Recently our Al Adil Group has taken up a CSR initiative under which we are sponsoring the air fare of needy Indian travellers stranded in UAE and wish to return to India. The present COVID 19 pandemic has shaken the world. The sudden lockdowns announced everywhere have aggravated the difficulties of certain sections of society. Thousands of Indians including jobless employees, students and tourists have been stranded here in the UAE. Until now, we have helped them by providing kits of essential food items. But since the air traffic between UAE and India has resumed only recently, these people are desperate to return home immediately. Many of them have spent most of their money and can’t even bear the expenditure of a COVID 19 medical test. Our group is sponsoring the air fare and test expenditure of such Indians. I wish them to return to their respective home towns as soon as possible and meet their families.
I don’t do this social work for just boasting about my charity or merely gaining publicity. In fact it gives me immense pleasure and satisfaction to make the worried faces smile. I believe that service to mankind is service to the God. Our group has been helping orphanages, old age homes, and schools in various ways. There are two persons instrumental behind making me a philanthropist and they are my mother and my wife. Both taught me how to help the society generously. Also there was an incident in my life which inspired me to walk on the path of social service.
Once I was travelling to India with my wife. We were waiting at the airport to catch our flight. I was busy reading a magazine and my wife was busy observing the surroundings. Suddenly she drew my attention and whispered in my ears “Look at the person sitting in the corner. He needs help. I saw him praying to the God with tearful eyes. He seems to be under tension.” I went to him and asked his problem. He told me his heart-rending story. He had lost his job and was returning to India. He didn’t even have the required money to buy an economy class air ticket. Someone assured him the money but never turned up. He hadn’t even eaten anything enough for a couple of days. I felt sympathy for him. I took him to the restaurant and made him have a meal. Then I purchased a ticket for him. The man asked my name and thanked me gratefully. I forgot the incident soon. After some months I received a letter in which there was a picture of a happy family drawn by a child. Their smiling faces were the real compliments for me.
Friends, I appeal to everyone to exhibit the compassion and manifest the humanity within at this challenging time. Remember a quote by Mother Teresa- It’s not how much we give, but how much love has been put into giving.
By: Dhananjay Mahadev Datar, CMD, Al Adil Group, UAE, Bahrain, Oman, Saudi Arabia & India.