Dubai: If you are looking for a way to give back to you community this Ramadan, Preservation of Grace offers residents a chance to volunteer by distributing food to those in need, helping with clothing and furniture donations or by donations in Abu Dhabi.
Preservation of Grace is a project under Emirates Red Crescent to help those less fortunate in the country by giving food and clothing. In the process, they are able to minimise food wastage from what they collect from hotels, restaurants and individuals and raise awareness in the community on the amount of good food that we throw out.
According to their webpage on abudhabi.ae: “The project is the brainchild of Shaikha Shamsa Bint Hamdan Al Nahyan - Assistant President of ERC for women’s affairs, who has been playing a pivotal role in supporting the project in collaboration.”
In a Gulf News report earlier this year, it was said Abu Dhabi has 1.1 million tonnes of solid waste and 39 per cent of that is food. During Ramadan, the amount of food wasted grows.
Project manager Sultan Al Shehi told Gulf News that this year they will be setting up a giving tree in Al Khalidiyah Mall in Abu Dhabi.
Al Shehi said: “It will be open two days before Ramadan and be open for the whole month. You can make a donation for 10 dirhams on the leaf with your name.”
“We are also going to have thermoses to distribute coffee and tea at the mall. There will be two booths to teach people about the Saving Grace project.”
They will also be doing their yearly “Breaking the fast” campaign food distribution with Adnoc with the hope of encouraging motorists not to rush on the roads before Maghrib prayer.
If you’re looking to volunteer in food distribution, Ramadan is a particularly busy time and they need all the help they can get. According to the volunteer organisers, they need volunteers between the hours of 8 and 2am.
Since it is of paramount importance that the food is packaged properly in hotels and restaurants, they have a trained team to collect in these establishments at iftar. The work begins for the volunteers after that.
Suhour distribution for the labour accommodations comes from the food collected during iftar and it starts at 1am.
You can also give back from your home. We’re all guilty of cooking too much food, especially during Ramadan, but this food need not be wasted.
Al Shehi said: “We try to teach individuals how to make saving grace in their houses, putting it in a box or small container to donate.”
Collecting iftar and making suhour for those in need is now happening in other countries with the project. According to Al Shehi, they are spreading food conservation awareness and food distribution under the umbrella of the Red Crescent with Preservation of Grace.
It’s an initiative with great importance throughout the whole year and especially throughout Ramadan. Volunteers are needed at most hours of the day to help in a variety of ways.
To sign up for volunteering, you can fill out a form online on www.rcuae.ae and specify Preservation of Grace.
To donate clothing or furniture you can call their toll-free line 800 5011.
