*'Etaam', founded by Sheikha Alnawar al-Thani, provides snack packets to expat workers
A humanitarian initiative, founded by a Qatari lady to express gratitude to the workers involved in developing the country, is winning praise and appreciation among the community.
“Etaam is a personal initiative started in June this year in the midst of the pandemic to provide snack boxes to the workers as a form of appreciation and thanks to those who spend hours toiling in the sun and building the country," the founder Sheikha Alnawar al-Thani told Gulf Times.
"We have seen construction workers and cleaners among others who work hard to make Qatar what it is now and this is our way of thanking them. The idea is to build a culture of giving back,” she explained.
Etaam, means ‘to feed or to nourish.' Sheikha Alnawar feels that the initiative is an opportunity to put social and cultural divisions aside and meet the people who help make Qatar what it is now. Now there are four of them engaged in the initiative.
“As the government and construction companies provide the workers with adequate food, shelter and healthcare, we distribute snacks on construction sites or in the streets to labourers across Qatar from gardeners to waste collectors, construction workers and car cleaners. I started it by myself and we are now four ladies and from this month, we will open our doors to volunteers following all the Covid-19 protocols,” explained Sheikha Alnawar.
"Our snack bags are an addition to the meals already provided to the workers.We make sure that the food we distribute is of good quality, healthy and nutritious. The team seems really happy about the rare opportunity to talk to the workers while we are handing out the snack bags,” she continued.
The team distributes a minimum of 60 snack packets on any distribution day and they visit the workers weekly and sometimes twice a week. The team members bear all the expenses for the project and they do not accept any monetary support.
“All the money for the project is funded by us and we do not accept monetary donations from others. Although so many people reached out asking us if they can send or transfer money, we have politely refused. Many people including teachers have reached out to us offering support. What we ask for is participation to help pack and distribute the bags. I would like to build the culture of participation, giving and empathy and those are our values at Etaam,” she highlighted.
“We will be starting a new package which we call ‘family box’. This will go to families that have been affected by the pandemic. We will provide them with basic needs and we are trying to get hold of coupons to provide them. Restaurant owners and chefs are willing to cook meals if we can do the packaging. This shows how much people are willing to help,” she noted.
Etaam already has over 40 volunteer requests and is asking more people to turn up in their cars so the snack bags can be loaded on the vehicles and can cover more areas.
“For families, we are creating a database with the number of people in the families in need. We will plan a membership for a bi-weekly arrangement to receive the package. But this has not been implemented yet. We now write the words “thank you” in three languages on the bags given to the men for the work they do every day.
Highlighting the environmental responsibility, Etaam is trying to minimise the carbon footprint by avoiding plastic waste and using paper bags. “It has been difficult because almost everything is wrapped in plastic. Now, we are looking for reusable alternatives at least for our family boxes. While shopping for Etaam products, I have my own reusable bags,” added Sheikha Alnawar.
“Etaam is a personal initiative started in June this year in the midst of the pandemic to provide snack boxes to the workers as a form of appreciation and thanks to those who spend hours toiling in the sun and building the country," the founder Sheikha Alnawar al-Thani told Gulf Times.
"We have seen construction workers and cleaners among others who work hard to make Qatar what it is now and this is our way of thanking them. The idea is to build a culture of giving back,” she explained.
Etaam, means ‘to feed or to nourish.' Sheikha Alnawar feels that the initiative is an opportunity to put social and cultural divisions aside and meet the people who help make Qatar what it is now. Now there are four of them engaged in the initiative.
“As the government and construction companies provide the workers with adequate food, shelter and healthcare, we distribute snacks on construction sites or in the streets to labourers across Qatar from gardeners to waste collectors, construction workers and car cleaners. I started it by myself and we are now four ladies and from this month, we will open our doors to volunteers following all the Covid-19 protocols,” explained Sheikha Alnawar.
"Our snack bags are an addition to the meals already provided to the workers.We make sure that the food we distribute is of good quality, healthy and nutritious. The team seems really happy about the rare opportunity to talk to the workers while we are handing out the snack bags,” she continued.
The team distributes a minimum of 60 snack packets on any distribution day and they visit the workers weekly and sometimes twice a week. The team members bear all the expenses for the project and they do not accept any monetary support.
“All the money for the project is funded by us and we do not accept monetary donations from others. Although so many people reached out asking us if they can send or transfer money, we have politely refused. Many people including teachers have reached out to us offering support. What we ask for is participation to help pack and distribute the bags. I would like to build the culture of participation, giving and empathy and those are our values at Etaam,” she highlighted.
“We will be starting a new package which we call ‘family box’. This will go to families that have been affected by the pandemic. We will provide them with basic needs and we are trying to get hold of coupons to provide them. Restaurant owners and chefs are willing to cook meals if we can do the packaging. This shows how much people are willing to help,” she noted.
Etaam already has over 40 volunteer requests and is asking more people to turn up in their cars so the snack bags can be loaded on the vehicles and can cover more areas.
“For families, we are creating a database with the number of people in the families in need. We will plan a membership for a bi-weekly arrangement to receive the package. But this has not been implemented yet. We now write the words “thank you” in three languages on the bags given to the men for the work they do every day.
Highlighting the environmental responsibility, Etaam is trying to minimise the carbon footprint by avoiding plastic waste and using paper bags. “It has been difficult because almost everything is wrapped in plastic. Now, we are looking for reusable alternatives at least for our family boxes. While shopping for Etaam products, I have my own reusable bags,” added Sheikha Alnawar.