This team serves over 20,000 Iftar meals to labourers across UAE

The team behind the operation - Team Iftar - covers 49 spots in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Ras Al Khaimah and Ajman.

It's 5pm. A dozen cars with their boots open line up outside a small shop in Sharjah's Sajjah Industrial Area. About 10 men diagonally facing each other form a zigzag line from the shop to the cars. To cries of '1, 2, 3...', the men pass on watermelons, water cartons, dates and fruits to the waiting cars.
A massive operation that would see 550 volunteers distribute over 20,000 Iftar meals at labour accommodations across the UAE has just begun. And this nondescript auto workshop in Sajjah serves as its nerve centre.
The team behind the operation - Team Iftar - covers 49 spots in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Ras Al Khaimah and Ajman. An Emirati generously sponsors the 20,000-odd plates of biryani, water, dates and fruits that go out to the labour accommodations every day during Ramadan.
A core team of volunteers manages the logistics of the Sharjah Red Crescent-supported operation, with each spot having its own chief coordinator. The team takes stock of the day's requirements and the number of on-call volunteers, who are then assigned to the chief coordinators as required.
What began 14 years ago as a one-off charity drive that served 15 plates of biryani to 50 workers has now mushroomed into a corporate-style operation with "ISO standards", as one of the organisers describes it, only half-jokingly.
"We have multiple departments that take care of purchases, human resources, guest management and quality control. Our volunteers ensure the highest hygiene standards while serving our guests. Tokens are issued to the coordinator of each area for supplies like disposable plastic rolls, plates, glasses and spoons that are dispatched from the central store here," Mubarak Abdul Razzaq, operations head, Team Iftar, tells Khaleej Times. "We have eight public kitchens preparing the day's biryani, which are sent to the spots as needed."
Team Iftar brings volunteers of 14 expatriate organisations under one banner to feed the fasting labourers. "Our strength is our team of dedicated volunteers, who spend their Iftar away from their families serving our guests. These men have full-time jobs and go to their spots every single day without fail despite their work and family commitments. They are here from 5pm to about 8.30pm every day."
Talking about the Emirati who sponsors the massive amount of food required for the operation, Suhail VP, a volunteer, says he chooses to remain anonymous. "He is a very generous and friendly man. He has been associated with us for the last 10 years."
How it all began
One of the founders of the initiative, Easa Anees, a Sharjah-based legal consultant, says 14 years ago, a group of youths had gone to a friend's house for Iftar near a labour accommodation in Sharjah. 
"As they went for their Maghrib prayer, they saw some workers opening their fast with dates and water. After the prayer, they saw the men go to an empty area, waiting for odd jobs to do. Curious, the boys asked the men what they'd have for Iftar and one of them replied, 'Kaam milega toh Iftari karenge' (we will have Iftar if someone hires us for the evening'. The boys immediately ordered 15 plates of biryani for the 50-odd men assembled there."
Within days, the same group started distributing about 150 plates of biryani at another labour accommodation. "That is the humble beginning of our operation. Last year, we served 496,380 Iftar meals and this year, it looks like we will hit the 600,000 mark," Easa says.
Iftar, and a garbage bag
In Sajjah alone, the team serves Iftar at 21 spots. We travel on an unpaved road parallel to the Emirates Road to reach these spots. Volunteers can be seen laying out plastic rolls on swathes of desert or even roads outside mosques. Others are busy plating biryani or cutting up fruits. Yet others are arranging glasses of water in rows for guests.
By 6pm, the guests start trickling in, with volunteers guiding them to their spots. An hour later, minutes before the Maghrib call for prayer, volunteers are given dates and water - and a garbage bag. "Open your fast with these dates and water, but position yourselves around the site with the garbage bag so that our guests can dispose of their plates. It's important that we don't litter around the area," the chief coordinator can be heard telling the volunteers.
After grateful guests go back to their accommodations with their stomachs full, the core team heads back to the central store in Sajjah for a review meeting. The chief coordinator from each spot shares the number of guests that had been served.
"Gentlemen, we served 20,415 guests today," Abdul Razzaq announces to the group.
The group then feasts on tea and snacks sent over by the family members of some of the volunteers and call it a day - a fulfilling one at that.
sahim@khaleejtimes.com