Volunteering

Home Cooked Food for Strangers in Sharjah

Helping Hands: Home Cooked Food For Strangers | A Humanitarian Group in Sharjah

Dhruti Ghaghada Volunteering ,,,,

A touch of home from home

This week, I came across a humanitarian group in Sharjah called ‘Helping Hands’ that works to provide delicious home-cooked food to residents of labor camps in the UAE.

No fancy marketing campaign, no headquarters, no funding; the women contributing to Helping Hands cook simple food in their own kitchens, and with the power of numbers, feed workers who toil in the sun.

It’s not the food, it seems, but the sentiment and flavor that add a touch of love for the labourers:

“They have tears in their eyes when we deliver the food. They get promotional bags of soaps and shampoos from companies all the time, but when you’re working so far away from home for such a long time, you’re bound to miss home cooked food” said one of the three founding members of Helping Hands.

This set of ordinary, yet remarkable, women use social media for a good cause: the menu is planned on Facebook every Monday with instructions for food drop-off points and times.

They began with only five women, cooking for strangers out of love, feeding as many as 35-40 residents of the camps. Now, they are 50-women strong [hopefully more after you’re done reading this article].

“When people saw us rushing about with huge utensils and bulks of plastic containers, they all wondered what we were up to. As word spread, our strength doubled every week. The amount of support we’re receiving is overwhelming” gushed one of the founders.

As more women elect to join the force, the number of workers fed is increasing every day and instead of every fortnight, food is now being delivered every week.

Who said you can’t do a good thing from home? If you’re a bit of a cook and have a bit of time and love to spare, contact the friendly women via e-mail: amita21124@gmail.com or Manisha_ansodaria@yahoo.co.in to get involved.

This entry is a part of The Idle Diaries: The journey of a self-proclaimed passive aggressive 19 year old, transitioning from high school to university, with four long months to use her powers for either good or evil.