DUBAI: In addition to coming together with loved ones, spiritual reflection and abstaining from food and drink from sunrise to sundown, Ramadan is a time for kindness and giving back to those in need.
Australian-Lebanese model and entrepreneur Jessica Kahawaty has been working with volunteers to donate food to labor camps, a form of housing for Dubai’s migrant workers, during the holy season.
Kahawaty took to her social media accounts to share that she was able to collect approximately 900 kilograms of food in one day for workers across Dubai.
“Beyond grateful to each and every one of you who showed up. The power of social media and bringing people together is great. Forever grateful for this gift of reaching people and I promise to always use it for the good of others,” she wrote on Instagram, referring to the individuals and companies who donated.
The post included a carousel of images depicting the 32-year-old and her mother posing inside a truck filled with food and volunteers of all ages distributing meals to the needy.
The charitable initiative comes two weeks after Kahawaty shared that her mother-and-daughter food venture, Mama Rita, also donated meals to migrant workers.
On Instagram, she posted a series of photos that showed her handing out food.
“Today Mama Rita donated 200 meals to those who need it most. Charity is not always done in a foreign country or a grand cause but someone next door. Please check out your nearest labor camp in Dubai and think of them during this Ramadan when many do not get to eat iftar. The harsh truth is that 200, in addition to the other donations, wasn’t enough and many were left without a meal,” she captioned the post.
Kahawaty is a keen supporter of several humanitarian causes, including working through UNICEF and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.
Less than a year ago the Australian-Lebanese beauty launched an online fundraiser to raise $100,000 to help improve the livelihood of underprivileged Lebanese families struggling amid the country’s growing shortage of fuel, medical supplies and food.
In the past, she teamed up with UNICEF to visit Jordan’s Azraq refugee camp near the border with Syria, and met with women and children in the Zaatari refugee camp in Jordan to help children affected by the Syrian crisis.
