海角大神

Feby Dela Pe帽a saw her fellow Filipinos standing in line outside her building in Dubai, waiting for free food. And she was stricken 鈥� what if her family, too, had lost their income amid the COVID-19 outbreak? How would she have fed her three children?

Ms. Dela Pe帽a is unemployed. 鈥淲e鈥檙e poor, to be honest,鈥� she said. 鈥淏ut it鈥檚 not a reason for me not to help, you know?鈥�

So the next day, she pulled out the money that was supposed to feed her family of five for a month. When their 11 housemates got wind of her plan 鈥� like most migrant workers in Dubai, the family lives in a shared apartment 鈥� those who could chipped in as well.

She was able to buy about 500 dirhams, or $136, worth of groceries, including 30 frozen chickens and sacks of rice. And she began to cook.

That is how Ms. Dela Pe帽a launched the project she calls Ayuda 鈥� help, in Filipino, a language heavily influenced by Spanish colonial rule. Each day, she offers 200 free meals to the hungry of Dubai, all of them foreigners, like her own family.

Migrants account for 90% of the workforce in the United Arab Emirates. The economic shutdown that came with COVID-19 has hit their communities hard.

Despite promises by the Philippine government to help overseas workers with a one-time cash assistance, and despite a nationwide 鈥�10 million meals鈥� initiative by the government of the United Arab Emirates to feed the poor, many are struggling to secure their next meal.

鈥淟ife is so hard and they don鈥檛 have anyone to depend on,鈥� said Ms.聽Dela Pe帽a.

Ms.聽Dela Pe帽a鈥檚 a confident cook who used to sell homemade聽meals to friends as a way to earn extra money. She said she also has a license in food safety.

But cooking 200 meals a day is a massive undertaking, especially with three children, including a toddler and a baby, at home.

The finances are dicey; Ms.聽Dela Pe帽a relies on her husband鈥檚 modest income from a sales job. But when word of her efforts spread on social media, people began reaching out, dropping off cartons of eggs and bags of rice. An influential Emirati blogger gave her $2,700.

She leans on her housemates, husband, and her brother-in-law, who was let go from his job in a tea shop amid the pandemic, to help with buying the groceries, thawing the meats, chopping the food, and cooking. Ultimately, though, she鈥檚 in charge.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a big thing if you can help like 10 people not to sleep hungry,鈥� she said, as she scooped up cooked rice, fried fish, and boiled eggs into containers to distribute.

Her children鈥檚 wagon is used to deliver the meals each day. It is 3 p.m., and sweltering. A sign on a cardboard box announces: 鈥淔REE!!! FOOD FOR EVERYONE.鈥�

Some people walk 45 minutes for one of Ms.聽Dela Pe帽a鈥檚 meals. While most hail from the Philippines, there are also Africans, South Asians, and others.

Six Filipino women, who come every day, said they haven鈥檛 worked or been paid since March when they lost their sales jobs. One of the women, Emma Moraga, said she heard about the meals on social media.

鈥淚t鈥檚 good, because they can help a lot of people,鈥� Ms.聽Moraga said. 鈥淥ne meal a day, it鈥檚 big help.鈥�

The crowd lines up. 鈥淪ocial distancing!鈥� Ms.聽Dela Pe帽a says, repeatedly. Mostly, though, people are standing apart and everyone is wearing masks, as is required by law.

She鈥檚 nervous that authorities in Dubai could stop or fine her for violating laws on public gatherings or the distribution of food. But she intends to feed Dubai鈥檚 hungry as long as she can.

鈥淚f I will stop this,鈥� Ms.聽Dela Pe帽a said, 鈥渕any people will stop eating.鈥�

This story was reported by The Associated Press.聽

Editor鈥檚 note: As a public service, the Monitor has removed the paywall for all our coronavirus coverage. It鈥檚 free.