Abu Dhabi // While many teenagers spend their free time roaming shopping malls, Taresh al Muhairbi prefers to roam the streets in search of animals in need, particularly abandoned kittens.
"I can't just stand there and remain quiet when I see an animal suffering and in need," he said.
Volunteering after school at the British Veterinary Centre (BVC) in Abu Dhabi, the 16-year-old pupil hopes to become a veterinarian himself one day and open up his own clinic.
"My friends don't get it when they come to visit me here," he said.
There are only two Emirati veterinarians in the country, one practising and one just graduated. Taresh hopes to become the third, and change people's views of animals, particularly those of his family.
"My grandmother thinks it is a waste of time and disapproves of how I spend my free time," he said.
"Most people don't understand why I do this as they think there is no prestige in saving and helping animals."
Besides his volunteer work, Taresh has already succeeded in closing two pet shops in Abu Dhabi as part of his mission to save abused animals. Pretending to be a customer, he notes violations in the shop. When he finds more than three infractions, he calls the municipality to take action.
"Somebody has to do this," he said, "as animals can't speak for themselves."
Taresh's work has also spread to his home. He has turned one of his family's villas into an animal sanctuary, with more than 15 cats, four dogs and an open garden for birds and any other animals that happen to cross his path.
Heather Jessop, who heads the volunteer programme at the British centre, is impressed with Taresh's devotion. "We never get local youth volunteering here. He is one of the first, and hopefully he will inspire more nationals to come here and give it a try."
The centre, open since 1991, has been running volunteer programmes with British and American schools. As part of their coursework, students help for a week with the cleaning and grooming and otherwise taking care of the animals that either come for treatment or are rescued.
"We hope one day to get some of the national and Arabic schools interested in working with animals," Mrs Jessop said.
Taresh has also been helpful in communicating with Arab and Emirati clients. "He is a true asset to us," she said.
rghazal@thenational.ae
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Company%20profile
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UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
Founders: Abdulmajeed Alsukhan, Turki Bin Zarah and Abdulmohsen Albabtain.
Based: Riyadh
Offices: UAE, Vietnam and Germany
Founded: September, 2020
Number of employees: 70
Sector: FinTech, online payment solutions
Funding to date: $116m in two funding rounds
Investors: Checkout.com, Impact46, Vision Ventures, Wealth Well, Seedra, Khwarizmi, Hala Ventures, Nama Ventures and family offices
Another way to earn air miles
In addition to the Emirates and Etihad programmes, there is the Air Miles Middle East card, which offers members the ability to choose any airline, has no black-out dates and no restrictions on seat availability. Air Miles is linked up to HSBC credit cards and can also be earned through retail partners such as Spinneys, Sharaf DG and The Toy Store.
An Emirates Dubai-London round-trip ticket costs 180,000 miles on the Air Miles website. But customers earn these ‘miles’ at a much faster rate than airline miles. Adidas offers two air miles per Dh1 spent. Air Miles has partnerships with websites as well, so booking.com and agoda.com offer three miles per Dh1 spent.
“If you use your HSBC credit card when shopping at our partners, you are able to earn Air Miles twice which will mean you can get that flight reward faster and for less spend,” says Paul Lacey, the managing director for Europe, Middle East and India for Aimia, which owns and operates Air Miles Middle East.
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
Sheer grandeur
The Owo building is 14 storeys high, seven of which are below ground, with the 30,000 square feet of amenities located subterranean, including a 16-seat private cinema, seven lounges, a gym, games room, treatment suites and bicycle storage.
A clear distinction between the residences and the Raffles hotel with the amenities operated separately.
