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Delivering in Time — for over 12 Hours a Day

dubai — It really doesn’t require much effort on our part to pick up the phone and order Dh1 bread from the nearby grocery store. But ask Shaful Amin, the home delivery boy, what does it take for the packet to land in our apartment finally. For Shaful, it becomes an added trip to the already 40 that he makes door to door in our neighbourhood daily.

Despite his strenuous working schedule, his commitment to his work remains intact. “My extra long duty hours from 9.30am to 12 midnight cannot shake my commitment to work,” says the 31-year-old Amin, as usual, smiling. “Sometimes I do get bored of the same routine, but it is my work and I have to do it,” he adds.

Amin recently moved to the UAE from his hometown Kerala in India. “I was a cobbler working in Bangalore, but there was not enough money in the job, so I decided to take up the offer as a delivery boy in Sharjah,” he adds.

Some days, especially the weekends are quite hectic since people are at home, he says. “Holidays and weekends mean more deliveries,” he adds.

“I try and deliver the goods as fast as I can, but people are always complaining,” he explains, adding that home delivery is a complimentary service.

He admits that he takes a break in between. “I know all these apartments and offices around this area in Sharjah and people also know me by face. Though my English and Hindi are not good, I can still communicate with people,” he adds.

Sometimes, the 40 rounds means walking to and fro the same buildings several times, at other times it means taking the bicycle and riding it a little further away. “Even if the sun is beating down hard, or it is windy and dusty, I have to go about my duty and deliver groceries on time,” he says.

“I justwant to earn and save enough money so that I can give my family back home a decent living,” says Amin, whose young wife is expecting their first child soon.

But does he like the UAE? He smiles and says, “I am just here to do my work.”

asmaalizain@khaleejtimes.com