Free meals for Dubai's blue collar workers. Lola Lopez and her team at the non-profit organization Volunteer in Dubai are dedicated to providing food with a smile for the city's blue collar workers. See more at: http://gulfnews.com/gntv
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00:00For many, Ramadan is the ideal time to give back to the community, and some manage to
00:12go the extra mile.
00:14Lola Lopez is the founder of the non-profit organization Volunteer in Dubai, and her team
00:19is dedicated to providing food to thousands of the city's laborers.
00:23As we are offloading these lavans and the waters, please try and split them equally.
00:24Because if we end up with more water and lavans on this side than that side, that queue is
00:25going to get finished first and it's going to be not fair.
00:26We've been going about four years, we've distributed 400,000 meals now, and that's the ones that
00:39I can account for.
00:40It started off by finding a camp of men that were homeless in Karama, hence the Karama
00:46canteen.
00:47So we were feeding a group of about 60 men for about three or four months.
00:51They then found themselves in a more stable situation, and we moved on to finding other
00:56camps that were struggling somewhat.
00:58You've got the camps who expect the men to feed themselves from their basic salaries.
01:02Then you get men who are given five dirhams a day to eat from, which is not going to get
01:08you much.
01:09So they tend to club together, go and buy meals together, cook them together.
01:12And then you get the camps who food is provided for, but they rarely get chicken, they certainly
01:16don't get it of this quality, they don't get pistachio nuts and stuff like that inside
01:22the rice.
01:23Supplying food to thousands of workers is more than one woman can handle.
01:27Lola selects groups of volunteers to assist her with supplying, preparing and distributing
01:31meals.
01:32We probably do about 40 to 50 volunteers every time from packing to distribution, and I think
01:38that's what people like.
01:39They get to see the food being made, and they actually get to see the men that they're giving
01:42it to.
01:43So there's no question in anybody's mind where their goodwill has gone.
01:47You might have been involved in sponsoring the meals themselves, you get to come and
01:51you get to make the meals, then you get to bring them and meet the men who you're helping.
01:55There are numerous safety concerns when supplying food on such a large scale.
02:00These volunteers take the utmost precautions to ensure that they provide the highest quality
02:04meals.
02:05The most important part is the preparation of the food.
02:07We obviously have to take into consideration the health of these men.
02:11By the very nature of their jobs, they're considerably dehydrated as it is.
02:14You can fall extremely ill if you get any sort of bacterial infection due to food poisoning,
02:19right?
02:20And especially people who are already dehydrated.
02:21So we make sure that we partner with a reputable catering company, City Chef in this example,
02:26and they're very, very particular about the food not dropping below 37.5 degrees.
02:31Those big black boxes that we were putting the food into, they keep the food hot for
02:35up to eight hours.
02:36So we can ensure that whatever temperature the food goes in at the catering company,
02:41as it comes out here, it's the same temperature.
02:42So we're safeguarding the health of these men.
02:44Lola and her team take a very hands-on approach when interacting in the field.
02:48And at times, it can be a risky job when dealing with large crowds.
02:52It's a very vulnerable environment for volunteers, which is why, where possible, I try not to
02:56bring women to the camp.
02:58I meet with some resistance sometimes and they think, oh, it's a bit sexist that women
03:01in the kitchen, men in the camps, but it can turn at any moment and it can get very ugly.
03:06So again, I've got the responsibility of the safety of the volunteers in mind.
03:10Besides a free meal, Lola is passionate about ensuring that her team connects with people
03:14on a personal level, to express their gratitude for all the work that the labourers do for
03:18the city.
03:19Say hi to them.
03:20Say, hey, how are you doing?
03:21Give them a water.
03:22We've got a bit of time.
03:23Just make eye contact, smile with them, say, hey, how are you doing?
03:28It's not just about the meals.
03:30It's about letting these men know that someone cares about them.
03:33Let's not race through it unless we have to.
03:35Let's take a moment to just make eye contact with these guys and say, hey, how are you
03:39doing?
03:40Here's some dinner.
03:41This is just one of the many ways in which people are giving back this Ramadan.
03:45And with thousands queuing up, it's clearly a worthy cause.
03:48Caitlin Bomrons, Golf News.