There are moments in our lives that we remember forever. Memories that even when the world is dark, we can hold onto and they give us light and warmth. RCP '15 is a whole collage of such moments. It's hard to mention only one. There were the volunteers cracking hilarious jokes about the seemingly endless lines of supplies coming in and of assembled Care Packages stacking up, grinning away even whilst sweat was pouring down their faces. There were the adorable kids in the assembly lines calling out "Express Service" as they put supplies into the runners' boxes. There was the awe-inspiring sight of volunteers led by the AAC team unloading supply trucks in the heat, pallet after pallet after pallet, determination shining in their eyes. There were the supporters: every single interaction was special from kids who'd broken open their piggy banks to sponsor a Care Package to companies whose people worked day and night to make sure their supplies reached in time to go in the Care Packages. There was the time during the Adopt-a-camp Family iftaar before volunteers started coming in when I paused stuffing myself with the delicious food everyone had brought in to share and took a good, long look around at all the beloved AAC family faces. Each face radiated its own special "nur" (light). From our incredible youngest members to our selfless veterans of many years, I was struck by the differences in all of our backgrounds; yet standing there, munching, laughing, planning for the event ahead, we were all exactly the same, we were all one.

That feeling of oneness carried on ever so beautifully into Distribution Day. Hundreds of kind people who'd made the 2000 Care Packages possible giving them into the hands of thousands of municipality cleaners, welcoming them, cheering them, thanking them...unforgettable. The genuine smiles on everyone's faces...unforgettable.

So in this crazy day and age, when we see madness unfolding on the news and in the world, RCP '15 is something I, for one, will be holding onto tightly. A golden memory of people coming together for no other reason than to bring happiness and dignity into the lives of others. Thank YOU, each one of you, for making this happen.

Love,

Saher.


No event would be complete without a roll-call of honour to thank the people who made the event possible. So to all the individuals and companies that made Ramadan Care Packages '15 such an amazing success, on behalf of The Adopt-a-Camp Foundation and our adopted men, we love you and thank you!

Dubai Municipality, Repton School Dubai, UPS, ADI International, Khushi Trading, Koita Foods, Fine Hygenic, Heliozid Oce Emirates, Crocs, Nivea, Uber, Analog Production, Al-Naboodah, Aston Pearle Real Estate, Aqualyte, Hadef & Partners, Oliver Wyman, Gulf Packaging Industry LLC., P&G, Vintage Bloom, Euromovers, Emad Trade House FZCO, EnRoute, Dnata, Emirates, Emax, The National, Gulf News, 7Days & acclaimed director, Amal al Agroobi.

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Need a separate paragraph for the amazing Adopt-a-Camp Family Team Leaders (in alphabetical order): Abdul Samad (The Great), Anastasia (The Gentle), Anita (The Ace), Aparajita (The Superstar), Askari (The Wise-cracker), Chareka (My Better-Half Twin), Daniyal (The Superb), Dina (The Super-Analyst), Diya (The Hardcore Veteran), Eilidh The Enthusiastic (and her lovely children Isaac & India), Erich (The Helper), George Thakur (The behind-the-scenes Wizard), Jos (The Rock), Justin (The Awesome), Khurram (The Superman), Kiran (The Leader), Komal (The Trooper), Mark (The Heavy-Lifter we stalked to recruit for RCP '15), Mipath (the Cheerleader), Moez (The Golden Heart), Mohd. Chaudhry (My Little Brother), Mohd. Syed (The Brother from another Mother), Mustafa (The Reason the Foundation was born), Natasha (The Amazing), Nicholas (The Man with the Golden Smile), Omaya (Everyone's Shoulder to Lean On), Oscar Matthews (The Miracle-Worker), Rachita (The Million-Dollar Personality), Rahul (The Joking Angel), Sana (The Laughing Angel), Sara (The Smiler), Shahamir (the What did my Dad get me into but I'm Loving it!) Shereen (The Superwoman), Srinidhi (The Indefatigable), Sultan (Everyone's Darling), Suzana (The Fantastic ), Wahbeez (The Wonderful), Yash (The Everyone Wants to Adopt Him), Zahra.K (The Warm-Hearted) and Zuhair (The Strongman). You guys are all the most incredible, selfless, hard-working, inspirational human beings. I'm in awe of all of you and so proud to call you family.

And now we come to Zahra. She started volunteering with us in 2010, updating the Facebook page, coming on camp visits with me, listening to our adopted men's problems, sorting them out. Over the years, her kindness and commitment have helped change many lives. This summer we felt she was ready for her biggest role yet, as my right-hand and Team Manager. She's outdone herself in both. Without fail, every morning, she'd come to the office with a massive smile on her face. I'd have to kick her out every evening to go home so that she could break her fasts with her family. Every night, I'd have to chide her to go to sleep because I'd see emails and FB messages going out from her at 11pm, 2am, 3am, 6am, lol. Zahra's incredible work ethic, the purity of her heart, her ability to make snap-decisions and for those decisions to be the right decisions, her beaming smile, the adorableness of her have all played a massive role in making RCP'15 go as smoothly and successfully as it did. Zahra, you're off to university and along with wishing you all the best now and forever, we'll miss you very much.

Ramadan Care Packages are probably our best known events but Adopt-a-Camp's work is all year round and the people who make that possible are my family. Shamrez is the rock and our children are the inspiration. Words can't even begin to describe their support and patience. They are truly Adopt-a-Camp's angels.