Just days ahead of Eid Al Fitr, 50 students from the Ambassador School in Dubai have gifted toiletries and groceries to more than 500 labourers who are working hard to construct the school's new campus in Al Khail.
As a way of saying thank you for their efforts, the students from KG2 and Grade 12 spent two weeks collecting items from home, before heading down to the siteon Wednesdayto meet and hand out the gifts to the workers.
Receiving two separate packages, the men received toiletry items including hand towels, soap, toothpaste and a toothbrush in one pack, as well as basic groceries including pulses, rice, vegetable oil and wheat, in another.
For Indian carpenter Jagroob Singh, the students' visit was a pleasant surprise. "Our foreman hinted that something was happening today but I had no idea what. It feels good and makes me happy to get such things. Usually, I will spend Dh40 a week on these items, so the students have really helped me," he told Khaleej Times. And for Health and Safety Officer, Alexander Geevarghese, he, like many of his colleagues, were over the moon with the students' visit.
"This was a very big surprise for us. It is just before Ramadan ends and in time for Eid, so it is a very good thing for us. I want to say thank you to the students and let them know they made our day really good by doing this."
With 300 labourers working on siteon Wednesdaymorning,Rashmi Nagendra, Principal of Kindergarten at Ambassador School said an additional 200 workers coming in for the night shift will also receive surprise packages from their seniors.
"This initiative is all about spreading awareness to these workers about the importance of being clean and eating well. We chose the food items carefully to make sure they were healthy."
And as with every act of sharing and caring the school and students practice, every initiative it hosts "stems from a discussion with the students first".
"This is a way for the children to learn about things outside the classroom. They get to witness the hard work these labourers do on a daily basis. Not only is it awareness for workers, it's for students too."
Collecting personal items from their own home, KG2 students Jenisha Kalia and Reyansh Sampat said it was great to see the workers so happy. "Today we gave some gifts to the workers and they smiled a lot. It also made me feel nice and happy too," Kalia told Khaleej Times.
And for Sampat, being able to take things from home to gift to others was a good feeling. "I collected soap, towels, a toothbrush; lots of things. It felt good to give them to the workers and this is my first time coming to their workplace."
As senior students of the school, Sagar Vijayakumar (Head Boy), Shriti Shah (Head Girl) and Manav Doulatramani said this isn't the first time they have hosted random acts of kindness for workers in Dubai.
"We make it a habit to contribute to society, especially for those working on our new school here in Al Khail. After all they have done, they deserve respect from our end and this is our way of showing it." And Doulatramani said that nature of giving among Ambassador School students will always remain, even beyond Ramadan.
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