Promoting xuryu L Life in Abu Dhabi - ou.khidmah.comou.khidmah.com/newsletters/issue9/Al Ghadeer Community Newsletter... · Developed By Managed By Issue 9 August 2018 Al Ghadeer

Developed By Managed By

Issue 9 August 2018

Al Ghadeer

Promoting Luxury Life in Abu Dhabi

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

Al Ghadeer News 2

Community Events 2

Articles 3

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Community Events

Blood Donation in Al Ghadeer

A s part of our social responsibility, the Alghadeer team in conjunction with clinical services from Sheikh Khalifa Medical City organized a

blood donation campaign in the community on 05 July 2018. The response received from the community residents and staff was overwhelming and the blood bank attended to 51 donors. We thank residents for their support towards this good cause.

We are pleased to inform residents that in addition to the Wrap That Café that opened earlier this year, the Medicina Pharmacy has also opened its

doors for the community. Residents can also look forward to a children’s nursery (British Oak Montessori Nursery) which is awaiting clearances from the local authorities. Rerotti, a gents and ladies salon is also well under fit-out and nearing completion. A supermarket by name Wheatfields is also being fitted out and is targeted to open early Q4 of 2018. We understand that the community has long been waiting for the retail shops to be operational and we are glad to see that this is coming to fruition.

The Al Ghadeer Mosque opened for worshippers on the first day of

Ramadan in May 2018. The developer has completed the construction of a large, two tiered mosque with separate entrances and areas for gents and ladies. There is also an on-site residence for the Imam. The Awqaf has been benevolent in promptly providing the Imam for the Mosque as soon as it was completed. We thank residents for their patience and support while the teams worked to construct the permanent Mosque.

News

Al Ghadeer Retail Updates

Al Ghadeer Mosque

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Pigeon Control in Al Ghadeer

Over time, it was observed that the population of pigeons in the community was on the

rise. It was also identified that some residents have been feeding pigeons on their balconies. It reached a point where pigeons were being a nuisance in balconies and their droppings were posing a health risk to residents. We are pleased to inform our residents that following a thorough review of various measures that could be implemented in Alghadeer, an avian specialist who flies falcons specially trained to fly in patterns only to scare the pigeons away, was engaged in April this year. The pigeon population has been observed to

have significantly reduced as they wade away from Alghadeer and find other places to nest.

Albeit the exercise, which will be carried out throughout the year, the community will have a small number of pigeons who will continue to return or stay back. We sincerely request residents to refrain from feeding pigeons as this will only attract them to stay back in the community as they find food.

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Written by: Belinda Baker

When I moved to Al Ghadeer several years ago I was amazed and delighted by the

tranquility and beauty of this close knit community. A melting pot of nationalities, languages, cultures, beliefs and diversity of people living in relative isolation in the middle of the desert. Perhaps, in part, because of the isolation the residents make an effort to get to know each other, support each other and generally work together in the truest sense of community. An oasis, a well-designed tiny village with stunning parks, bubbling streams, lovely paths to walk, well equipped gyms and an abundance of swimming pools. One of the things that drew me to Alghadeer is that it is extremely animal friendly with many dogs and cats, and then there are the ducks.

I was very surprised by the (then) small flock that had taken up residence in Waterfall park and later learned that some well-meaning resident had introduced an original four ducks that had bred and at the time (3 years ago) grown to a population of around twenty birds. At first it brought much pleasure to

us, I looked forward to seeing the continuous birth of tiny ducklings waddling around and participated with the many people who took joy in feeding them. However over time I noticed that many of the ducklings died which was sad to see. People were feeding them all the wrong kinds of food, their excrement and mess was a problem and the water in the streams and lake was foul most of the time. Yet in spite of many of the ducklings dying their population just grew, and grew.

I came to understand that as lovely as it is to have ducks in our parks, it was not a natural environment, everything having been carved out of the desert, as beautiful as it is, all the trees, plants, waterways and manicured lawns have been planned, planted and are sustained by irrigation and an army of gardeners. Although everything is alive the apparent natural greenery is not naturally self-sustaining nor designed to accommodate wild life. The artificial environment is not able to naturally dispose of the ducks waste and to make matters worse all the bread and other damaging and incorrect food was poisoning the water, environment and the ducks themselves. I started becoming

more concerned as I noticed the population was exploding, many of the ducks did not look healthy.

A group of us concerned residents decided to approach the managing agents, Khidmah, with the goal of finding a solution to the duck problem, which we believed was going to escalate rapidly as their numbers were increasing exponentially. By now the flock was enormous, attempts to relocate some of them to other parks within the community had failed (they walked back, I am sure many of them could not fly anymore), the population grew as more ducklings were born, even though there were many that died, and it was getting out of control.

I believe that people are not intentionally cruel, selfish or mean harm and that most of the problems we face are from ignorance and a lack of understanding. Once educated about a problem most people come to understand why change needs to happen. It is a lack of understanding, not a lack of compassion that causes so much unhappiness and disagreement. In this instance as wonderful as it is to observe and interact with the ducks, and as much as they beautify our parks, the fact of the matter is that their presence had become a danger

A brief history and rehoming of the ducks of Al Ghadeer

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to our environment and (personally) more importantly to the ducks themselves. Our parks had become filthy, not only with their waste but with rotting food that people inappropriately had given them (pizza, biryani, cake, cereal, meat, left over sandwiches and burgers, sweets, bread etc.) that were attracting rats, cockroaches and other vermin, there were health issues for humans and ducks, and the ducks were at risk. It was time to put our selfish desire to enjoy them aside and save them and our environment, to educate the community on why this was not only necessary but imperative, and to appeal to everyone’s sense of integrity and compassion to support the operation to rehome them.

From the outset I was delighted to find that the management team at Khidmah were also worried about not only the problems to the environment, but also they were concerned about the welfare of the ducks and were willing to work with us (representatives from the residents and owners) to find the best solution possible. It was agreed upon that the ducks would be rehomed at suitable locations that would provide them with the natural habitat they needed, a guaranteed supply of the correct, nutritional food, vet and health care, where they could live and breed freely. The team went to work with everyone involved, calling Zoos, farms, private residences and anyone or any place we thought would be a good home for them. Investigating animal organizations that might be able to help, companies that would be able to humanely catch them and transport them, qualified veterinary doctors to do health checks and ring their legs to denote gender and all the logistics involved to rehome a large flock of, by now, almost seventy ducks.We were very, very lucky to find a man who was not only perfectly equipped to take care of the catching and transportation but who also, through his contacts, found them the perfect home, all together, on a high ranking, compassionate animal lover, local Emirati’s palace farm. On behalf of all the residents I would like to thank, and our express gratitude to Colonel Mohammed al Bushlaibi for taking the entire flock of 68 ducks and welcoming them to live royal lives on his beautiful property. I would also like to thank him for allowing us to have pictures of them in his beautiful bird enclosure where they have peacocks and other stunning birds living amongst them, for taking care of the vet health checks and for providing them with the best care, food and safety possible.

I am also grateful to the man who made it all happen, Alex Louw, a professional Avian Expert, who carried out the procedure with such care and expertise. Appreciation and thanks also to the management team from Khidmah who supported and assisted and lastly to the small team of residents who volunteered their help. We worked hard, often late into the night, over the course of more than a

week, wading through the streams and lake, slipping on rocks, crawling around on our hands and knees catching the ducks, covered in mud and duck poo, gently placing them, once caught, into a massive truck or air-conditioned car to be taken to their wonderful new home. Due to the temperature we worked late at night to the early hours of the morning, everyone giving their all and their best and not one duck was injured or harmed.

Upon arrival at their new home they were all checked by the vet and only four were found to have worms, some were severely malnourished and these were immediately quarantined and medically treated. They all recovered and were united with the flock. The entire flock settled in very quickly, found their groups and wasted no time breeding again. With the best food possible they have filled out and are happy, healthy and freely living the best duck life possible.We are all so blessed to live in this beautiful community, our own small oasis, and when we all work toward the

common good, and continue to support each other, and appreciate our strong community spirit, then we all win, as do the animals we are tasked with caring for.

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Dear Valued Residents,

In an effort to provide you with rewarding benefits that could enhance your health, well-being and lifestyle, we are pleased to inform you that Khidmah has recently partnered with Yas Links Abu Dhabi. This entitles all Khidmah community residents to a myriad of exclusive offers and discounts.

All you need to do is present your Khidmah property access card or mention your property name, and you are eligible to avail the following:

• 15% Food and beverage discount in Hickory’s

• Complimentary pool access for up to 2 adults and 2 children

• 25% discount on all social membership categories

• 15% discount on gym membership

Wishing you and your families a happy summer!

Best Regards,Khidmah Management

Exclusive Offers await Khidmah Community ResidentsStay active and have fun with your family this summer!