DUBAI // A chance encounter at a supermarket checkout inspired Saher Shaikh to devote much of her time to improving the lives of labourers.
The mother of three saw a man who could not afford to pay for his meal and offered to help.
That event six years ago sparked the self-described British Pakistani to set up the AdoptaCamp charity.
The organisation attracts hundreds of people every year to events that support workers in labour camps and now provides supplies to 12,800 people in 36 camps across the Emirates.
"I was in Spinneys in Marina Walk with my son, who was a baby at the time, and while we were in line I saw a labourer at the checkout struggling with his money," says Mrs Shaikh, 34. "He had some bread and a small bottle of laban and was paying in fils."
She offered to pay, but to spare the labourer's pride she said it was her son's birthday and asked if he would allow her to buy him his meal and anything else in the supermarket he wanted.
"He could have had anything but came back with a tiny bottle of strawberry milk," Mrs Shaikh says.
She then told staff at the shop to put the cost of other labourers' items on her bill in the future, and the seeds of AdoptaCamp were planted.
In April, ExpatWoman, a magazine for women who move to the UAE, presented a community service award to Mrs Shaikh for her work.
"My first impressions of her were that she is too nice and there's got to be something more to it," says Maria Tapal, a Pakistani national who has been a friend of Mrs Shaikh for four years.
"But after a few years I realised that she is genuinely nice. She is one of those rare people in Dubai that does not have any pretences and that is really refreshing.
"I know that if I was ever in a bind I could depend on her for support, and that is what makes her so special."
Mrs Shaikh's early life in the UK and her career in banking were far removed from the labour camps and her life as a housewife in the Emirates.
"I have been in Dubai for six years," she says. "I used to be an investment banker in the UK and in retail banking in Canada before we moved to Dubai.
"I have always had a passion for children and animals, and my dream was to open up a sanctuary for orphaned animals in Kashmir. Getting involved with helping labourers was by chance."
Mrs Shaikh's family background is a patchwork of nationalities. Her father is from Afghanistan and her mother is from Lucknow in India.
"Although both of my parents were living in the UK at the time, my mum decided she wanted to be with her family and they were living in Karachi," she says.
After she was born, her parents took her back to the UK and she spent her formative years in England.
"My parents always wanted the best for me so they saved up to allow me to go to a public school," Mrs Shaikh says. "I met some really wonderful people, and I grew up very English and proud of being so."
At the age of 10 she moved with her parents back to Pakistan because her father wanted to be closer to his parents, who had shifted there from Afghanistan. They were getting old and needed more looking after.
"Two years after that my grandmother died and it was good that we were together as a family," Mrs Shaikh says.
"I loved every minute of my time in Pakistan. Pakistanis are such warm people and I always felt that I was part of a larger family."
At 18, she returned to the UK to do her bachelor's degree in finance and international stock markets at the University of Westminster.
She then took a job at an investment bank in London before moving to Canada with her husband in January 2001.
The couple had been childhood friends and did their MBAs in finance together at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Canada. Later, she took a job at a retail bank.
Mrs Shaikh and her husband, the property developer Shamrez Shaikh, moved to Dubai in 2005.
"We have been married for more than 10 years and I don't think there is a kinder, more generous person I know," says Mr Shaikh, 37, a Canadian national who was born in the UAE to Pakistani parents.
He says they are keen to give their two sons, aged 6 and 4, and their daughter, 2 months, a sense of responsibility.
The boys often help their mother on visits to labour camps and collections for people in need.
"The way she juggles being a mother, a wife and helping to run the AdoptaCamp is amazing," Mr Shaikh says.
"I'm more in the background now to provide support but she has inspired a lot of people who volunteer their time to help with the charity."
For more information, visit the AdoptaCamp Facebook page.
nhanif@thenational.ae
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
How to apply for a drone permit
- Individuals must register on UAE Drone app or website using their UAE Pass
- Add all their personal details, including name, nationality, passport number, Emiratis ID, email and phone number
- Upload the training certificate from a centre accredited by the GCAA
- Submit their request
What are the regulations?
- Fly it within visual line of sight
- Never over populated areas
- Ensure maximum flying height of 400 feet (122 metres) above ground level is not crossed
- Users must avoid flying over restricted areas listed on the UAE Drone app
- Only fly the drone during the day, and never at night
- Should have a live feed of the drone flight
- Drones must weigh 5 kg or less
The Brutalist
Director: Brady Corbet
Stars: Adrien Brody, Felicity Jones, Guy Pearce, Joe Alwyn
Rating: 3.5/5
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
The language of diplomacy in 1853
Treaty of Peace in Perpetuity Agreed Upon by the Chiefs of the Arabian Coast on Behalf of Themselves, Their Heirs and Successors Under the Mediation of the Resident of the Persian Gulf, 1853
(This treaty gave the region the name “Trucial States”.)
We, whose seals are hereunto affixed, Sheikh Sultan bin Suggar, Chief of Rassool-Kheimah, Sheikh Saeed bin Tahnoon, Chief of Aboo Dhebbee, Sheikh Saeed bin Buyte, Chief of Debay, Sheikh Hamid bin Rashed, Chief of Ejman, Sheikh Abdoola bin Rashed, Chief of Umm-ool-Keiweyn, having experienced for a series of years the benefits and advantages resulting from a maritime truce contracted amongst ourselves under the mediation of the Resident in the Persian Gulf and renewed from time to time up to the present period, and being fully impressed, therefore, with a sense of evil consequence formerly arising, from the prosecution of our feuds at sea, whereby our subjects and dependants were prevented from carrying on the pearl fishery in security, and were exposed to interruption and molestation when passing on their lawful occasions, accordingly, we, as aforesaid have determined, for ourselves, our heirs and successors, to conclude together a lasting and inviolable peace from this time forth in perpetuity.
Taken from Britain and Saudi Arabia, 1925-1939: the Imperial Oasis, by Clive Leatherdale
A State of Passion
Directors: Carol Mansour and Muna Khalidi
Stars: Dr Ghassan Abu-Sittah
Rating: 4/5
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League final:
Who: Real Madrid v Liverpool
Where: NSC Olimpiyskiy Stadium, Kiev, Ukraine
When: Saturday, May 26, 10.45pm (UAE)
TV: Match on BeIN Sports
Mia Man’s tips for fermentation
- Start with a simple recipe such as yogurt or sauerkraut
- Keep your hands and kitchen tools clean. Sanitize knives, cutting boards, tongs and storage jars with boiling water before you start.
- Mold is bad: the colour pink is a sign of mold. If yogurt turns pink as it ferments, you need to discard it and start again. For kraut, if you remove the top leaves and see any sign of mold, you should discard the batch.
- Always use clean, closed, airtight lids and containers such as mason jars when fermenting yogurt and kraut. Keep the lid closed to prevent insects and contaminants from getting in.
Director: Paul Weitz
Stars: Kevin Hart
3/5 stars
The%20Roundup
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If you go:
The flights: Etihad, Emirates, British Airways and Virgin all fly from the UAE to London from Dh2,700 return, including taxes
The tours: The Tour for Muggles usually runs several times a day, lasts about two-and-a-half hours and costs £14 (Dh67)
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is on now at the Palace Theatre. Tickets need booking significantly in advance
Entrance to the Harry Potter exhibition at the House of MinaLima is free
The hotel: The grand, 1909-built Strand Palace Hotel is in a handy location near the Theatre District and several of the key Harry Potter filming and inspiration sites. The family rooms are spacious, with sofa beds that can accommodate children, and wooden shutters that keep out the light at night. Rooms cost from £170 (Dh808).
THE SPECS
Engine: 4.4-litre V8
Transmission: Automatic
Power: 530bhp
Torque: 750Nm
Price: Dh535,000
On sale: Now
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
Europe’s rearming plan
- Suspend strict budget rules to allow member countries to step up defence spending
- Create new "instrument" providing €150 billion of loans to member countries for defence investment
- Use the existing EU budget to direct more funds towards defence-related investment
- Engage the bloc's European Investment Bank to drop limits on lending to defence firms
- Create a savings and investments union to help companies access capital
Milestones on the road to union
1970
October 26: Bahrain withdraws from a proposal to create a federation of nine with the seven Trucial States and Qatar.
December: Ahmed Al Suwaidi visits New York to discuss potential UN membership.
1971
March 1: Alex Douglas Hume, Conservative foreign secretary confirms that Britain will leave the Gulf and “strongly supports” the creation of a Union of Arab Emirates.
July 12: Historic meeting at which Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid make a binding agreement to create what will become the UAE.
July 18: It is announced that the UAE will be formed from six emirates, with a proposed constitution signed. RAK is not yet part of the agreement.
August 6: The fifth anniversary of Sheikh Zayed becoming Ruler of Abu Dhabi, with official celebrations deferred until later in the year.
August 15: Bahrain becomes independent.
September 3: Qatar becomes independent.
November 23-25: Meeting with Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid and senior British officials to fix December 2 as date of creation of the UAE.
November 29: At 5.30pm Iranian forces seize the Greater and Lesser Tunbs by force.
November 30: Despite a power sharing agreement, Tehran takes full control of Abu Musa.
November 31: UK officials visit all six participating Emirates to formally end the Trucial States treaties
December 2: 11am, Dubai. New Supreme Council formally elects Sheikh Zayed as President. Treaty of Friendship signed with the UK. 11.30am. Flag raising ceremony at Union House and Al Manhal Palace in Abu Dhabi witnessed by Sheikh Khalifa, then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.
December 6: Arab League formally admits the UAE. The first British Ambassador presents his credentials to Sheikh Zayed.
December 9: UAE joins the United Nations.
Company%20Profile
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Match info
Manchester United 1 (Van de Beek 80') Crystal Palace 3 (Townsend 7', Zaha pen 74' & 85')
Man of the match Wilfried Zaha (Crystal Palace)
The years Ramadan fell in May
The specs: 2018 Volkswagen Teramont
Price, base / as tested Dh137,000 / Dh189,950
Engine 3.6-litre V6
Gearbox Eight-speed automatic
Power 280hp @ 6,200rpm
Torque 360Nm @ 2,750rpm
Fuel economy, combined 11.7L / 100km
Banned items
Dubai Police has also issued a list of banned items at the ground on Sunday. These include:
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Political flags or banners
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Bikes, skateboards or scooters
Crops that could be introduced to the UAE
1: Quinoa
2. Bathua
3. Amaranth
4. Pearl and finger millet
5. Sorghum
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
Dr Afridi's warning signs of digital addiction
Spending an excessive amount of time on the phone.
Neglecting personal, social, or academic responsibilities.
Losing interest in other activities or hobbies that were once enjoyed.
Having withdrawal symptoms like feeling anxious, restless, or upset when the technology is not available.
Experiencing sleep disturbances or changes in sleep patterns.
What are the guidelines?
Under 18 months: Avoid screen time altogether, except for video chatting with family.
Aged 18-24 months: If screens are introduced, it should be high-quality content watched with a caregiver to help the child understand what they are seeing.
Aged 2-5 years: Limit to one-hour per day of high-quality programming, with co-viewing whenever possible.
Aged 6-12 years: Set consistent limits on screen time to ensure it does not interfere with sleep, physical activity, or social interactions.
Teenagers: Encourage a balanced approach – screens should not replace sleep, exercise, or face-to-face socialisation.
Source: American Paediatric Association
