Visited the covert beings

On Sunday the 4th of March, i visited the Covert Beings. It was heartbreaking. i did not know one can live in such a horrible condition in this side of the world. i visited two families, took photographs and asked them a couple of questions from how do they cope to what money do they live of from. The first house i went to was overwhelming, and i am just speaking from the outside, it was made of cardboard, this pieces of wood and recycled material. The structure was as if of a spanish patio house where there is a large center with no roof (made of tin), the floor was made of the cheapest material; dirt, with couple of rugs on it, though the rugs looks like they were made of dirt too. Inside this small house lives two young children, the parents, grandma and the mom's sister. They receive only 350 a month from a chartiy organization, the wife works in a department store and receives 5000 a month and she is the only income of the family that pays for education, food and all the bills, the husband refused to work as a driver, as he wanted a higher position, however in such desperate conditions he might take any job. 

The second home was another upsetting home, but a little smaller. There were two ladies in their twenties, their brother and mom who are both mentally ill. They only receive 350 a month from a charity organization, get help from some 'friends' as she mentions, in addition one of the ladies goes to a salon and recieves online 50 dhs per session to test make-up and style on her face.

I hope i can make a difference in their life in any way possible.

Plans

I called the head of informations several times and emailed him, he didnt reply neither. It is frustrating how nobody is supportive, there is no reason to give a any contact to the public when noone is going to reply. Anyway, on Sunday i will two families inneed, see their situation, ask them several questions and ask permission if they do not mind me taking a video of their homes.

Contact after contact....

First of all, i contacted my aunt, she is a founder, volunteer of the poor families i am focusing on in Dubai, she spoke of countless heartbreaking stories of struggling families. Later, i suggested to make a documentary of a poor family, before i ask a poor family for permission, i need to permission to make all this public. So, i contacted my cousin, he works in ministry of information, where he supervises the media world in dubai (what should be exposed and what not, to what ages etc) i asked him what do i do and if its permissible, he also told me to contact a the head of emarat al youm, where they have published poor living conditions in dubai (photos and articles) in the newspaper. I contacted the fining of editor in chief of  'Al Emarat Alyoum' and i am awaiting his reply, in addition to my cousin's collegue's reply where she will ask other people of a higher holding. Hopefully, i will have replies by tomorrow.

Lucky enough to have opinions from 4 expert judges!

On Tuesday the 14th, i pitched my idea to 4 experienced professionals just to have an opinion for any improvements. They was a creative art director, creative director, an independent designer and branding specialist, and of course talented my professor, they were very helpful after i explained my whole senior project, which includes the research, statistics, why i chose it and so on, they gave me their insight. I explained that i wanted to help the poor families, by both fundraising and collecting items they need along with creating awareness. They suggested i focus on one, which i believe preferably would be creating awareness as it will be more helpful in the future. One of the judges suggested i focus on one item that a number of households would need such as fixing their walls or roof etc...i believe it is a great idea which lead me to a greater idea, why not focus on one home only? then another judge said why not create a video...and Voila! there was the perfect idea..create a documentary or a series of photographs and raise awareness!! and one home can be fixed which can lead to a series of homes, "Like a chain" one of the judges said meaning; help a home and let them get on their feet...then let them help others.

The Quality of Life foundation

Through brainstorming of various names, i believe the most suitable name for my non-profit organization is the Quality of Life Foundation, simple and clear. 

(Above is the final formation of the logo process).

Final Logo.

Scattered Brain

-Produce logo
-brainstorm a name
- how do i spread awareness in an affordable way?
-fundraising? or spreading awareness of this issue only?
-Meet the families in need, what do they need? do they want help?

These are all questions that came to my mind, including how do i start?

To plug-in a non-profit organization for support or not?

I started seeking help by sending emails for several non-profit organizations to help and spread awareness of the needy families here in Dubai. Unfortunately, i only received a reply from Dubai Cares, asking to help advertise their events in my university. This has lead to a decision that i should not depend on anyone and start everything myself. It is much more difficult to start everything alone, and dealing with legal issues (takes up to 60 days to recieve acceptance or not for creating a non-profit organization and i do not have the time for that as my Senior Project is a couple months only).  This is can be a positive thing, as i would like to continue helping the needy families after this semester is over, so i can still apply to for legal consent. Let's just see how everything turns out.