Van named after Zayed will distribute free meals in Dubai

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Van named after Zayed will distribute free meals in Dubai

Dubai - The idea of 'Zayed Happiness Van' is to spread happiness among the people of UAE by providing them a free meal.

By Saman Haziq

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Published: Sun 6 May 2018, 3:00 PM

Last updated: Mon 7 May 2018, 8:31 AM

About one thousand workers gathered curiously at the Berkely men's labour accommodation in Al Qouz as they saw a newly launched Zayed Happiness Van arrive on their premises.
To mark the Year of Zayed and commemorate the UAE's Founding Father's birthday, Dar Al Ber Society launched their new initiative 'Zayed Happiness Van' on Sunday at 12:00pm, with a tagline defining its purpose - '.because everyone deserves to be happy'.
The idea of 'Zayed Happiness Van' is to spread happiness among the people of UAE by providing them a free meal, especially the underprivileged section of the society. Under this year-long initiative, every week Dar Al Be Society will visit the various labour accommodations, industrial areas and other areas around the city and distribute free food and other items of personal use to the poor and underprivileged people.
As soon as the Dar Al Ber Society officials reached the venue along with the van - that was loaded with food, gifts and other giveaways - they gave out the special happiness smiley stickers to all those present, building up the excitement among the workers.
The officials then briefed the crowd about the objectives of the Dar Al Ber Society and then asked them a few questions related to what the charity does. Workers who gave the right answers were gifted with restaurant vouchers, while one lucky winner also won a return ticket from Air Arabia.
Lional Terence, the labour accommodation incharge who won the return ticket, said that he could not believe his luck. " The late Sheikh Zayed's birthday has been so lucky for me as I won this ticket and I am so looking forward to using this to visit my family back in India. I am so happy and excited about this pleasant surprise and want to thank the Dar Al Ber Society that is always looking for ways of improving our lives and giving us one or the other reason to smile."
Since it was the launch day of the Zayed Happiness Van, the Dar Al Ber Society officials also gave out gift bags that contained a 20 yard fabric for the men to get an outfit designed of their choice and a pair of new formal shoes. Along with that the workers were given biryani, ice cream, cookies, fruits, laban, juice and even fruits.
"The Zayed Happiness Van is meant to serve as a tribute to the spirit and the vision of our late great leader the late Sheikh Zayed Al Nahyan," said Abdullah Ali Bin Zayed Al Falasi," CEO of Dar Al Ber Society.
"Betterment of the underprivileged sections of the society is one of the top priorities of Dar Al Ber Society. We feel deeply for our labourer sisters and brothers who are away from their homes and families and that's why we thought of launching this initiative around the time of the International Labour Day at this accommodation, said Hisham Al Zahrani, deputy director at the Dar Al Ber Society."
"It is Sheikh Zayed's birthday and we wanted to celebrate it by surprising and spreading smiles among workers who are such an integral part of our society and also because a good surprise is one of the most effective ways of giving happiness to people. We have started with Dubai but we are also looking to take this initiative to the other emirates as well soon," said Juhi Yasmeen Khan, a charity initiative expert at the Dar Al Ber Society said.
Worker Abu Qasim said that this was a perfect Eid gift for them as he was looking to get his Eid clothes and shoes soon.
"What a wonderful way to bring smiles on our face. The concern of the Dar Al Ber Society is so touching that it has got us all emotional. This is because not many people have the time to think about us but these officials came to our accommodations despite the heat and also took the effort of showering us with gifts and amazing food. Hats off to the Dar Al Ber Society for giving us this surprise party," said Abu Qasim.
saman@khaleejtimes.com  


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