Dubai school students, staff help bus drivers perform Umrah

Dubai school students, staff help bus drivers perform Umrah

So far, 56 staff members and drivers have visited the Grand Mosque

Published: Tue 31 May 2022, 1:33 PM

The staff and students at a Dubai school have come together to facilitate an Umrah pilgrimage for four of its long-serving bus drivers.

Gems Modern Academy’s (GMA) drivers visited Makkah and Madinah during the Holy Month of Ramadan, making it the first trip since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.

This is the fifth group of GMA staff that has visited the holy sites, thanks to the staff and students at the school.

So far, 56 members of the school’s ancillary staff and drivers have visited the Grand Mosque (Holy Kaaba).

The GMA community of teaching staff, non-teaching staff, students, and parents collaborated for this special trip.

Ibrahim Ali, a driver who has served GMA for more than 10 years, opines that the opportunity was a dream come true for him. “The initiative of my school is surely a positive and inspiring message to every institution in the country. It is amazing to see a group of staff from different nationalities performing Umrah together. This unique initiative demonstrates diversity and tolerance in the UAE.”

Another pilgrim, Pakistani driver Irfan Farid, says he felt like “this was a life-time achievement