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Makeover for old Emirati houses

Old houses of Emirati retirees, elderly and people with disabilities along Jumeirah and Umm Suqueim in Dubai have received the much-needed facelift after 25 years.

To these families, maintenance work for their homes is extremely expensive and beyond their reach. But a team of volunteers from the Community Development Authority (CDA) had lifted the burden up from their shoulders and repaired each of the 12 houses, doing painting works, interior fittings and provision of furniture and furnishings.

The ongoing repair work at Jumeirah and Umm-Suqueim is the first phase of the CDA project that specifically targets renovation and maintenance of old homes whose owners have limited income, just enough to meet their daily needs. The second phase takes care of internal damages of houses and furnishes them. Dubbed as “Your Home...our home”, the initiative is aimed at supporting and helping the families of these old houses, while raising awareness about voluntary work and motivating other members of society to participate.

Indeed, the project has attracted some nine volunteers from the CDA, including Khaled Al Kamda, CDA’s Director-General, and other executive directors. It has also drawn 24 others, who are registered with CDA’s Volunteering Section.

Manea Al Kindi, 28-year-old team leader from the Majlis Committee Department, says that this volunteering work has opened his eyes to the difficulty of Indians and Pakistanis in repairing wall cracks, repainting them and making them beautiful again. “I see how difficult it is and I know that in the future if I see any labourer doing it in the heat, I will help them,” Al Kindi says.

Al Kindi, who is still single, has been volunteering since joining the CDA three years back. “As a volunteer, the programme has given me an advantage. I learn new things by helping people. I work from 7am to 2pm in my office, and at night I work with the volunteers.”

He says that what he learns can be applied in his own home such as how to repair wall cracks and paint it. “For an Emirati like me, it is a great interaction with other nationalities volunteering for the job. I am proud that the CDA has given me the opportunity to volunteer.”

Two more volunteers, Omar Busit and Khaled Al Hosany, have felt the fulfilment of caring others’ homes. A CDA employee-volunteer, Busit says that giving back to fellow citizens and society is the major motivation behind his volunteering activities. “It gives you an immense level of self-satisfaction to participate in such volunteering work despite the hard work involved in it.”

Al Hosany looks at his volunteering works as making use of his spare time in a very useful activity, in addition to his obligation towards the less opportune people in society. Long before the actual home repairs started, some preparatory visits were done to the houses, including those by social workers from the CDA to evaluate the damages. They evaluated the current status of families living in these houses to identify their needs and take the necessary measures to address them.

They assess such needs which may include but not limited to disabled children, elderly people, and marital problems between couples. House owners have expressed their sincere appreciation for this initiative and praised CDA’s keenness to reach out to them and other vulnerable members of the community.

Khaled Al Kamda, CDA Director-General, says this project is CDA’s mission to launch initiatives that provide services tailored towards addressing the needs of community members.

“It also emphasises the role of the CDA as a leading model in community work, and promoting a culture of volunteering and social solidarity among different segments of the UAE society, which has always been known for its leading position in humanitarian and charitable work.”

“This initiative has just been launched and we will continue with it. We have received more maintenance requests and we are assessing them. Our sponsors are providing us with needed resources such as tools, building materials and technical expertise. 
 They include Emirati businessman Mohammed Al Sayah and companies such as Wade Adams, Emcon, Roti Mum, Mamarotti Catering, Jotun Paints and Royal Concrete Contracting. From the initial feedback and as per our studies, the initiative will be extended further in time and budget to cover more beneficiaries,” Al Kamda says.

Al Kamda also highlights that the assessment is done to the house and household as one unit. It is not limited to the maintenance requirements of the house but extends to the social needs of the family. — lily@khaleejtimes.com