Climbing peaks to help the needy

Dubai: When you leave work, you walk across the clean parking lot, get into your air-conditioned car and drive towards home. You stop at a petrol station and don’t even need to get out of your car. Then you pass by a supermarket and someone helps you put your groceries in a bag.

In Dubai, we live in exceptional comfort. But, how often do we pause to think of the people who wake up at night to clean the streets and prepare them for the next day? Those who fill petrol in our cars despite the heat? What about those who clean the malls after we have all left?

I am sure we are all aware of these people who maintain our comforts. Every time I see a worker, I want to stop and personally thank him or her for all this hard work. So, I thought it was time to help and support such workers.

My friend, Mohammad Khalaf, and I believe in giving back to society and we also love sport. That is why we always use our sport challenges to raise awareness about social causes. We did a number of charity challenges, wherein we cycled, ran or climbed one of the highest peaks for orphans, cancer patients and the underprivileged children in Africa.

If you can do something outstanding that will attract the attention of people, why not dedicate it to matters that deserve attention? To say “thank you” to the workers in the UAE, we climbed Mount Elbrus in Russia, the highest peak in Europe. Elbrus stands 5,600 metres high and experiences severe weather conditions.

Our aim is to reach all seven summits and dedicate them to charities. On Mount Elbrus, we managed the summit in just our second attempt!

Our first attempt was on August 21 and we reached 5,300 metres when we were hit by a bad snowstorm and had to turn back. It was a tough decision, because we had put so much effort into it, but the weather conditions made it impossible to climb.

But, we decided not to give up, and on August 25, we made it to the top! The wind was blowing at around 50kph, so we had to crawl to the top. The weather changes every hour, so it’s difficult to find the perfect window to summit. But, from my mountaineering experience, it’s always more about a psychological challenge than a physical one.

It was tough to crawl up through the night in the darkness, very slowly, quietly and patiently. But, the thought of doing it for a good cause and being one of the few standing on Europe’s peak kept us going.

We raised the UAE flag on the peak, which represented all the people living in this beautiful country.

As part of this campaign, we have also tied up with the Emirates Red Crescent and Times Square Centre to run a charity campaign to collect hygiene and personal care items, such as shampoos, soaps and towels. We invite all the residents of the UAE to participate in our initiative as our way of giving back to those in need.

Between September 3 to September 20, everyone can pass by Times Square Centre and drop off donations. The boxes are located on the ground floor.

For many of us, a bottle of shampoo won’t cost much, but for those workers, it may be a lot. We all know how hygiene items are important, especially in the summer! The two of us cannot help too many people, but with support from other UAE residents, we can do something much bigger.

Having lived in the UAE for 19 years, Rebecca Arnold, general manager of the Times Square Centre, said she has witnessed Dubai develop at a rate not experienced elsewhere.

She said: “The biggest and sole reward is the realisation that you’ve made a significant change in someone’s life. If not ‘significant’, then at least a positive change. Giving back helps you grow as a human being, which also ultimately impacts the community as a whole”.

After September 20, along with the Emirates Red Crescent, we will be visiting worker accommodations and distributing the donations that have been collected. We welcome people to join us at any stage of our charity challenge. For any details, get in touch at olga.inspired@gmail.com.

— The reader is a sports enthusiast based in Dubai.

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