From donating rice that helps improve the lives of low-income laborers in Kuwait to helping underprivileged children shop for Eid outfits in Dubai, GE Volunteers in the region are reflecting the Ramadan spirit of compassion and generosity.

In the UAE, dozens of GE employees have not only sponsored the purchase of Eid clothes for nearly 80 children, but many also took the children shopping to select their outfits. This was a welcome change from last year, when the shopping trip was done virtually to comply with social distancing requirements.

The program, held in coordination with the Rawafed Development & Learning Center ensures that children, who otherwise wouldn’t have the opportunity, are able to participate in the Eid tradition of wearing new clothes for the Eid al Fitr holiday.

Also during the month, GE employees in the UAE purchased more than 800 Ramadan Food Care Boxes in support of the Smart Life charity program. The initiative, held every year during the holy month, provides blue collar workers in Dubai with a month’s worth of food essentials, including cooking oil, tea, sugar, rice, dal, dates, and beans.

With so many boxes donated, more than one distribution was done during the month. The first several hundred boxes were delivered by Smart Life to a labor accommodation housing women working for a cleaning company.

In Kuwait, over a two-week period at the start of Ramadan, GE employees collected bags of rice at the GE Kuwait Technology Center. The rice was then distributed by the Helping Hands volunteer organization to women at a labor accommodation in the country.

“As the holy month of Ramadan approached, it was the perfect time for GE employees to participate in this food drive and support Helping Hands in the wonderful work they do in addressing communities in need. It is important  to give back to our community as often as we can, and we have enjoyed every minute of this initiative,” said Amani Ramadhan, Lead Education Specialist for the training cell at the GE Kuwait Technology Center (GEKTC).

Helping Hands is a volunteer group launched during the early days of the pandemic, when lockdowns in Kuwait resulted in thousands of low-income people losing their jobs and finding themselves without money for food or basic services.

GE Volunteers activities during Ramadan are just one aspect of year-round efforts to contribute to the GCC community and support those in need.