Riyadh: IFF ‘Sneha Koota-2019’ on March 21

In a humanitarian gesture to help fellow citizens in distress, the first in the series of chartered 
flights arranged by Thumbay Group, UAE and the Bearys Cultural Forum (BCF) Trust, 
Mangalore to repatriate stranded Kannadigas in the UAE took off from Ras Al Khaimah 
International Airport in the wee hours of 21st July 2020. The flight was fully occupied, with 186 passengers, all of them desperate to fly back to India for various reasons.

The initiative was conceived and implemented under the leadership of Dr. Thumbay Moideen - Founder President of Thumbay Group & Founder Patron of BCF and Dr. B K Yusuf, the 
President of BCF. The flight was organized on a purely charitable basis, with all necessary 
steps and precautions in place to ensure the safety and comfort of passengers. Thumbay Group assigned its fleet of buses to transport the passengers free of charge from their residences in Dubai, Sharjah and Ajman to the airport. The organizers also provided free meals and refreshments to the passengers, in addition to PPE kits and face-shields distributed free of 
charges.

The passengers on the first flight included many elderly individuals, people with serious 
illnesses like heart-related health issues and diabetes, pregnant ladies and little children as well as people who had lost their jobs and those with expired visas. Dr. B K Yusuf – BCF President, Dr. Kaup Mohammed - BCF General Secretary, other office bearers of BCF, as well as Thumbay Group’s representatives Mr. Farhad C – Director of the Hospitality Division of 
Thumbay Group and Engr. Farwaz P. C. – COO of the Construction Division were present at 
the airport to see off the first group of passengers.

Commenting on the initiative, Dr. Thumbay Moideen said, “This joint initiative of Thumbay 
Group and BCF is to support our fellow Kannadigas desperate to fly back home. We are happy that we have been able to reach out to many of them, to help them fly home to their families. We thank the Governments of the UAE and India, and the Indian Consulate, Dubai, for their support in making this happen. In the coming days, many more stranded Kannadigas would be repatriated under this joint initiative.”
Dr. B K Yusuf thanked Dr. Thumbay Moideen and the office-bearers and members of BCF for 
their efforts to make the initiative a success.

“We are proud that this initiative has brought relief to many Kannadigas and their families today. BCF is grateful to Thumbay Group for its support and partnership for all our humanitarian programs for the support of the needy.”

Dr. Kaup Mohammed said that it was a matter of pride that the much-awaited Thumbay-BCF 
repatriation flight had been carried out successfully. “Measures have been taken to ensure the safety of the flight and its passengers throughout the journey,” he said. He also thanked all the social organizations including Bhatkal Jamath, BCCI, BWF, KCF, DKSC, Kodagu Kannadigas, 
Kannadiga Help Line, Dubai Konkans and KSS, for their support. He specially thanked Mr. 
Syed Hassan Razeen, the owner of ARISTOCRAT Travels for his support in the ticketing, 
boarding and related processes. On behalf of Milano Optics Group and Maxcare, free gift 
hampers were distributed to selected passengers.

The passengers were received at Mangalore airport under the leadership of Mr. Mumtaz Ali - patron of BCF and other distinguished personalities of Mangalore including Mr. Moidin Bava - former MLA, Mr U. T. Ifthikhar, Mr. S. M. R Rashid - President of BCCI central committee and many others. The passengers were transferred to the hotels where they had registered for the mandatory quarantine.

The second flight under this joint initiative is scheduled to take-off from Ras Al Khaimah airport to Mangalore on 24th July 2020. A few more similar repatriation flights are to soon follow, in the coming weeks.

Dubai: In response to UAE health authorities encourage blood donation campaign Anivasai Kannadigara Okkuta - U.A.E, conducted blood donation camps on April 22 at Abu Dhabi Blood Bank Khaldiya and on 23/04/2020 at Blood Transfusion and Research Centre, Sharjah.

The Abu Dhabi camp was inaugurated by Head of Department of Abu Dhabi Blood Bank, On this occasion she gave brief inputs of the benefits and features of blood donation, urged the participants to spread greater awareness about the importance of blood donation and congratulated the AKO members for their selfless social service and wished all the best for their future endeavours.

Abdul Rasheed, President of AKO presided over the function and Anivasai Kannadigara Okkuta Vice President Mr. Mohammad Nasir appreciated the effort for organizing this camp and gathering youths to be a part of this noble cause as life is precious on this earth. "Each drop of blood counts much, so kindly take it as personal compassion to help unknown who requires blood with no relatives to help him/her.

In Abu Dhabi 41 and in Sharjah 49 donors participated in this event and donated their blood. It was nice to see cheerful smiling donors doing a great community work.
Blood bank staff and AKO Organizing team enthusiastically arranged the campaign which was witnessed by many members and leaders of various community organization of Karnataka.

Anivasai Kannadigara Okkuta President briefed the participates about the ongoing social work of AKO in this current COVID-19 pandemic grim situation AKO is working on following fields: AKO Members have stepped up to support needy community during the Covid-19 pandemic have gone out of their way to comfort those struggling to deal with the challenging situation.

While thousands of people continue to #StayHome, many are in quarantine, there are those on visit visa and stuck here, others have lost jobs or face salary cuts. AKO in coordination with UAE Embassy and other social organization have been able to ensure basic necessities are fulfilled with food provisions and medical assistance to needy.

Providing counselling to bachelors and families those are on quarantine and isolation.

The organizers thanked everybody especially, UAE Health Authority, Abu Dhabi Blood Bank Khaldiya and Blood Transfusion and Research Centre, Sharjah, Management and staff as well as donors for their time and support for the good cause.

Karnataka Sports and Cultural Club (KSCC) organized Blood Donation Camp at Latifa Hospital, Oud Mehta Dubai on April 23rd, 2020 in association with Dubai Health Authority (DHA) and with support from Community Development Authority (CDA) Government of Dubai.

Blood Donation Drive started in the morning at 7:30 am to 6:00 pm. Around 48 people participated in this drive and donated blood to support the Dubai Blood Bank.

A potential shortage of blood for transfusions has been occurred due to a significant reduction in voluntary blood donations during this time of the COVID-19 pandemic. The current pandemic, health services are now running with shortages of blood availability. To support the DHA Blood Bank KSCC taken initiative to ensure that blood donations continued and are safe for both the donor and the recipient.

After taking safety precaution and safe distance during the blood donation donors feeling happy and honored to participate and donate blood at this pandemic situation. Club Manager Mr. Mohammad Shafi was also present during this event.

KSCC appreciated all the blood donors and be grateful to Dubai Health Authority (DHA), Community Development Authority (CDA), and Government of Dubai for their association for this event. They also thanked the volunteers and supporters.