Members of the Nepalese community handed out iftar meals to hundreds of poor workers to promote the spirit of Ramadan.
So far meals have been distributed at labourers’ accommodation in Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah, while a camp in Ras Al Khaimah will be visited on Friday.
"We wanted to get closer with the Muslim culture and religion during the month and our community decided to show a kind gesture towards the poor workers who live in different camps of the country," said Sudip Karki, head of the Non-Resident Nepalese Association in the UAE.
On Wednesday, the association distributed iftar meals to workers at Tafseer labour camp on Reem Island.
The vice president of the community, Ravi Raman Adhikari, headed the iftar meal drive and gave out about 200 food parcels.
"We are not focused only on our Nepalese community, we wanted to work among other communities as well. The UAE is so diverse and we also want to work hand in hand with the local culture and authorities," Mr Karki said.
Yesterday the association distributed meals to workers at the Clinco Company staff accommodation in Sonapur labour camp in Dubai.
"In the last leg of our iftar meal distribution drive across the Emirates, we are going to Ras Al Khaimah today to distribute about 150 iftar meals among labourers," Mr Karki said.
Workers at the Interplast Company in the Sharjah Industrial area were given 120 iftar meals on June 25.
The food packets distributed among Bangladeshi, Pakistani and Indian workers contained chicken biryani, juice and water.
Mr Karki said all the funds needed to cover the costs of the initiative costs were raised by the Nepalese community, which amounted to Dh8,000.
"We visit labour camps where poor workers live and earn a very paltry salary of Dh600 to Dh800 a month," he said.
This Ramadan the Nepalese community also helped to repatriate two housemaids who had disputes with their sponsors and wanted to return home. The women were provided with air tickets and allowed to stay at a house in Nepal.
"We have a collaboration with an NGO [non-government organisation] in Nepal, which runs a shelter house and takes care of such distressed maids," Mr Karki said.

Source : The National