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UAE-based Indian couple donates Dh500,000 land to homeless families

Their donation will allow 14 families to have their dream homes.

An Indian couple in Ajman had made what they called a ’dream decision’: They donated an acre of land in Kerala so that 14 families may have their dream homes.

Dr Manoj V K, an orthopaedic surgeon from Kozhikode, and his wife Jayasree Sebastian, a teacher at St Mary’s Higher Secondary School, Kallanode, gave their Rs10-million (Dh550,000) property to poor, homeless families who needed it most. In September last year, they turned it over in the presence of Kerala minister TP Ramakrishnan.

The couple and their three children were so excited about their dream project that their son even quit his job in Dubai just to make it happen.

"My son Ashikh, a civil engineer by profession, took the extra mile, resigned from his work in Dubai, and flew back home last month to complete the project," said Dr Manoj, a member of the Indian Relief Committee (IRC) in Ras Al Khaimah and a surgeon in a clinic in Ajman.

Speaking to Khaleej Times, Dr Manoj said they bought the plot of land 10 years ago for his daughter Annu, when she passed the All India Engineering entrance exam and got into the prestigious National Institute of Technology (NIT) Calicut.

"But we found it better to do something for the community and stand by them during these hard times," he said. Kerala is still recovering from the unprecedented floods that caused large-scale destruction and displaced at least 600,000 people last year.

Annu, who is studying architecture at NIT, liked the idea and happily agreed to give her land to underprivileged families.

"The plot of land, which spans 43,560 square feet, is now valued around Dh550,000," Dr Manoj said. He added that they had selected 14 families from their own area, two of which were his wife’s students who had no land in their name.

The other beneficiaries have been selected by local representatives. "Politics, religion and caste were not considered at all. Only poor and homeless families in Kerala were given priority," Dr Manoj said.

Community project

Though the family didn’t expect any publicity, their inspiring story went viral on social media. What started out as a family goal quickly became a community project. 

"We got good support from friends and others on social media. People started calling my wife Jayasree in India and offered some help." 

Initially, the plan was to build just one house for Jayasree’s student, Manoj said. Other families could then get some funding from the government for the construction of their homes.

"Our economy is still struggling from the impact of the recent floods and it will take a long time for people to get enough funds, so we decided to take a step forward. We got an offer from the IRC RAK to build these houses," he said.

The Association of Kerala Medical Graduates in the UAE, a number of doctors and friends in other countries, and some organisations in Kerala also offered support, he added.

"We consulted famous architect Shankar to build these homes. His Habitat group took the proposal and designed 14 small houses."

He took up the project without any profit, Dr Manoj said.

"His name in our project will give us a good mileage, and by God’s grace and with the help of my friends and well-wishers, I am sure that we will finish our dream project."