A stylist grooming a worker as part of the Chaps Smiles initiative.
Dubai - A Dubai-based salon helped groom blue-collared workers in the city by giving them free haircuts and styling sessions.
Published: Sun 2 Jun 2019, 9:03 PM
From free haircuts to planting trees, entities in Dubai have been innovative in marking the holy month of Ramadan.
A Dubai-based salon helped groom blue-collared workers in the city by giving them free haircuts and styling sessions.
Chaps & Co employed 16 stylists to provide free haircuts and grooming to 176 men at the Roberts Construction workers' accommodation. Chaps barbers completed the feat in 12 hours while working in four-hour shifts late last week.
Jordan Davies, founder and managing partner at Chaps, told Khaleej Times that based on the success of the first edition Chaps is planning to "give more smiles to the world's hardest working men".
"Our Ramadan initiative is called Chaps Smiles. We were inspired by so many local and multinational businesses in the Middle East playing a small part in giving back to the community in the spirit of the holy month," he said.
"We began with just haircuts, but there were workers with less hair on their head than their face. So, we offered beard trims and occasional shaves. Credit to our boys, they were absolutely fantastic and took the challenge head-on."
An excited Davies added: "The workers were a little apprehensive in the beginning but after they saw results of their comrades, the line quickly grew into a 30 to 45-minute wait. The shift patterns meant there was a steady flow of workers arriving or leaving to their work site. Word spreads incredibly fast in these parts, and by the second hour, we had a large audience. Music was playing (South Indian tunes) and it felt more like a party by the late morning."
He called the experience "an absolutely an emotional day all round". "The barber rotation meant they all worked four hours each, the handover was interesting, they didn't seem to want to leave they were enjoying the entire experience. What made it special was the reveal moment where the workers would see their new look/ style in the mirror. Even the smallest of gestures can bring so much happiness, it was truly wonderful."
Chaps & Co is not the only brand that offered out-of-the-box Ramadan experience.
Schoolstudents called the 'Eco Warriors' put together and distributed Iftar packages at a community mosque in Al Mankhool on Friday. A community focused student initiative, children from different cultures came forward to strengthen the bond of community.
Muhammad bin Abdul Razack, Jay Aditya Singh and Aryan Kundra - all Grade 7 students from Gems Modern Academy - believes Ramadan brings one closer to humanity. Razack said: "We have taken the opportunity this month to demonstrate values of kindness, empathy and sharing."
Retail outlet Choithrams launched 'Recipes of Tolerance', an initiative which aims to highlight through tasty food the values of tolerance, coexistence and peace, during the holy month of Ramdan. It employed the expertise of Chef Arthur, UN World Food Programme ambassador, as well as other CFI (Consumer Flavour Intelligence ) chefs to create gourmet recipes for the initiative.
dhanusha@khaleejtimes.com
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