Saher Shaikh has devoted much of her time to improving the lives of labourers.
Saher Shaikh has devoted much of her time to improving the lives of labourers.

Moved to act by one man's hunger



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.

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If you go

Flight connections to Ulaanbaatar are available through a variety of hubs, including Seoul and Beijing, with airlines including Mongolian Airlines and Korean Air. While some nationalities, such as Americans, don’t need a tourist visa for Mongolia, others, including UAE citizens, can obtain a visa on arrival, while others including UK citizens, need to obtain a visa in advance. Contact the Mongolian Embassy in the UAE for more information.

Nomadic Road offers expedition-style trips to Mongolia in January and August, and other destinations during most other months. Its nine-day August 2020 Mongolia trip will cost from $5,250 per person based on two sharing, including airport transfers, two nights’ hotel accommodation in Ulaanbaatar, vehicle rental, fuel, third party vehicle liability insurance, the services of a guide and support team, accommodation, food and entrance fees; nomadicroad.com

A fully guided three-day, two-night itinerary at Three Camel Lodge costs from $2,420 per person based on two sharing, including airport transfers, accommodation, meals and excursions including the Yol Valley and Flaming Cliffs. A return internal flight from Ulaanbaatar to Dalanzadgad costs $300 per person and the flight takes 90 minutes each way; threecamellodge.com

Top 5 concerns globally:

1. Unemployment

2. Spread of infectious diseases

3. Fiscal crises

4. Cyber attacks

5. Profound social instability

Top 5 concerns in the Mena region

1. Energy price shock

2. Fiscal crises

3. Spread of infectious diseases

4. Unmanageable inflation

5. Cyber attacks

Source: World Economic Foundation

THE BIO

Born: Mukalla, Yemen, 1979

Education: UAE University, Al Ain

Family: Married with two daughters: Asayel, 7, and Sara, 6

Favourite piece of music: Horse Dance by Naseer Shamma

Favourite book: Science and geology

Favourite place to travel to: Washington DC

Best advice you’ve ever been given: If you have a dream, you have to believe it, then you will see it.

The essentials

What: Emirates Airline Festival of Literature

When: Friday until March 9

Where: All main sessions are held in the InterContinental Dubai Festival City

Price: Sessions range from free entry to Dh125 tickets, with the exception of special events.

Hot Tip: If waiting for your book to be signed looks like it will be timeconsuming, ask the festival’s bookstore if they have pre-signed copies of the book you’re looking for. They should have a bunch from some of the festival’s biggest guest authors.

Information: www.emirateslitfest.com
 

FIXTURES

Monday, January 28
Iran v Japan, Hazza bin Zayed Stadium (6pm)

Tuesday, January 29
UAEv Qatar, Mohamed Bin Zayed Stadium (6pm)

Friday, February 1
Final, Zayed Sports City Stadium (6pm)

Our legal consultant

Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais

Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.

Sunday's fixtures
  • Bournemouth v Southampton, 5.30pm
  • Manchester City v West Ham United, 8pm
Analysis

Members of Syria's Alawite minority community face threat in their heartland after one of the deadliest days in country’s recent history. Read more

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MATCH INFO

Uefa Champions League, semi-final result:

Liverpool 4-0 Barcelona

Liverpool win 4-3 on aggregate

Champions Legaue final: June 1, Madrid