Dubai businesswoman offers rent-free homes to families hit by the pandemic

Saaeda Riaz found temporary homes for 15 families who could not fly home because of travel restrictions

Saeeda Riaz helped needy families to stay at properties rent-free during the pandemic. Grace Guino / The National

A businesswoman in Dubai helped several needy families by providing rent-free homes after residents lost their jobs because of the pandemic.

Saaeda Riaz, 40, from Pakistan, who runs a property management services company, found temporary homes for 15 families who could not fly back to their home countries because of travel restrictions at the time.

Families contacted her through the Helping Hands UAE Facebook group managed by Ms Riaz and her husband.

I was able to use some of my own properties to help them while I asked landlords if they were able to offer any aid

She used her business contacts to find temporary homes for the families.

“I was able to use some of my own properties to help them while I asked landlords if they were able to offer any aid,” she said.

“We provided temporary accommodation for 15 families who had been hit by the impact of the pandemic.

“They all stayed rent-free and people donated groceries and diapers to help them out.”

Ms Riaz said she was flooded with pleas for help. She gave priority to those who were the most in need.

“We had to ask people to show their documents to prove they had been let go by their employers as well as flight tickets to make sure they were genuine cases,” she said.

In the past few months, hundreds of volunteers in Dubai rallied to support those affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. Here, a team from St Mary's Catholic Church collects food boxes from Vasai Local restaurant for the Meals of Grace campaign on December 3. Pawan Singh / The National

“No money ever changed hands. It was always about helping people.”

She said the idea to start her Facebook page came to her late last year before the pandemic struck.

“I saw a Facebook post from a Filipino who couldn’t get a hotel room as they wouldn’t take his papers,” she said.

“I thought, why not step in and help when I was in a position to do so.

“It started from there and we’ve been able to help many families as people and businesses offered donations.”

Filipino Eric Francisco, 33, a tour guide, was one of the many helped by Ms Riaz.

His situation was dire when he was out of work but had to provide for his wife and infant son.

“I lost my job and we were unable to return home because the borders closed,” he said.

“I got in touch with Saaeda who was able to provide us with accommodation in Dubai Marina.

“I had to just show her my letter of termination from my employer.”

Mr Francisco stayed at the property for two and a half months before the borders reopened and the family finally returned to their home country.

“I don’t know what we would have done but thankfully we were able to get the help we needed,” he said.

“We were also given groceries and medicine.”

There were close to 50,000 Filipinos who were repatriated from the UAE to the Philippines since the end of March.

Saad Siddiqui, a real estate broker from Pakistan, was also helped by the Helping Hands project.

Mr Siddiqui’s aunt Parveem and her two children were in Dubai on a visit when the borders closed. They could not afford a lengthy stay in a hotel.

“She couldn’t get back to Karachi because nobody was able to get out of the country and they couldn’t stay with me because I live in a one-bedroom apartment with two others,” said Mr Siddiqui, 25.

“It was a very difficult time for us but thankfully we were able to get help and she had somewhere to stay for a week before she flew home.”

UAE's 10 million meals campaign in pictures

A worker holds a food pack from Dubai's Beit Al Khair Society, as part of the Ruler of Dubai's 2020 campaign to deliver 10 million meals to low income residents. This year, the campaign will expand to 100 million meals in 20 countries in the region. All photos by Pawan Singh / The National

Volunteers distribute food packages in Dubai in May 2020, as the social and economic impact of the pandemic is felt

Restaurants across the city joined the campaign to feed workers in the absence of daily Ramadan iftars at mosques and in light of job losses and salary reductions

Staff at Al Nadeg restaurant in Deira, Dubai box up fresh and dried food

This box contains biryani, laban, fruit, dates and water

Staff and workers practise social distancing

Staff at Al Nadeg in Deira prepare fresh produce for the campaign

Fresh roasted chicken is prepared for the next batch of boxes

The 10 million meals project was brought in to replace the free iftars run by mosques across the country, which were halted due to the coronavirus

Staff of Al Nadeg restaurant in Deira prepare the food to be delivered

1,000 boxes were readied for this particular camp

Roast chicken is prepared for delivery

Restaurants across the city are volunteering their kitchens and staff as part of the campaign