Do it Dubai-style: Ramadan Sharing Fridges initiative spreads culture of giving in UAE
JEDDAH: Sometimes giving comes in a form of nutrients, rather than cash. Dubai’s Ramadan Sharing Fridges initiative is the very definition of such an act of charity.
Ramadan Sharing Fridges was started by an Australian expat in 2016 to fill a refrigerator she placed outside her house with food and drinks for the needy.
“For years Fikra Yel and her family had been placing a fridge outside their home to share food during the holy month,” Anne Mulcahy, communication and media manager of the non-profit initiative, told Arab News. “Last year, Summayyah Sayed started to do the same and opened a Facebook group, Ramadan/ Sharing Fridges in the UAE, and it developed from there with over 170 fridges in four Emirates in 2016.”
This year, Mulcahy said, about 150 fridges are operating in Dubai and the number is growing.
Summayyah Sayed, who is based in Dubai, started her Facebook group to attract more people to spread the culture of giving, especially that Ramadan holds similar values Muslims are keen to reflect.
Group members, or those wishing to be one, have two options to help: Donate food or set up fridges in their neighborhoods.
In no time, the group gained a considerably good number of members who are also based in Dubai. The group has more than 27,000 members today.
According to Mulcahy, the initiative is now operating under the umbrella of the Red Crescent in association with the NGO Open Arms UAE.
To help Good Samaritans find a charity fridge, a colored map of Ramadan Sharing Fridges is available that enables people to locate the fridges in Dubai to place their donations.
Donated food items include water, beverages, fruits and vegetables, nuts, dates, biscuits, chips as well as packaged and tinned food. Homemade sandwiches are also an option. Leftovers and readymade hot meals are not accepted.
Refrigerators can be set up outside houses or office buildings, where volunteers can collectively stock them.
The fridges are usually filled up to 15 times a day and each fridge feeds at least 100 people daily.
There is no particular category of people eligible for food, as people from different nationalities, religions, races and careers can have at least a snack for free.
The donors also come from different backgrounds and are not necessarily fasting Muslims, but are happy to feed a hungry mouth after long hours of not eating.
As the initiative’s name suggests, the sharing fridges are a Ramadan thing and does not apply to other months of the year.
“Our license is valid for the duration of Ramadan. It is a real commitment to keep the fridges filled and it takes a lot of daily donations across Dubai,” Mulcahy said. “Open Arms UAE, however, will continue their activities after Ramadan.”
Open Arms UAE is one of the top charitable non-governmental leading charities in the UAE, which started with a group of friends and neighbors looking for a different community approach during Ramadan 2016.