A few weeks back I was having a quick bite at Hashtag when Dari the owner sat down with me and started telling me about PlusOne. It’s a fairly simple concept, anytime you order a burger just tell the cashier to PlusOne and they will add one Dinar to your total bill. The one Dinar you add will be matched by the restaurant and then a meal similar to the one you just had would be given to a low income worker. He invited me to pass by again when they were preparing the meals so I could volunteer and see how the system works for myself. So I did.
It was a pretty dusty day when I met up with Dari at Hashtag but that wasn’t changing their plans. I arrived just as they were starting to make the burgers. There were three other volunteers including the super nice Ms. Bibi Al-Ayoub from “Draw a Smile,” a charitable campaign that inspired PlusOne. Once all the burgers were ready we headed out to a location where street workers were coming together before being taken by a large bus to their compounds. As we arrived to the location so did a car from Chocolateness who were also participating that day.
The workers right away got in a very organized line as the volunteers started handing out the food one at a time along with a drink. Sadly that day there were more workers than there was food to give but hopefully as more people are aware about PlusOne that won’t happen again.
Right now the following restaurants are participating in this year long campaign:
If you’re interested in helping, just PlusOne to your bill when ordering from one of the restaurants above. If you’re a restaurant owner and want to participate, you can do so by clicking [Here]
[YouTube]
Our friend TJCfilms shot a short documentary about PlusOne which you can also watch above.
Finally, for more information on the campaign and to find out how you could also volunteer, visit their website [Here]
35 replies on “PlusOne Kuwait”
great concept!
Hats off to these ppl !!
Mark I think this is one of the best blogs !
I appreciate people willing to do charity work.
But I have a firm belief that no one in Kuwait is hungry. Everyone is here to make money and mostly everyone is. Lot more then they make in their own countries to include myself.
Food is very cheap in Kuwait so I again don’t believe anyone, not even street cleaners are hungry. Not only because the food is cheap but because the government obligates employers to provide food & accommodation to every single employee, directly or trough allowances.
I believe that they could use the funds they are spending to do this, to send food to people who really really need it, in Africa, Palestine, Syria, Burma etc etc. When did someone die of hunger in Kuwait ??? Children are dying around Africa, every day, every hour, from thirst and hunger. They really need it! Although low income, these guys still get three meals a day (food or food allowance) from their companies.
There are people who really really need it, who are dying because they don’t have it. It tears my heart to see every day in news children dying around the globe.
Dari & others, with all due respect, if you are reading this, think about it!
I do not disagree with the fact that there are hungry people, or more hungry people rrather in the countries and regions youmentioned. However, you would think that employers provide them with all the aforementioned things, but the reality is THEY DO NOT. They are all in debt to their employers the second they land in Kuwait to pay off their visa fee and Iqama fee. They are Certainly living in poverty, whether it is still better than the conditions they come from or not, I do not know and I do not think that is the question here.
If you watch the video it’s not about feeding the starving, it’s about giving them the same quality of food that we eat. These labor workers might not die from starvation, but the quality of food they eat is terrible.
Sending food or funds to Africa is difficult, you can’t have a direct impact as you do here. It’s a lot more complicated and you have to work through many NGO’s and corruption is rife there.
They want to help and improve the quality of life for labor workers here in Kuwait and that’s a good thing.
Oh, do be quiet. It’s their money and they can spend it how they like. Furthermore, it’s not actually super easy to send money anywhere you like, and it’s pretty difficult to know exactly where it’s going and how it is used.
It can’t be tearing up your heart that much seeing as you’re here on the internet lecturing people on how to do good instead of actually doing it yourself. There will always be people with a more pressing need. It’s not a reason to ignore other, less dire situations. Workers here are treated poorly (and if anyone feels the need to jump in with “BUT IT’S BETTER THAN THEY HAVE IN THEIR COUNTRY!”, you’re essentially saying it’s fine to exploit desperate, poor people as long as it’s a teeny step up from what they had before – don’t kid yourself that this is some form of charity), so why not do something nice for them?
Actually Dari and some of the others have done volunteer work in those places and made a difference and decided it was time to do something for their country.
This is great work, I am genuinely very pleased to hear that some thing like that goes on in Kuwait. I will make sure I let other people know about it. The majority of workers in Kuwait live in poverty, and considering the copious amount of food in Kuwait, it’s a shame that some one goes to bed hungry. Seriously well done to every one who created this campaign, and I hope it goes on all year round not just Ramadan.
A laudable initiative! Back in the 80s and 90s we used to have something similar involving all 5 and 7 star hotels in the greater Delhi area that would deliver meals on wheels, generated from their daily left overs for the homeless and those living on the rough in the metropolitan areas of the capital.
Way to go, Kuwait!
Is the Kuwait National Hotels Company listening?
As a volunteer with Operation Hope Kuwait I think it’s a great idea, thanks for the great info and I will re-post it on my blog to spread the word. It seems as if the younger generation is more aware of what goes on in Kuwait as we have so many young Kuwaiti volunteers with our program as well. Great job!
What is Operation Hope? Hit me up at [email protected]
They could give the money to these workers used in making these foods. The money helps them financially and not making foods helps the environment.
The food is made by volunteers
The food may be made by volunteers. My point is give them cash instead of food, it does help them a lot.
I agree with this. Instead of making food with the money, it would really help if they were given the money directly to them by means of a fundraiser. I am fairly sure that food is the least of their problems.
i disagree,
its not always about giving money, sometimes its about giving the workers the same quality of food that what we eat. (like what Patrick said)
sometimes when i see cleaning workers on streets (or workers in supermarkets who carry our stuff to the car) i rather giving them cold juice or bottled water than giving them 1/2 or 1 dinar.
I totally disagree. You know the Government would find a way to get involved then. Not only that how do you divide the money among and almost non quantifiable number of workers. This way you can go to a mosgue for fatoor or a worker pick up drop off point and find out how many people tend to be there and divide the food up evenly. Not only that I was there when the food was being passed out. Even the cartons of rice were looked at like they were gold bars as they got into the hands of those workers. In the end they don’t give a rats ass what we think or our opinions on how we can help. They are A. Hungry and B. happy to try some nicer food. It gives them joy and leaves their hunger sated even if for a little bit.
It’s a great idea, but the concept has to be reworked a bit, running out of food when people are waiting for it, is a bad situation. Instead of doing it at random place, coordinate with the labor camps so that you get the exact head count of the people there, so you can go prepared for that number plus a few extra for the unexpected turnout. This way no one will leave disappointed. And we all know that everyday,a lot of food left overs are generated by all the restaurants, some one should find a way to collect them and distribute it.
Ideally that sounds great and that is what they have been doing most of the time but word spreads around the neighborhoods and more people show up.
Thanks for featuring this and the video Mark. It is a great thing these volunteers are doing. They are giving their time, money and their all in general to help those in need. I was out there when they were handing out food filming and you could see how hungry those workers were and the look of excitement when they were handed something simple as a banana. You could also see people hesitating to pass things down the line out of fear they would not receive one for themselves. The volunteers go nonstop for hours and do not get a chance to eat until well after iftar has begun and we who are fasting know how hungry and thirsty you are by then especially if you have been working outdoors. It was a pleasure to film and edit this and to work with and meet everyone involved. I hope to be able to help other initiatives, charities or anything else for that matter that is making a difference in people’s lives. Oh also TJC Films is just me lol. Thanks again for the feature and to all of you who are supporting or volunteering.
This is really inspiring!
..and for a change the comments/exchanges are extremely constructive…
Indeed, quite surprising it has not gone into a massive argument lol. Goes to show that actual good work with tangible outcomes is difficult to criticize
It’s a great Idea.. Terrific work..
but then how does it exactly work? if i go with 20 friends to a bruger joint make a bill of say 100KD..and i pay them 1KD extra.. will the burger joint deliver burgers worth 100KD to the starving people?
or is it 1kd per meal?
if it’s 1KD per meal I’d say the restaurants are making money from this coz c’mon the cost of production for a meal cant really be a KD.
if it’s on the total bill (100KD would be exaggerating) then i would say Bravo… Way to go… great idea & a great job carried out by the restaurants.
It’s up to you how much you want to donate but the general idea of plusone is that it’s a small amount you can add to your bill and not really feel it. Whatever you donate will be matched by the restaurant. So your KD1 + KD1 from restaurant will go towards the cost of the meal.
1 KD probably covers the cost of a meal at most of these restaurants any ways. I think its brilliant.
got it 🙂
Thats a really good idea! And fantastic video TJC, as usual very well done, it really delivers the idea!
I know a lot of people have constructive criticism for the Plus One idea, and I think everyone is trying to be helpful.
Honestly I think its a fantastic idea and well done by every participant. And you guys are right, they do live difficult lives and these labor camps don’t deliver on half what they are supposed, and these people do go hungry, even if they don’t die from it they are still people and these volunteers are making a difference. Alah ewafighum!
Marzouq thank you so much. That means a lot. I was hoping it would convey the message that this is a good thing. I also wanted to show how happy the people were to be doing this. Even when they are running around sweating their butt off and workers are arguing over who was in line or anything the volunteers stay happy and fell a little better about themselves and the world at the end of the day.
good stuff
Can I just give a bulk sum without having to buy a meal for myself? If so, where can I drop off the money?
Should be able to. Any of the business mentioned above would be able to take it. Or better yet get it straight to Dari
Good idea, but what became of the folks who didn’t get a burger? Were they just asked to leave?
@TJC Films… Brilliant video… i hope this video and the message spreads like a virus.. and touches every single soul on its path..
can somebody give me the location of # burgers.