DUBAI // A new Indian fund supporting children of families in financial distress has paid more than Dh500,000 in school fees in the past three months.
"The priority has been given to higher-class students," said K Kumar, the chairman of the Indian Community Welfare Committee (ICWC), which looks at applications and requests from schools and families.
"We have paid half a million dirhams since the fund was set up. Students in Grades 10 and 12 are given automatic priority."
The fund was set up in October last year to help expatriate Indian families pay school and medical fees, for provisions and temporary shelter to battle problems brought on by financial hardship, such as suicide.
Less than 10 days ago police went to the home of an Indian family in Bur Dubai and found two bodies.
Police said the father, Rijesh Nambiar, was found hanged in his flat and his six-year-old daughter had been suffocated with a pillow.
The mother, Sreesha Nambiar, 29, was found in the bathroom with cuts to her neck and wrist.
Police said a note left by the father cited financial problems.
Mrs Nambiar has been charged with attempted suicide and is in the psychiatric ward at Rashid Hospital. Relatives said she had no recollection of the events and was unaware her husband and child were dead.
Since the fund's launch, money has gone towards paying school fees owed by parents for the past two years.
"We write to schools to confirm if the case is genuine," said Mr Kumar, adding that several requests from parents involved fees owed since 2010.
He said the fund was not for paying off bad debts and that "bounced cheque issues still remain".
Mr Kumar did not specify how many families had benefited from the fund.
A study by the Indian consulate of 110 suicides in Dubai and the Northern Emirates showed most cases involved middle-class men with white-collar jobs.
Figures released by Indian diplomatic missions show that last year about 100 Indian expatriates committed suicide in the UAE.
In 2010, about 110 Indians killed themselves in Dubai and the Northern Emirates alone, and 113 did so in 2009, the figures show.
"We are trying to alleviate the situation of Indian families," said Siddharth Balachandran, the Indian managing director of the building materials company Bumga Group, who made the first contribution of Dh500,000 to the fund.
"The reason why I kick-started it is so that other people would join in."
An Indian social worker said it was important that families lived within their means to avoid problems.
"Awareness should be created in the community about managing their finances properly," said AK Sethunath, the president of the Ras Al Khaimah welfare group Kerala Samajam.
"People should think through before taking loans or applying for several credit cards," he said, adding that not doing so could lead to depression and desperate measures.
Mr Sethunath said financial institutions also had a role to play. He said: "Banks should also study the financial ability of a person to pay back loans before sanctioning money or giving people five or six credit cards."
pkannan@thenational.ae
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
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Brief scoreline:
Liverpool 2
Keita 5', Firmino 26'
Porto 0
The specs: 2018 Harley-Davidson Fat Boy
Price, base / as tested Dh97,600
Engine 1,745cc Milwaukee-Eight v-twin engine
Transmission Six-speed gearbox
Power 78hp @ 5,250rpm
Torque 145Nm @ 3,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined 5.0L / 100km (estimate)
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
The bio
His favourite book - 1984 by George Orwell
His favourite quote - 'If you think education is expensive, try ignorance' by Derek Bok, Former President of Harvard
Favourite place to travel to - Peloponnese, Southern Greece
Favourite movie - The Last Emperor
Favourite personality from history - Alexander the Great
Role Model - My father, Yiannis Davos
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
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- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
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- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Children who witnessed blood bath want to help others
Aged just 11, Khulood Al Najjar’s daughter, Nora, bravely attempted to fight off Philip Spence. Her finger was injured when she put her hand in between the claw hammer and her mother’s head.
As a vital witness, she was forced to relive the ordeal by police who needed to identify the attacker and ensure he was found guilty.
Now aged 16, Nora has decided she wants to dedicate her career to helping other victims of crime.
“It was very horrible for her. She saw her mum, dying, just next to her eyes. But now she just wants to go forward,” said Khulood, speaking about how her eldest daughter was dealing with the trauma of the incident five years ago. “She is saying, 'mama, I want to be a lawyer, I want to help people achieve justice'.”
Khulood’s youngest daughter, Fatima, was seven at the time of the attack and attempted to help paramedics responding to the incident.
“Now she wants to be a maxillofacial doctor,” Khulood said. “She said to me ‘it is because a maxillofacial doctor returned your face, mama’. Now she wants to help people see themselves in the mirror again.”
Khulood’s son, Saeed, was nine in 2014 and slept through the attack. While he did not witness the trauma, this made it more difficult for him to understand what had happened. He has ambitions to become an engineer.
