink.

The plight of the construction workers really touched my heart.

I am talking here of the late '80s.

In the afternoons, they used to sit under the trees and eat from a single stainless steel box. Out of curiosity, one day I peeped into their lunch packs. Each of them ate a single Arabic pita bread (khubbus) and a little bit of curry. Some of them had no shoes. Some had no hats.

That image haunts me even today. Their salaries weren't good enough. In the summer months the sun is unbearable in the UAE. There weren't many water coolers available, like there are today. I was so disturbed that I had to do something for them.

I used to get in touch with the newspapers to write about the plight of these poor people. I am very happy to have recieved the media's support for my efforts all these years.

I am still not satisfied with the plight of the construction workers.

I think their job is one of the toughest in the world. All around us, we see towering skyscrapers and marvellous infrastructure. It is the sweat of these nameless people that created them. Scores of workers come to the UAE with a rosy picture in his mind. Most of their families back home rely solely on their incomes.

On one of my daily drives, I saw an old gardener by the roadside.

He must have been more than 70.

I stopped my car and handed him a packet of food and bottle of cool water. In my rear-view mirror, I saw the man put the bag down.

He was bending down in prayer. That was the biggest reward anyone could ask for.

There are times when God listens to our desperate calls when we need it the most. Maybe the gardener was very thirsty. I had reached in time.

He didn't know my name while praying in gratitude but God knows. That was when I really felt the impact of how charity touches the lives of those in need. It was an overwhelming experience.

After my children started schooling, I was bored at home.

I used to visit the Shaikha Fatima School in Abu Dhabi. It was during this time that I got connected with the Red Crescent. I met several wounded soldiers and displaced families, working as a volunteer for the Red Crescent.

I cannot help but praise the late Shaikh Zayed for what he has done for these displaced people. Once I started working with these families, I realised that they had nothing to do other than wallow in misery. I met Shaikha Fatima through one of the teachers. I explained the plight of the ladies and the children to her. Through her kindness a creche was established. The ladies started small works of art and handicrafts such as crochet and embroidery. The elder children were taught subjects such as English, maths and moral studies.

I believe that it is the responsibility of teachers to inculcate values and a sense of discipline.

It is not enough that the teachers complete the syllabus of a subject. They are responsible for the formation of the well-rounded character of a child.

Do not waste food. Serve for children only what they can
eat. Children have an uncanny ability to learn from parents by example.

Teach them small acts of public service. Keeping public parks clean, not riding bicycles into flowerbeds, putting litter in the garbage bins are all good starting points and necessary. My message to society is that all acts of kindness and goodness begin at home in small measures. Awaken that sense of duty in young minds and you will harvest greater goodness.

We don't have to do great things to make
a change.

What I do can be done by anyone.

We always have bananas in our fruit baskets and eggs in our refrigerator. We can fill water from the taps into the bottles that we so readily dispose of. If we just freeze and store them and distibute them among the workers, the people labouring in the summer heat will be so thankful. For them, an apple, a banana or an egg are expensive items. Even if one person follows in my footsteps I shall be pleased. Please think about those less fortunate than you.

My mother was my role model.

Even with her austere nature she had a golden heart. During Ramadan she would prepare good meals and invite a group of deprived people.

She would tell us children, "None of you will eat until they are done."

It used to make me very happy.

My mother never abandoned a troubled person who was in genuine need. I learnt the basics of humanitarianism from her.

– As told to Feby Imthias, an Abu Dhabi-based freelance writer.