UAE’s teen warriors extend helping hand to those affected by pandemic
dubai — The life of an 11th grader, one would imagine, would currently revolve around either coming to terms with the new e-learning model or reminiscing about extracurricular activities that are prohibited now. But such deep-rooted is the spirit of giving back to society in the UAE that even our young have been setting examples in the fight against Covid-19.
A group of teenagers, almost all of them in 11th grade of Repton School, have come up with an initiative that seeks to help those whose livelihoods have been impacted by the pandemic. The brainchild of 17-year-old Dishti Gopalani, Together With Corona operates through a closed Facebook and WhatsApp groups and a microsite where people can offer as well as seek help.
“We are looking at two groups of people — those who want help and those who want to help. Help can be offered in one of the three ways — supplying groceries, medicines and pet food. When both groups of people join our Facebook group, they fill up a simple Google form outlining what they need help with or what they can help with. These forms are then sent to sponsors, who communicate with the family in need. They order groceries online through multi-seller platforms to the given address,” said Dishti. In their endeavour, the group has also partnered with supermarkets for bigger discounts and delivery.
When the pandemic first hit, the conversations around the economic damage it caused had gained as much momentum as the health hazard. As a conscientious group of students, who were already a part of their school’s charity club helmed by Dishti, they brainstormed on how the initiative could effectively impact lives, given the constraints of social distancing measures.
“After working through a few ideas, I realised that setting up sponsors with people in need could work best,” said Dishti. Wanting to set up a proper website but unable to do so owing to their education and other commitments, Dishti and her young collaborators decided to turn to Imran Khan, whose firm Pixl was willing to partner with them.
The group of about 300 members has helped close to 150 people within a month of its inception. All the deliveries are made through what Dishti calls a “superhero network” of delivery men. “The reason behind limiting access is also because we would not be able to help anyone outside the UAE. We filter requests to ascertain whether the requests in question are genuine or not,” said Khan. “To vet people, we call them after they’ve submitted the form and ask them some further questions about their situation, making sure the stories ‘match’ or ‘add up’. There have been instances where this is not the case, and we have had to turn people away, but for the most part, the people we reach are genuine,” added Dishti.