Dubai resident fulfils dreams as hundreds of workers perform Umrah for free


Ali Al Shouk
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A Dubai resident helped hundreds of workers perform Umrah free of charge this year to ensure nobody was priced out of completing the spiritual journey.

Sophia Addas, a director at Deloitte Middle East, was inspired to launch a community campaign after talking to a cleaner last year who said it was her dream to travel to Makkah for Umrah if money was no object.

It led her to team up with family and friends to pay for the woman's trip and set her on a path to help 400 more UAE workers to travel from Dubai to Saudi Arabia since April.

“The woman, Khadija, started crying and told me that she would love to go for Umrah. Her answer sparked the idea of helping workers to perform Umrah,” Ms Addas said. “I arranged for an Umrah trip for her, and she came back very happy. It is a spiritual journey,” she said.

Driving up support

Ms Addas has since established a company – called Umrah 4 Labour Workers – where those who have never been on the Umrah pilgrimage can apply for free visits to Makkah and the city of Madinah. Organisations and individuals are invited to donate the Dh1,500 cost of the package.

Sophia Addas, left, helps workers complete documents so they can perform Umrah. Photo: Umrah4 Labour Workers
Sophia Addas, left, helps workers complete documents so they can perform Umrah. Photo: Umrah4 Labour Workers

Umrah can be performed at any time of the year – apart from when the Hajj pilgrimage is observed – and while not deemed compulsory, is a cherished cornerstone of the Islamic faith for millions.

“My target is to send one million workers to Umrah,” said Ms Addas, who is from Saudi Arabia and has lived in Dubai since 2021. “The feedback was incredible. I wanted to give back to the community. It’s a rewarding feeling because we owe so much to the people around us.”

She found that it typically costs Dh4,500 to perform Umrah, including travel costs from the Emirates. However, she contacted the Al Suwaigh Umrah company in Saudi Arabia which told her she could send 49 workers in a bus for between Dh1,100 and Dh1,500 each for one week.

“The price includes everything from the visa, insurance, transportation, food and accommodation,” she said. “Many people wanted to buy Umrah packages and send the workers. I became the connection point between the workers, Umrah company and people.”

Nine convoys carrying 401 workers have set off for Saudi Arabia since April as part of a growing initiative. “We have 1,500 workers on the waiting list now. Bus number 10 will be departing in November,” she said.

High demand

“Individuals can buy Umrah package for workers. Companies can also come to us and book a bus to send their workers to Umrah.”

Workers can apply on the company's website in several languages and should have a valid Emirates ID and passport. They must have never performed Umrah before. Ms Addas sets up WhatsApp groups for each group of pilgrims and welcomes them back with flowers.

“I feel those workers are my little brothers. Providing them with the opportunity to perform Umrah could have a huge impact on their lives and faith,” she said.

Mohammed Asad, from Pakistan, in Makkah. Photo: Mohammed Asad.
Mohammed Asad, from Pakistan, in Makkah. Photo: Mohammed Asad.

Dreams come true

Mohammed Asad, 27 and from Pakistan, works as an office boy. He said he could not believe it when he was told he could perform Umrah free of charge.

“Performing Umrah is my best dream. I was thrilled when I went to Umrah thanks to Sophia. She is a good person and made my lifelong dream come true,” Mr Asad told The National.

“I really loved the way they guided me throughout the trip. I’m grateful to have the opportunity. Any worker who can’t afford to go to Umrah should submit a request to fulfil the dream. I’m grateful and hope to perform Umrah for a second time with my family who are based in Pakistan.”

Mohammed Rafique, a Dubai worker, in Makkah. Photo: Umrah4 Labour Workers
Mohammed Rafique, a Dubai worker, in Makkah. Photo: Umrah4 Labour Workers

Mohammed Rafique, a machine operator from Pakistan who lives in Dubai's Al Quoz district, was thrilled to make the journey to Saudi Arabia.

‘Thanks to Allah for this blessed and wonderful experience of my whole life to go Makkah and perform Umrah. I’m grateful to the team who sent us on this wonderful journey,” said Mr Rafique. “They helped us a lot to enhance and fulfil our spiritual beliefs.”

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The specs

Engine: 1.5-litre, 4-cylinder turbo

Transmission: CVT

Power: 170bhp

Torque: 220Nm

Price: Dh98,900

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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

Neil Thomson – THE BIO

Family: I am happily married to my wife Liz and we have two children together.

Favourite music: Rock music. I started at a young age due to my father’s influence. He played in an Indian rock band The Flintstones who were once asked by Apple Records to fly over to England to perform there.

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Favourite holiday destination: I love visiting Melbourne as I have family there and it’s a wonderful place. New York at Christmas is also magical.

Favourite food: I went to boarding school so I like any cuisine really.

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Director: Eli Roth

Rating: 0/5

Squad

Ali Kasheif, Salim Rashid, Khalifa Al Hammadi, Khalfan Mubarak, Ali Mabkhout, Omar Abdulrahman, Mohammed Al Attas, Abdullah Ramadan, Zayed Al Ameri (Al Jazira), Mohammed Al Shamsi, Hamdan Al Kamali, Mohammed Barghash, Khalil Al Hammadi (Al Wahda), Khalid Essa, Mohammed Shaker, Ahmed Barman, Bandar Al Ahbabi (Al Ain), Al Hassan Saleh, Majid Suroor (Sharjah) Walid Abbas, Ahmed Khalil (Shabab Al Ahli), Tariq Ahmed, Jasim Yaqoub (Al Nasr), Ali Saleh, Ali Salmeen (Al Wasl), Hassan Al Muharami (Baniyas) 

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Jetour T1 specs

Engine: 2-litre turbocharged

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UPI facts

More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions

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The Federal Tax Authority will track shisha imports with electronic markers to protect customers and ensure levies have been paid.

Khalid Ali Al Bustani, director of the tax authority, on Sunday said the move is to "prevent tax evasion and support the authority’s tax collection efforts".

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He said the latest phase will see imported and locally produced shisha tobacco tracked by the final quarter of this year.

"The FTA also maintains ongoing communication with concerned companies, to help them adapt their systems to meet our requirements and coordinate between all parties involved," he said.

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Date Started: May 2015

Founders: Rami Shaar and Jad Halaoui

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Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence

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