Students make it special

It was a special Friday for thousands of construction workers living in Sonapur as students from the Our Own High School, Al Warqa’a, set out to make their morning special.

More than 4,700 students from the school had collected over 10,000 kilograms of rice and pulses in the last one week as part of a special initiative undertaken by the school.

A buzz of excitement surrounded the labour accommodation as students got off their school buses and greeted workers with food packets. Some 150 students from the school had volunteered to distribute the food loaded onto two trucks.

“This is the second time we are undertaking such an initiative and the enthusiasm of students has been overwhelming. Some of the students brought 25kg rice bags to school and they also invited other people from their family and neighbourhood to contribute,” said Bindu Manojkumar, a school teacher and coordinator the initiative.

It was a surprise for many of the workers who greeted the students with smiles. Abdul Sattar said the gesture was ‘simply wonderful’.

“I have been living here for more than a year and we never had any school children visit us. It is simply wonderful to see them come here and make our day special,” said Sattar.

Another worker said the rice and pulses would easily last for a week and it would help them save money, which would otherwise be spent on food.

“We cook food at home and most of us take food with us when we go to work. We usually cook at night and prepare breakfast and lunch at the same time,” said the worker.

Students and teachers formed a human chain as they passed food packets to every door, making each worker feel truly special.

Ahsan Fuzail, a grade 9 student was among the students who were handing out the 5kg food packets. He was excited to meet the workers as he said: “I got an opportunity to interact with some of them and all of them had a story to tell. They were extremely friendly and welcoming.”

He was not alone. Seven-year old Mohammed Khalid was one of the younger students taking part in the campaign. Holding a bag in his hand, the Grade 2 student was more than happy to be with his teacher.

“I have learnt a lot today and I want to come back again to help these workers,” said a smiling Khalid.

Teachers at the school expect the campaign to be remembered as of the largest food-distribution initiatives undertaken by any school in the UAE.

The Principal, Sanjeev Kumar Jolly was all praise for his students as he said: “We are very fortunate to be able to help the society in which we live and this is one of the ways we expect the students to develop good values. What they experience today will remain with them for a long time to come and it will enrich their character for life.”

In 2010, the students from Our Own Warqa’a had distributed 6.5 tonnes of cereals and pulses in a similar initiative. The food collection campaign was organised as part of the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme (DEAS) which encourages students to be socially responsible.

muaz@khaleejtimes.com