Needy Pakistani families pick-and-choose gifts in Dubai

Top Stories

Needy Pakistani families pick-and-choose gifts in Dubai

Dubai - Distributed items included clothing, shoes, accessories, books, schoolbags, household stuff and electronics.

By Saman Haziq

  • Follow us on
  • google-news
  • whatsapp
  • telegram

Published: Tue 21 Aug 2018, 9:38 PM

Last updated: Tue 21 Aug 2018, 11:47 PM

To mark Eid Al Adha, the Pakistan Association Dubai (PAD) gave out gifts to over 40 needy and low-income families. The distributed items included clothing, shoes, accessories, books, schoolbags, household stuff and electronics. These were contributed on a big scale by the Pakistani community members of the UAE.
The distribution was carried out in the association's auditorium, where members had sorted and displayed the items for the needy families to pick and choose for themselves.
Masooma Rizvi, a philanthropist who was heading the Eid gift distribution event, said: "We received tremendous support from the community members who generously contributed some brand new and some pre-owned items. It took us about two weeks to gather and sort it all. I collected most of the items at my house, so that some of the pre-owned items could be cleaned, ironed and packed as beautiful Eid gifts."
Rizvi pointed out: "We did not make Eid packs, but instead we gave these families a free hand to select whatever item they want to pick for themselves. So, children collected stuff from the kids' section while men and women scanned their sections to get the items they require. A coupon was issued to each family that had already been registered with the association. A volunteer was assigned to each needy family. The volunteer then noted down the items the family collected in order to have a clear account of things. Each family was able to pick about 15-20 items of their choice from the displayed collection." 
The low-income families were selected by the PAD after scrutinising their cases.
Leading the PAD welfare committee from the front, Shahid-ul-Islam said: "Although this was the first time we organised such an event, we intend to do such distribution of gifts every three months from now on. However, next time we will put a small token money on the items so that people understand the worth and value of the stuff they are taking."
When asked how PAD shortlisted the needy families, Islam said: "We have been working for the welfare of the Pakistani community for the last eight years or so and hence we know the cases or issues some of low-income families are facing. We have a database of about 400-500 families. 
saman@khaleejtimes.com


More news from