Portrait of a Nation: The Emirati identical twins sharing common goal to support UAE's Covid-19 fight

Noura and Muna Mohammed Lengawi came forward to help as part of the national campaign for volunteering

Identical twins Noura (R) and Muna Mohammed Lengawi volunteer at the National Screening Centre in Mina Rashid. All photos by Chris Whiteoak/ The National

Noura and her sister started volunteering in June and work in the registration department

The twins had 10-hour shifts and will be reducing their volunteering hours to seven to eight hours, as they resume their university studies

Dr Mohanna Abbas, manager of the screening centre in Mina Rashid and Noura attend to a visitor. On most days the twins wear full personal protective equipment.

A nurse collects a swab sample at the screening centre. Noura and Muna's role is to register people for the test and guide them.

When a pair of Emirati identical twins heard about a call for volunteers to join the country's fight against Covid-19, they didn't think twice about signing up.

In June, Noura and Muna Mohammed Lengawi, 20, started giving up their time to serve on the front lines at the Covid-19 screening centre at Mina Rashid, Dubai.

Carrying out 10 hour shifts nearly every day, the twins said they felt it was their “duty as Emiratis” to help the nation during these uncertain times.

“We started volunteering because we wanted to give back to the community and play our part while the country tries to contain the spread of the virus,” said Noura, who is studying business and aviation management at Emirates Aviation University.

In April, the UAE launched a national campaign for volunteering and encouraged residents to lend a helping hand.

Many different positions were made available, including on the front lines at Covid-19 test centres, hospitals, and other roles such as call centre agents, customer service workers and translators.

By early June, 18,740 people had signed up from across the country to help.

Among those were the identical twins, who are volunteering to this day.

Muna, who studies global logistics and chain supply management at the same university, said they had been working in the registration department and were required to wear full personal protective equipment depending on which task they had been assigned.

“It’s a little intimidating, but I believe that we all have what it takes to get through these tough times together,” she said.

“Hopefully, it doesn’t last much longer. The UAE has done an amazing job in keeping the situation under control, as compared to many other countries. We are helping while on the front lines, but at this stage, anyone can help by taking the proper precautionary measures.”

Their role includes guiding customers, such as registering them for the swab tests, checking to see if payments have been made and helping those who are exempt from paying.

The twins said they do have concerns about possibly getting infected but remain “confident” that the safety measures they take, such as the protective wear, sanitisation and social distancing, will help keep them safe.

Noura attends to a visitor at the screening centre. Chris Whiteoak/The National

On Wednesday, the UAE recorded 735 new coronavirus cases – the highest daily total in more than three months.

There has been a steady rise in cases in recent weeks, with 574 infections reported on Tuesday.

Currently, there are 9,124 active cases in the Emirates, 62,029 recoveries and the death toll is at 387.

“Our leaders told us not to worry, so instead of spending our time being worried and doing nothing, we continued to volunteer” said Mona.

“Of course, our family does get scared and tell us to take care of ourselves every single day, but they also motivate us and encourage us to do what we’re doing today.”

The duo said it was an easy decision for them to volunteer together in the same role as they “do everything together”.

Muna said their identical appearance does confuse patients coming in for the test, but “they leave with a smile”.

“It’s a great feeling knowing that we are helping,” she said. “It’s also wonderful seeing people smile and that motivates us to do what we can.”

With university classes resuming online, the twins are looking to reduce their volunteering hours to seven to eight hours.