Water way to make a difference

(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) Do something great and say thank you with a precious gift this weekend

As Dubai residents we can all be guilty of taking aspects of life for granted. Many forget that behind an endemic service culture furnishing every delivery from the corner shop or dry cleaning company there is often an army of people working around the clock to provide. The same could be said when it comes to the frantic construction of the city’s iconic buildings. They go up so fast the labourers on the ground who pile on the bricks and cement at an astounding rate are largely overlooked leading to an obvious two-tier society comprising those who are seen and those who aren’t. This is where The [Sameness] Project steps in.

The [Sameness] Project is a Dubai-based social initiative collaboration with the aim to spread goodness by facilitating what they call “moments of sameness”.

“Everyone is a human being and when you create a ‘moment of sameness’ between them no matter what their background there is a connection” said New Zealander Jonny Kennaugh the cheekily self-proclaimed [Sameness] Project ‘Emperor’. Having established the enterprise with his wife and Dubai resident Lina Nahhas three years ago the programmes they run are human-focused non-political and above all about creating a better social environment.

“The projects we run have been trial and error but have gone well” Jonny continued. “We have done things including teaching taxi drivers stretches so they feel more comfortable.

“We also run something called The Conversation Chair where two strangers get together and just talk.”

One of the most successful missions over the years has been Water For Workers. Volunteers arrive on assigned Saturdays to pick up water supplied free of charge by PepsiCo and distribute it among Dubai’s outdoor workforce. This isn’t your typical dump and drive however. Along with the bottles donators also hand out handkerchiefs with ‘thank you’ printed on them in six languages – a small token to show appreciation for the countless hours put in constructing our surroundings.

This coming Saturday Water For Workers is in full swing and the message from [Sameness] is the more volunteers the merrier.

“Last month we had 400 people show up and it was amazing” Jonny said. “This Saturday we have 10 thousand Aquafina bottles to distribute so we need as many as possible.

“There is no need to sign up (if you have your own transportation) just visit our website www.thesamenessproject.com for directions and go for it.”

This weekend’s activity is only slightly different in that Hertz rent a car has donated the use of 10 cars and its corporate team has agreed to chauffer volunteers around if they do not have their own vehicle.

“We always have a broad range of people giving up their time” said Jonny. “Sometimes they don’t have their own cars and it’s a bit difficult to take a lot of water out.

Now all they need to do is sign up on our website to book a place in a car and it’s not a problem.

“This water is needed in the heat but we’re also providing a connecting point. We hope as many people as possible want to connect.”

davidkhaleejtimes.com