A Dubai resident who lost eight relatives in less than a month to Covid-19 in India has launched an initiative with a local charity to help patients in her home country.
Juhi Khan said she had "no tears left" when family members, including her father-in-law, died over a 22-day period during the recent surge in coronavirus cases in India.
She has now launched the We Are With You, India campaign in association with UAE charitable organisation the Dar Al Ber Society, so people overseas can make donations.
The money will be spent on medicines, oxygen cylinders and hospital beds, as well as providing support to patients recovering from Covid-19 and those grieving the death of a loved one.
This is my way of healing – to give back. Maybe others who lost family and friends to Covid-19 will want to contribute and heal too
Funds collected will also be used to purchase protective suits and organise ambulance services for hospitals in Indian towns and remote districts.
"People can contribute from anywhere in the world," Ms Khan, founder of community group Future Philanthropist, told The National.
“We are hoping they will come forward to give back to India. People are suffering mentally and emotionally and we want to help in a big way.”
Ms Khan, 48, who has been involved in charity work in the UAE for years, had begun work on a programme to provide medical aid to India even before her relatives fell victim to the pandemic.
But that tragedy provided extra motivation.
“When you suffer such personal loss, the wound is very deep. I can feel their pain in India.
"The deaths in my family made the urge more intense to go forward with the initiative I was planning,” she said.
“This is my way of healing – to give back. Maybe others who lost family and friends to Covid-19 will want to contribute and heal too.
“People who have lost their loved ones know how important this support is to India," Ms Khan said.
“We were unable to fly back to help because of flight restrictions and I’m trying to fill that gap.”
Flights from India to the UAE have been suspended from April 25 to prevent the spread of a variant first recorded there.
India reported 100,636 new cases on Monday, the lowest number in more than two months.
There were 2,427 deaths on Monday, taking the overall number of fatalities to 349,186.
Several states in India have been under lockdown for more than a month, with Maharashtra and Delhi recently gradually easing stay-home orders.
Ms Khan checks on her family back home to find out how they are coping.
“To lose eight people in three weeks is not easy. We are in constant touch but we have to accept the reality that our loved ones are gone,” she said.
“There is an Urdu proverb that if you lose support, then you become a support for someone else. That is what we are trying to do. We have to find some positivity.”
Ms Khan is working with local governments and community groups to identify where aid is needed most.
The Dar Al Ber society has set up a separate online link and will monitor the allocation of donations.
Mohammad Al Muhairi, executive director of Dar Al Ber, said the programme reflected the shared history between the two nations.
He said the “humanitarian campaign aimed to ensure that those affected by the pandemic received appropriate treatment".
"It also aims to support measures to curb the spread of the pandemic in India, to ensure the health and well-being of the Indian people."
Ms Khan will also work with UAE-Indian hospital group Aster DM Foundation.
Dr Azad Moopen, founder of Aster Healthcare, said the group was happy to work together to provide medical support.
Ms Khan will work with volunteer teams to make sure the assistance reaches people who need it the most, and organise medical camps and ambulance services.
To take part in the campaign, email the group at: csrjyk@gmail.com
Contributions can be made directly by the Dar Al Ber Society's donation link: https://daralber.ae/india/index.html
UAE residents can contribute by sending a text message by du and Etisalat with the word "India" to the numbers: 6026 for Dh200 ($54), 6027 for Dh100, 2252 for Dh50, 6025 for Dh20 and 2289 for Dh10.
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Joker: Folie a Deux
Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Lady Gaga, Brendan Gleeson
Director: Todd Phillips
Rating: 2/5
Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
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if you go
The flights
Etihad, Emirates and Singapore Airlines fly direct from the UAE to Singapore from Dh2,265 return including taxes. The flight takes about 7 hours.
The hotel
Rooms at the M Social Singapore cost from SG $179 (Dh488) per night including taxes.
The tour
Makan Makan Walking group tours costs from SG $90 (Dh245) per person for about three hours. Tailor-made tours can be arranged. For details go to www.woknstroll.com.sg
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
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
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How will Gen Alpha invest?
Mark Chahwan, co-founder and chief executive of robo-advisory firm Sarwa, forecasts that Generation Alpha (born between 2010 and 2024) will start investing in their teenage years and therefore benefit from compound interest.
“Technology and education should be the main drivers to make this happen, whether it’s investing in a few clicks or their schools/parents stepping up their personal finance education skills,” he adds.
Mr Chahwan says younger generations have a higher capacity to take on risk, but for some their appetite can be more cautious because they are investing for the first time. “Schools still do not teach personal finance and stock market investing, so a lot of the learning journey can feel daunting and intimidating,” he says.
He advises millennials to not always start with an aggressive portfolio even if they can afford to take risks. “We always advise to work your way up to your risk capacity, that way you experience volatility and get used to it. Given the higher risk capacity for the younger generations, stocks are a favourite,” says Mr Chahwan.
Highlighting the role technology has played in encouraging millennials and Gen Z to invest, he says: “They were often excluded, but with lower account minimums ... a customer with $1,000 [Dh3,672] in their account has their money working for them just as hard as the portfolio of a high get-worth individual.”
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