UAE: Meet 15 women earning up to Dh2,000 a month who took their first flight to visit Dubai
Girija from India neither owned a passport nor traveled by airplane before. She supported her family financially for more than two decades and at the age of 55 she saved enough to take her first-ever trip to Dubai. The southern Indian state of Kerala sent fifteen low-income women on their first international journey to the UAE.
She expressed her disbelief about her first flight journey ending in Dubai while she explored the Miracle Garden. I submitted my passport application for emergency processing and received it after two weeks.
The city we watched on television and learned about through newspaper articles is the place we visit now. I touch myself to check whether my dream has turned into reality. The miracle garden stands as one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen.
The government of Kerala includes Girija and her travel companions in its Kudumbashree poverty-eradication programme. The programme has helped women with limited resources and education gain financial independence for more than 20 years.
Through the programme these women now earn a monthly income of Dh1000 to Dh2000 which has allowed them to transform their lives. The Indian tour agency Travel with Jas partnered with Dubai-based Smart Travels to enable these women to realize their dream trip.
When we received this opportunity we immediately recognized our responsibility to enhance the women's travel experience," explained Safeer Mahamood, general manager of Smart Travels. "Our specially designed tour package will introduce attendees to nearly all of Dubai and Abu Dhabi's top tourist sites while our CSR initiative covers most of the expenses.
Making dreams come true
The 54-year-old grandmother Usha leads a Kudumbashree unit that produces homemade weaning food for 15 nurseries in her community while accompanying Girija.
Usha observed that her grandchildren aspire to follow in her footsteps. Before this past year the majority of women in our group had never left our small town. Today we are in Dubai. My wish is that our actions will motivate additional women to pursue life enjoyment.
Travel with Jas leader Jasmine Begum commented on the women's determination which impressed her because they had dedicated their lives to support their families.
As soon as I proposed the idea of a trip to Dubai they showed great excitement to join. Travel disruptions and last-minute scheduling meant only 15 women managed to join the group this year. We expect a larger number of women to join next year.
Cooking through the pandemic
Girija managed to fit the trip into her busy schedule while leading her catering service unit through the Kudumbashree programme. Her unit began catering for the Kerala state minister’s son wedding during the first week of February.
She commented that providing food for a high-profile wedding was less difficult than her experience during Covid. We had never handled an order of this size before yet we accepted the challenge. We figured things out along the way. It was a life-changing experience for us.”
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