DUBAI // Young people have handed out food packages to scrap collectors and municipality staff at a landfill site in Dubai.
Members of the youth environment group SynergY distributed 250 packages to labourers in Al Qusais on Sunday evening.
“It is easy to sit up and take notice. What is difficult is getting up and taking action,” said Simran Vedvyas, founder of SynergY.
“Love and kindness are never wasted. They always make a difference in a world where there is so much to be done.
“I felt strongly that there is something for me to do, and I feel fortunate leading SynergY.”
The iftar meals given out included biryani, biscuits, cereal, tea, laban and water, and were part of the group’s Convoy to Feed 2014 campaign aiming to reach more than 500 workers during Ramadan.
SynergY received support from Dubai Municipality’s waste management department, Choithrams supermarket chain, Shrey Sahej the uniform makers and Cosmo Advertising.
The initiative was welcomed by Sadin Al Falasi, head of the department’s treatment systems unit, and other senior municipality officials who attended the distribution of the food.
“I chose Dubai Municipality landfill sites because we planted several trees in the past at some of the landfills in UAE, and understood how much hard work these people do for us,” said Ms Vedvyas.
“This was our way to express gratitude and share time with them during the holy month of Ramadan.”
Ramadan is a time when people can change their habits, particularly those leading to overeating, which can help to reduce food waste, she said.
A Convoy of Goodness campaign organised by the Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) has distributed more than 5,000 Ramadan Forum bags.
The event was part of the 13th Ramadan Forum, and volunteers handed out a variety of educational material including references to the Quran as well as Ramadan Forum booklets.
The bags were distributed by 18 volunteers in different areas of Dubai and Sharjah such as government departments, hospitals and markets.
Promotional banners about the forum’s work were placed at and around various mosques.
Organised by DTCM, the Ramadan Forum brings together speakers and experts to provide lectures and talks on a host of social issues.
The forum will run until July 14, at the Dubai World Trade Centre.
For more details about the charitable work by SynergY, visit its page at facebook.com/CosmoFoundationYouth.
nhanif@thenational.ae