• Home
• /
• UAE

UAE Food Bank donates meat to needy families at abattoir

Dubai - Three volunteers at the counter hand out the meat directly to people in need who approach or give it to charity associations who can distribute it to needy families.

Workers and needy families received sacrificial meat donations at Al Qusais abattoir during Eid Al Adha, thanks to the UAE Food Bank counter that was introduced across slaughterhouses for the first time.
The counter, set up at the entrance of Al Qusais abattoir's main hall, allows visiting residents to carry out the sacrifice and donate their preferred share of meat to the needy right on the spot. Three volunteers at the counter hand out the meat directly to people in need who approach or give it to charity associations who can distribute it to needy families.
Among those who approached the counter to receive meat was Huda Ahmed, a Palestinian single mother of three who stay in a small apartment in Ajman. "Now we can celebrate Eid," she told Khaleej Times as she kept a big bag of meat on a trolley.
"This will be enough for my children," said Ahmed, who hails from the Palestinian village of Bisan. She fled the war and came to the UAE 15 years ago. Her husband passed away six years back.
"This country is no stranger to humanitarian work. I, as a mother, cannot thank them enough for their continuous innovative initiatives to help families like us," said Ahmed.
Jamal Mohammed Rajab, a Syrian father of five, also received his share of donated meat on the second day of Eid Al Adha. Residing in the UAE for three years without a job, he said it's been difficult to provide financial support for his family and pay rent.
He left his home in Maarat al-Numaan, south of Idlib, a year after the Syrian civil war broke out. The family headed to Lebanon for a few years before residing in Dubai's Al Warsan.
"The situation in Syria became so dismal that we couldn't stay there. Not just economic crisis, my children's lives were in danger too. There was no system anymore," he said. "We found security and good life here in UAE." The food bank's initiative, he said, will help feed his children meat this Eid.
The Dubai Municipality officials, who run the food bank and the abattoir, said donations on the first two days of Eid "benefited a lot of people" although the initiative was rolled out for the first time. The counter will be placed at the abattoir every Eid from now on.
Zahra Al Blooshi, senior support officer at the abattoir section of the Dubai Municipality, said some families in need and orphans approached the counter for meat, instead of heading to the charity associations. She added that sometimes customers get to see the meat being handed over to those in need "so they know where their donation is going".
"A customer gave us his token allocated for his sacrifice, and said this sheep is for people who need it and he left. These donations lighten up Eid for some of the families who are financially unable to celebrate it," said Al Blooshi.
She noted that she expects more donations to pour in during the coming years when people are aware of the initiative.
The UAE Food Bank also distributed a wide range of food items, juices, milk and cold drinks on the first day of Eid to workers as well as charities.
The initiative will also target the groups of workers in distress through coordination with the Zakat and Sadakah Affairs Section of the Department of Islamic Affairs and Charitable Activities to provide them a variety of food items during this period and in the future.
Representatives of charity associations said the Food Bank initiative helps them distribute even more meat to those in need under a supervised system.
Ali Al Blooshi from Human Appeal International was among representatives present at the abattoir to slaughter animals and hand them over to the needy people. The Human Appeal International slaughtered 700 animals that reached 2,800 families in Ajman and Ras Al Khaimah, while Bait Al Khair Society donated over 2,000 animals to families across the UAE.
"We have about 46,000 names on our waiting lists every year, and we try to accommodate as many as we can during Eid," said Abdeen Alawadi, General Manager of Bait Al Khair Society. He said the bank supervises the food distribution process, which helps associations receive an equal amount of food to distribute. Alawadi added that 15 supervisors from the association oversee the slaughtering process, cut the meat and distribute it to the unprivileged.
Shorter queues
Speaking to Khaleej Times, Abdullah Alabbasi, acting manager of the abattoir section at Dubai Municipality, said this year witnessed shorter queues as Eid fell during summer holidays that saw a huge number of people travelling back to their home countries.
The abattoir offered a temporary slaughter hall, designed with six slaughter lines with a capacity of 300 sacrifices per hour. Three other dedicated slaughter halls, with the two lines for small sacrifices and an additional one for big sacrifices, made it possible to accommodate up to 800 sacrifices per hour.
"On the first day of Eid, we finished between 2,000-2,500 sacrifices from the morning until 4pm. During the evening, charity associations sacrificed about 2,000 animals," said Alabbasi.
He added that since customers started coming directly after Eid prayers, officials worked hard to finish peoples' demands as early as possible. "By 12pm, we are usually done with sacrifices since the halls accommodate many customers at once," said Alabbasi.
He noted that the system introduced allowed for a smooth movement of the crowd. Two vets were deployed by the entrance of the abattoir to check the animal's condition before it is slaughtered.
Through Al Mawashi app, the department also finished 550 sacrifices, and delivered the meat to 300 different customers in different areas across Dubai.
The abattoir is operational for residents from 6am to 4pm. The Dubai Municipality offered eight abattoirs across Dubai to meet the high demand including Al Qusais abattoir, Al Quoz abattoir, Hatta abattoir, Al Khawaneej temporary abattoir, and Al Lisaili abattoir.
sherouk@khaleejtimes.com