CHARITY DOLES OUT LOADS OF HAPPINESS TO DUBAI WORKERS
around 1,000 workers gathered curiously at the Berkely workers’ accommodation for men in Al Qouz as they saw Zayed Happiness Van arrive on their premises.
With a tagline ‘…because everyone deserves to be happy’, Dar Al Ber Society (Dabs) launched their latest initiative ‘Zayed Happiness Van’ on Sunday, to mark the Year of Zayed.
The van — that was loaded with food, gifts and other giveaways — arrived at the venue and the Dabs officials gave away special happiness smiley stickers building excitement among workers.
The officials then briefed the crowd about the objectives of Dabs followed by a quiz competition. Workers who gave the right answers were gifted with restaurant vouchers, while one lucky winner won a return ticket from Air Arabia.
Lional Terence, the labour accommodation-in-charge who won the return ticket, said he could not believe his luck. “The late Sheikh Zayed’s birthday has been so lucky for me as I won this ticket and I am so looking forward to visit my family back in India.”
The Dabs officials also gave out gifted bags that contained a 20-yard fabric for men to get an outfit designed of their choice along with a pair of new formal shoes. Workers were also given biryani, ice cream, cookies, fruits, laban, juice and fruits.
“Zayed Happiness Van is meant to serve as a tribute to the spirit and vision of our late great leader Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan,” said Abdullah Ali Bin Zayed Al Falasi, CEO of Dabs.
“Betterment of the underprivileged section is one of the top priorities of Dabs. We feel deeply for our labourer sisters and brothers who are away from their homes. That is why we thought of launching this initiative around the time of the International Labour Day,” said Hisham Al Zahrani, deputy director at Dabs.
“It is Sheikh Zayed’s birthday and we wanted to celebrate it by surprising and spreading smiles among workers who are such an integral part of our society. We have started the initiative in Dubai but are also looking to take this initiative to other emirates,” said Juhi Yasmeen Khan, charity initiative expert at Dabs.
Abu Qasim, a worker, said this was a perfect Eid gift as he was looking to get his Eid clothes and shoes soon. “The concern of Dabs is touching because not many people have the time to think about us. These officials came to our accommodation in the hot weather and took the effort of showering us with gifts and amazing food,” said Abu Qasim.
The late Sheikh Zayed’s birthday has been so lucky for me as I won this ticket and I am so looking forward to visit my family back in India.”
Lional Terence, labour accommodation-in-charge
Zayed Happiness Van is meant to serve as a tribute to the spirit and vision of our late great leader Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan.”
Abdullah Ali Bin Zayed Al Falasi, CEO, Dabs
These officials came to our accommodation in the hot weather and took the effort of showering us with gifts and amazing food.”
Abu Qasim, worker