Birthday Bliss: How a UAE community has made 7,500 birthday dreams come true

Dubai: On a Sunday late afternoon, inside a loud indoor play area in Dubai, a group of adults and children are busy wrapping gifts, arranging catering, setting up music and putting the finishing touches on birthday decorations. At first glance, it looks like a family preparing for a child’s birthday party. But this celebration is for 13 children from families who have never been able to afford one.

As the families begin to trickle in, the room fills with children experiencing something many others take for granted - a birthday party of their own. For some, it is the first time they have blown out candles on a cake, opened a birthday present or heard a room full of people sing ‘Happy Birthday’ to them.

That is where Birthday Bliss comes in.

The non-profit organisation is dedicated to bringing the joy of birthdays to children and hardworking labourers who may otherwise go without, organising celebrations for children aged one to 12 from families experiencing financial hardship.

Behind these celebrations is Iris Maria, known as Mika, or more affectionately, Mama Mika. But ask her about being the mastermind or leader behind Birthday Bliss, and she is quick to redirect the credit.

“We have hundreds of volunteers. I'm not comfortable calling myself a leader. It's not me doing all the work, each celebration, there is a team of volunteers, they are the ones making it possible,” Mika said humbly.

Mika is originally from the Philippines and has lived in the UAE with her family for the past 15 years. A mother of three, she came to the country, like many expatriates, in search of a better life.

She remembers a time when she was raising her now 18-year-old daughter as a single mother and earning Dh2,500 a month. Today, she spends her time helping make birthday dreams come true for children whose families cannot afford to celebrate them.

Mika started Birthday Bliss during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, with the idea taking shape with the help of her husband.

“During that time, we weren’t having birthday parties, and usually for my daughter’s birthday, we would celebrate with children at a charity school in the Philippines. Due to the pandemic, we were not able to go, and then I decided let's try to do the same thing here in the UAE.”

She started by setting up a Facebook group. At the time, many families across the UAE were dealing with job losses and salary cuts, leaving some parents unable to afford even a birthday cake.

“So I posted on the group that my intention was to provide birthday celebrations for three kids and their families. Where we will provide the cake, the celebration, balloons, catering, and gifts, and that first month we celebrated 32 birthdays.”

Since that first Facebook post in 2020, Birthday Bliss has delivered more than 7,500 birthday celebrations across the UAE and beyond, including in parts of Africa, Egypt, the Philippines, Vietnam, India and Pakistan. 

The organisation has also arranged celebrations for Palestinian children who crossed the border into Egypt through different charity organisations. More than 5,000 of those celebrations have taken place in the UAE.

Today, Mika has a network of around 400 volunteers brought together through social media. Online connections have turned into people giving up their weekends to wrap gifts, organise entertainment, decorate venues to make sure every child gets their moment in the spotlight.

A typical Birthday Bliss celebration can bring together anywhere from 13 to 20 families. At the most recent party, held at OliOli, an indoor children’s play area in Dubai, 13 families came together for what looked like any other birthday party, with almost 20 volunteers organising the party. 

“Even though we are celebrating the birthday collectively, each child gets the spotlight, each gets a birthday song, a photo, their own cake and gifts. So if a child wants a Spiderman themed cake, its our job to make that dream come true.”

A typical Birthday Bliss celebration brings together 13 to 20 families. At the latest party at Dubai’s OliOli, 13 families celebrated with the help of almost 20 volunteers.

“Even though we are celebrating the birthday collectively, each child gets the spotlight, each gets a birthday song, a photo, their own cake and gifts. So if a child wants a Spiderman themed cake, its our job to make that dream come true.”

Mika’s connection to Birthday Bliss is also deeply personal. Growing up, she rarely celebrated her own birthdays in the traditional sense. But her mother taught her that birthdays could be an opportunity to share joy with others.

“Despite my family issues as a kid, my mom brought us up well, and exposed us to charitable work early on, she always wanted us to celebrate our birthdays with other people who were less fortunate. We were not rich by any means, but we would bake a cake or fry bananas on a stick and give it to children in orphanages.”

Those childhood lessons stayed with Mika. Years later, she carried her mother’s values into her own life and took them much further.

What began as a simple family tradition has since grown into an initiative that has brought birthday celebrations to thousands of children in the UAE and around the world, giving them the chance to experience the joy Mika learned to share as a child.

Birthday Bliss does not only make children’s birthday dreams come true. Through Events for Change and MyDubai Communities, Mika and her volunteers also organise celebrations at labour camps and workers’ accommodation, including birthdays, Christmas gatherings and iftars for blue-collar workers.

“At the labor camps, we usually have seventy, fifty celebrants in one setting. So what we do is that we invite everyone. For example, one camp has 700 people. We feed 700 people in the camp. They celebrate with us.”

For Mika, these celebrations are about making workers feel seen and appreciated, especially those who spend long hours working and send most of their earnings home to their families.

“A lot of these people work 12 hour duties or more than one job, some of them forget their own birthdays and spend their whole lives in Dubai, without even treating themselves, because they save everything they have and give it to their families back home, so we want to make them feel special. When you celebrate someone, they feel recognised and heard.”

The organisation also celebrates children of determination, something particularly close to Mika’s heart as her son has autism, as well as seniors.

With almost 5,000 members in its Facebook group, Birthday Bliss opens applications each month for families hoping to give their children a birthday celebration. A team of volunteers screens the applications, looking at each family’s background and financial circumstances.

“Most of the families that reach out to us are lower-income families from different nationalities. Most of the time, one of their parents has lost their job, or the parent earns less than Dh3,000 to Dh4,000 per month. Some of them work in restaurants or as delivery riders. We receive hundreds of applications per month every time we post in different community groups, but we narrow them down to 20 families who really deserve to have the birthday celebration.”

Once the families are selected, the volunteers get to work. The core team is split into screening, party planning and support teams, with around 15 to 20 members coordinating everything from the child’s wish list to the cake, gifts and party set-up.

Birthday Bliss also relies on donations, including preloved toys that are still in excellent condition. The donated toys are stored in a warehouse, where volunteers sort through them and select gifts based on each child’s wish list. At the end of the party, every child leaves with a box of toys and goodies of their own.

The celebrations have also become a family affair for many volunteers, who bring their own children to help, play and interact with the birthday guests. “We also encourage them to play and interact with the kids celebrating their birthdays. This helps them get away from their shyness and have fun and feel comfortable.”

The parties are funded through donations and the time and effort of volunteers. Some sponsor a family, while others donate cakes through local bakeries, arrange transport, wrap gifts or help set up the celebrations.

For Mika, Birthday Bliss has never been about one person. Behind every cake, gift and birthday song is a team of volunteers who give their time, often quietly, to make each celebration possible. Many of those volunteers found Birthday Bliss through social media, each with their own reason for joining.

Nazu Aziz, from Malaysia, has lived in the UAE for 10 years and has volunteered with Birthday Bliss since it began during Covid. “When I first got involved during Covid, many of my neighbours were leaving and left behind a lot of toys, so I decided to donate them and started volunteering.”

One celebration, in particular, has stayed with her. “I think one of the core memories for me was one of our birthdays when we were at a water park celebrating the 10th birthday of a girl, and she told me she had never had a birthday party. Those moments make me realise how important a birthday can be in a child's life, creating that happy memory for them.”

Antonella Depalo, an Italian who has lived in the UAE for 12 years, joined alongside her daughter, wanting to show her that giving back is about more than money. “We wanted to be involved in something that demands our time and interacting with people. I wanted to teach her what happens when you give your time and energy to help someone.”

For Aalia Pirbhai, an Event Operations and Venue Manager and a relatively new volunteer, the purpose is simple. “We all contribute to one mission and purpose, which is to put a smile on a child's face, regardless of their background. Celebrating a birthday is the basic happiness every child deserves.”

Ayana, 10, volunteers alongside her mother. “All of these kids have dreams like us. They can grow up to have big dreams, doctors or engineers and in the future they will remember this and impact the world. For one day, I just want them to feel special.”

The volunteers’ children have also become part of the celebrations, with some growing up alongside Birthday Bliss. “I have been a part of Birthday Bliss for the last six to seven years. I like helping out with birthday parties and also having fun with other kids during the birthdays. It makes me happy that I could make someone feel special,” said eight-year-old Sophie.

Mika believes giving back does not require money, sometimes, simply giving your time and making someone feel special can mean the most.

“You don’t need to be rich to volunteer or give back. You need kindness, passion and a willingness to give your time. Making other people smile and allowing children to experience the joy of a birthday — that is satisfaction and self-fulfilment for me. I don’t need material things or recognition. I just want to make someone’s day better and allow Birthday Bliss to be part of their lives and celebrations.”

That is what Birthday Bliss, together with its growing community of volunteers, continues to do, changing children’s lives, one cake and candle at a time.