Left to right, Nicky Putter, Ibtihal Makmahi-Tarik and Eleanor Jones of Kindness Exchange, dressed as superheroes to hand out food, water and toiletries at labour accommodation in Al Quoz, Dubai. Chris Whiteoak / The National
‘I started doing this during Covid two years ago when I started collecting non-perishable food items for the UAE food bank and then supporting families and individuals that had lost their jobs or had salary reduction,’ Makmahi-Tarik, dressed as Supergirl, said. Chris Whiteoak / The National
‘It snowballed from there and I wanted to involve the community and support a number of charities through donations including the Dubai Foundation for Women and Children, Emirates Red Crescent and the Bait Al Khair Society,’ Makmahi-Tarik said. Chris Whiteoak / The National
‘We had a donation drive for the charities via the Villa Mums group and the generosity was overwhelming,’ Makmahi-Tarik said. ‘So we decided to start our own group kindness exchange which has now been running for two months with nearly 2,000 members. We were motivated by random acts of kindness and having fun while spreading kindness, hence the superhero costumes.’ Chris Whiteoak / The National
‘During the summer we wanted to focus on construction workers and labourers because they are working in this heat. We also take part in other initiatives such as feeding a family and sending essential items to families and children who need a helping hand.’ Chris Whiteoak / The National
‘We are professionals in our own right but do this in our free time. We have volunteers — from CEOs, psychologists and housewives — on our squad.’ Chris Whiteoak / The National
‘We saught permission from the Ministry of Health as well as the camp manager. We make sure that the labourers have been vaccinated and so too our volunteers. The food is delivered directly from the restaurant to make sure we follow Covid regulations and the essential items are fully sanitised before distribution.’ Chris Whiteoak / The National
‘What we plan to do next is to mobilise more volunteers and send them with goodie bags to different camps where they will deliver directly to the labour camp manager for distribution. We will be holding a competition for the best-dressed volunteers and they will win a super-duper prize.’ Chris Whiteoak / The National
