Dubai: One of the volunteers that were hosted by His Highness Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Abu Dhabi Crown Prince and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, during his virtual majlis on Thursday was Asma Jasmi, a volunteer with Abu Dhabi police.
Asma shared with Sheikh Mohamed one of stories that left a great impact on her.
"I received a complaint from a lady that her friend was hospitlised with COVID-19 alongwith her husband and the grandparents and they had to leave their 6 children at home. And as expats they had no one to look after them," she said.
Asma contacted the family by phone to find that the eldest is a 13 year old girl and youngest is a 2 years old baby.
“Challenge was entering the apartment and taking care of the children, since they came in contact with infected people. So we had to keep in touch with them through the phone,” Asma said.
The first step taken by Asma was to make these children feel safe, a patrol was dispatched to be under their building 24/7.
“We gave them a message that don’t worry and stay calm, you are not alone and we are taking care of you. We also arranged with a restaurant to provide them with three meals a day. And we also made sure a nearby coop was sending them what they needed.”
During daytime, the mother would check on her children by calling them, and the children would tell her all about Asma and her never ending phone calls to them.
The mother, speaking to Sharjah news said “For 17 days, Abu Dhabi police gave my children food and all they needed. They also gave them a number to contact if they needed anything at any time of the day. They also gave them iPads and internet to start E-learning.”
“Asma will always call me, I will remember her words and voice as long as I live,” said the mother.
"I will never forget what she said when I was crying and worried for my 2 year old. Asma told me: 'don’t worry, you are in Zayed country."
"I and my family don’t know how will we pay back to this country; we were treated like citizens, not residents," the mother said.
