full

With Ramadan here, the spirit of charity and helping is in the air. Yet there

are some who take charity to a higher level; Saher Shaikh in Dubai has

made her charity “The Adopt-a-Camp Foundation” an intrinsic part of her

life for the past decade.

HEALTH

met with Saher to learn more…

What does charity

mean to you personally?

A) “I’m a great believer in what my

mother taught me about charity, that

giving should not be about thrusting

aid upon another and then expecting

gratitude. First and foremost, it has to

maintain the beneficiary’s respect and

dignity otherwise it’s useless and it

should be done for no other reason other

than it’s the right thing to do. If we have

been fortunate enough to be blessed

with health and stability, it is our duty to

share our blessings, in whichever way we

can, with those less fortunate. Personal

reward, whether spiritual or emotional,

shouldn’t play a role in it. Islam is an

incredibly charitable religion. It very

strongly encourages people to care for

the needy members of society and there

are numerous mentions of the spiritual

rewards of doing so. My parents imbued

that thinking within me but to a slightly

more esoteric level; that we should do

good not to be rewarded but simply

because it’s the right thing to do. One day

TAKING

CHARITY TO A

HIGHER

LEVEL

How did your project begin?

A) “It started off with a chance encounter with a laborer at my local

supermarket 10 years ago. Today the Adopt-a-Camp Foundation

has grown into the largest, non-profit NGO in the UAE. We take care

of laborers in labor camps, their families, and their communities

back home. There are currently over 57,000 laborers under Adopt-

a-Camp’s umbrella. By ‘taking care of’ we mean the way a parent

would take care of their child, addressing their educational and

health needs, emotional and social well-being.”

May/June 2015