A refreshing way to share some good
Ramadan Sharing Fridges launched in 2016 as a one fridge, one person initiative to provide free food and drink to community workers during the holy month of Ramadan. It quickly went on to become one of the country’s largest charity schemes. By 2018, the scheme had expanded to over 170 fridges across Dubai, all providing and sharing free food and drink with those less fortunate in the community.
Big ideas have small beginnings
Ramadan Fridges was started by Australian-Afghan Sumayyah Sayed when she had the simple idea of sharing some of what she had at Iftar time with workers and those less fortunate. She placed her spare fridge outside her house for the Ramadan period and stocked it with free food and drink. One fridge quickly became two fridges and then three fridges and the concept was born. Members of the community place a spare fridge on their patio or in their garage during Ramadan. Anybody is free to stock up the fridges and those who are in need are free to take from the fridges. As the scheme grew in popularity amongst her friends Summayah started a Facebook Ramadan Fridges page. What had started as a neighbourhood initiative very quickly went on to become a city-wide phenomenon.
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The FB group was created as a platform to share fridge locations and more importantly ask the community to participate and get involved.
Anne Mulcahy
The place to share and grow
By 2018 the Facebook group had over 28,000 members ready to help through donating and helping to stock 170 fridges. Each fridge is stocked up to 15 times a day and is capable of feeding around 100 people a day, meaning that the scheme helped to serve thousands of people throughout the holy month. The scheme was so successful that it was licensed under the patronage of the Emirates Red Crescent to operate over Ramadan 2017 and 2018 in Dubai.
Traditional values with a modern twist
One reason for the scheme’s success an popularity is that the concept of a sharing fridge a new thing in the UAE. It’s very much part of the longstanding Emirati tradition to share food and water, a tradition that is felt particularly strongly at Ramadan, it being the month of sharing.
Connecting and sharing
Facebook’s role in the initiative was to share the brilliant idea and connect people through the Ramadan Fridges page. This played a key role in driving awareness of the community initiative and helping keep volunteers up to date with fridge locations and calls for restocking. Facebook’s ability to connect people helped to take the initiative to the next level.
Not only did the Facebook group number over 28,000 members it helped to bring the community together through sharing and giving. Businesses, corporates and individuals of all different cultures, nationalities and religions were all brought closer together. It shows just what is possible when differences are put to one side and people are united to a greater purpose, in this case, to share.
170fridges involved in the initiative in 2018
100people fed on average each day, per fridge
28,000Facebook Group members
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