5k workers come together to celebrate Year of Zayed

Around 5,000 workers of 35 nationalities came together at a carnival dedicated completely to the blue-collar community at the Rugby stadium in Dubai Sports City on Friday.
The event saw workers from different companies and labour accommodations unite as one big family under the banner of Year of Zayed, reminding them and their employers of the values pursued by the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan.
A march-past by the workers wearing national dress of the UAE (kandooras and abayas) started the event at 10am. The workers then changed into eight different colour costumes.
The carnival was organised by Dubai-based EFS Facilities Services in line with its 'People First Philosophy', whereby workers from various disciplines of cleaning, housekeeping, security, landscaping and the extended blue-collared community at large were brought together with the support and contribution of their employees, clients and suppliers, covering an array of activities of sports, talent, fun and games.
In order to give back to the unsung heroes of the country, EFS gave out gifts and cash prizes worth over half a million dirhams by designing some very unique initiatives.
One of the categories was the Super Mom Award, where some women were given a chance to visit their hometown on a two-month paid holiday to spend time with their children. Under the Fam Jam Award category, seven workers were given a chance to invite their families for a fully paid vacation to the UAE. The Rightful and Deserving award was given to a few deserving workers to whom funds were provided for medical treatment, education and housing for their families. The Unsung Spouse Award gave recognition to spouses of the workers, who are managing things back home single-handedly.
Explaining the preparation and implementation of the grand finale of the event that took place on Friday, Joel D'Souza, assistant general manager at EFS UAE HR, said:
"It took about three months to conduct auditions and rehearsals across 30 labour accommodations in three categories - sports, talent and a raffle draw where we learnt how talented some of them are. We published their stories on social media accounts so that they get a sense of recognition. Through this event, they get to break out from their monotonous, hectic schedules and we make sure these three months become the best months of their lives. Today is the finale for which they worked hard for three months. So we give them training, costumes, platform and an audience to showcase their talent and feel good about themselves."
Tariq Chauhan, group CEO, EFS Facilities Services, said: "Today's event was completely dedicated to the vision and values of the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, and focused mainly about bringing people of all cultures and backgrounds together as one community. We have made most of our awards family-focused to tell the workers that we understand their pain and sacrifices and we will do all we can for your happiness. This is a token of our appreciation to the hard work and dedication of the workers coming from different disciplines and their contribution to maintain a safe and clean community."
The event was concluded with a grand dinner and a raffle draw.
saman@khaleejtimes.com