As Ramadan approaches, volunteers from one of the largest local online expatriate community are joining hands with private entities to help the less-advantaged segment of the society. More than 100 members of InterNations, the largest online community group, are all set to carry on with their Drive for Good and provide food and household items for labourers at Al Shahaniya Camp.
This year marks the third edition of Drive for Good and this time the InterNations volunteers are joined by Marriott Marquis, Nando’s and Grand Hyatt in providing the food and other items.
Led by Mark Thomson, the ambassador of InterNations Doha Community, the volunteers will donate food stuff, household items, sanitary kits and cold water dispensers for the labourers on June 4.
The volunteers will gather at the camp and distribute the items. Thomson says he is expecting between 60 and 100 volunteers to join him in the drive. However, many people who cannot join for any reason have already delivered their donations.
“These would be transported to the camp on the day. In all, there are more than 300 people who are contributing to our 3rd Drive for Good. Nando’s is giving about 1,000 food packets, Marriott Marquis is delivering 500 packets and we have been able to contribute items in excess of 100 kilograms so far,” Thomson tells Community.
The InterNations community in Doha started with the initiative just before last Ramadan and organised another edition of the drive when InterNations founder Malte Zeeck was in Doha. Close to 40,000 expatriates are part of the InterNations social network, and Thomson says they want to add value to lives in this country and to show the Qatari nation that they are here to help, co-operate and be a part of the society.
InterNations volunteers have been working already for a week, delivering water coolers, industrial coolers, fridges, microwave ovens and large freezers. “We are basically sharing with these people what we have and we all believe in charitable work,” says the InterNations’ ambassador.
People have been sending stuff to Thomson’s house, which has been a storage place for the past few days. There will be people heading to the camp to help with distribution of these items at the camp.
In their first campaign last year, people donated fridges, TVs and coolers. Some people had given stuff from their own homes for volunteers to take it to the camp.
Among the donated items were four or five fridges, two industrial coolers with 10 taps each that can provide cold water for up to 400 people a day, plus foodstuff and sanitary items. Over 70 sanitary boxes containing shampoos, toothpastes, soaps, towels and over 200 bedsheets and blankets were also distributed.
“People are contributing with similar kind of items this time as well and a large number of them have already delivered these items. We are expecting to manage a large pool of items this time as well,” says Thomson.
InterNations’ members comprise doctors, engineers and social workers and represent more than 50 nationalities. Thomson says it is a great chance to collaborate with other partners in Qatar and work together to improve the conditions for everybody.
“The summer heat is upon us and while most of us can cope by living in our lovely homes and drive our air-conditioned cars, there are thousands of workers who would appreciate our assistance. It is time for us to make the summer a little easier to cope with, especially now that the holy month of Ramadan is here,” says the InterNations’ ambassador.
There are more than 21,000 people at the camp that the volunteers will be donating items to. Calling for people to contribute generously Thomson says people can donate items listed above by dropping them off or they can join the rest of the group on the day to deliver them directly to the camp.
Everybody is invited and Thomson will co-ordinate with the group of people joining on the day to ensure everybody reaches on time at the right place. He can be reached through Whatsapp at 5527-6757.