



Sana selling food to shopper A. Ramamurty at Al Ghurair Centre on Wednesday night. Sajila Saseendran/Gulf News

Dubai: An 11-year-old girl in Dubai was spotted selling homemade food to shoppers at a mall for buying a birthday gift for her brother.

The Egyptian girl was spotted by this reporter at the Al Ghurair Centre on Wednesday night.

Sana (name changed to protect the child’s identity) had approached the reporter requesting to buy a small aluminium food packet. “Can you please buy this and help me get a birthday gift for my brother? We don’t have our father and I don’t have that much money to buy a gift. I cooked this myself,” she said.

On inquiring more about her, Sana said her father had passed away in Egypt last year. She lives in one of the buildings behind the mall with her mom and elder brother.

“My brother is turning 15 on July 1. He loves sports, especially football. So, I thought of getting him a pair of sport shoes and a football.”

However, the little girl said her mom was not in a position to support her fulfil her dream by buying the shoes which she had thought of buying for her brother. “I found a nice pair of shoes. That is around Dh500. My mom can’t help me with that much money for this gift. So, I thought why not cook some food and sell it and get the money for it.”

She said she prepared some macaroni, chicken and French fries under the guidance of her mom. “She told me what to use and how to mix and all. But I cooked,” she said with pride.

She was selling each container for Dh20. Sana said it was her third day of her mission and she had collected some Dh280.

She said her mom was raising the kids by subletting a flat. “But, nobody has been renting it for the past four months. So, it has become difficult for us.”

Sana said she was doing home schooling here and was writing exams through the Egyptian Consulate in Dubai.

Continuing her mission, Sana approached a couple of other shoppers as well. One Indian woman with her child stopped by and bought a food packet. But she was not willing to be in the newspaper.

Another Indian man was seen buying Sana’s food and passing it on to a security guard. “That is so sweet of her. God bless her,” he said later, giving his name as A. Ramamurty.

Sana went home with no more of her food packets in her hands but with a takeaway kit of her favourite items from a coffee shop and extra pocket money for her brother’s gift.

Gulf News managed to talk to Sana’s mother on Sunday and verified the details shared by her child. The woman gave permission to publish Sana’s story without revealing her real identity. “I will be glad if someone can help us … but I don’t want my child to feel let down in front of her friends here,” she said.