1. Edited by
Laura Chubb
laura.chubb@itp.com
Heroes of the year
We’ve been particularly impressed with the community
spirit in Dubai this year. Here are just a few of the people
and organisations that made a difference in 2009
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1 Dubai Cares
The home-grown charity began the
year with a giant volunteer drive to
package supplies for those suffering
amid the conflict in Gaza. Between
January 14 and 17, 50,000 basic school
kits and 50,000 hygiene kits
were packaged at a
makeshift volunteer
camp at DIFC. Later
projects included the
recent Dubai Cares
Water Bucket Walk,
which raised money
to build clean water
wells in developing
countries.
www.dubaicares.ae
2 Laura Glanfield
Glanfield opened the first animal
sanctuary and petting farm in Dubai
in April, giving a home to a host of
rescued animals (including a baby
baboon, goats, tortoises, ducks and
horses) and the opportunity for
children to visit and learn how to care
for pets in a hands-on environment.
Donations welcome. 050 273 0973,
www.poshpawsdubai.com
3 Sharjah City for
Humanitarian Services
This philanthropic organisation is a
pioneering force in the UAE when it
comes to supporting both children
and young adults with mental and
physical disabilities. It aims
to change society’s
attitudes towards
those with special
needs, as well as
offering help,
support and
rehabilitiation.
This year,
Sharjah City
opened a shop in
the emirate’s Souk
Al Arsa, where
disabled children can
sell the arts and crafts
they’ve made in classes at
Sharjah City’s centre. Director general
Her Highness Sheikha Jameela Bint
Mohammed Al Qasimi tells us that
the students enjoy working in the
shop, adding: ‘We try to make it, in
inverted commas, ‘normal’ to see the
children among other people – that
they’re not something strange.’
www.schs.ae
4 Kabul Wazir Mir
After losing his job in the financial
crisis, Mir decided to put his new-
found spare time to good use. He’s
been working tirelessly ever since to
help gather supplies for the displaced
people of Swat Valley in Pakistan.
June’s military offensive to regain
control of the Mingora area from the
Taliban left thousands stranded, and
Mir has not only been instrumental in
organising collections and shipping
supplies, but has even been out to
Swat Valley to visit the refugee camps
and see how the effort in Dubai is
helping first-hand. He says it has
made a huge
difference.
‘We’re bringing
hope to these
people,’ he says.
‘Just helping the
human spirit is an
achievement.’
Check out Mir’s
Facebook group by
typing ‘Pakistan relief –
Swat donations’ into the search box
5 Natalie Carney
The Canadian expat, at a loose end as
to what to do one weekend, decided on
a whim to fly to Afghanistan. After
visiting an orphanage there, she
returned to the UAE and set up her
own Dubai-based charity, Kids Being
Kids Afghanistan. Not content with
collecting and shipping supplies,
Carney also spent September in some
of the country’s poorest orphanages
filming her documentary, Forgotten
Victims of Afghanistan. ‘It’s solely to
get the word out there,’ she says. ‘If it
gets four or five more children
sponsored, and if it gets another child
going to school, brilliant.’
Email forgottenvictimsafghanistan@
yahoo.com
6 Dubai’s Aussie
community
We were very impressed by the way
the Aussie community in Dubai
rallied around Australian expat
Leanne Langmead after she suffered
terrible injuries in a road accident
while on holiday in Cape Town.
The local Australia New Zealand
Association (Anza) in Dubai has held
112 Time Out Dubai December 24 2009 – January 7 2010
Community
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