Nothing Compares to Ramadan

The dates. The maghreb prayers. The sense of spirituality, the feeling of renewal. Nothing compares to Ramadan.

The holy month brings with it a sense of being at peace with yourself and the world, and adds a liberating feeling that nothing else matters. Ramadan brings out the best in people, drawing family and friends closer, and inspiring all to be compassionate and generous.

Our main story focuses on the inspiring campaign that Sheikha Shamma bint Sultan bin Khalifa Al Nayhan created to mark the UAE’s Year of Reading and to nurture the love of reading among children. Sheikha Shamma told Tempo that reading was always part of her upbringing as she and her siblings were encouraged to read, and always guided to buy books over toys. Her campaign ‘Wanna Read’ promotes compassion through reading of books to children, especially to young patients at hospitals.

Another story that intrigued us, and that perfectly reflects the giving of Ramadan, is INARA, an organization that delivers emergency care to Syrian refugees. What is special about this charity, is that it was established by a journalist who spent time on the field with the refugees, covering their stories of war and human tragedy. The reporter is CNN’s Arwa Damon, who told Tempo that she established INARA when she could no longer disengage from the story after the cameras were off.

In this issue we also share the story of Michael Ellis Taylor who focuses on another aspect of assistance to Syrian refugees. His campaign revolves around gathering Arabic books and sending them to Syrian refugee camps in Europe to alleviate the disruption of education.

This Tempo also celebrates creativity and achievement. In May we held the awards of The Smovies short film competition, with an exciting event closing the #IHaveADream season, at VOX Cinemas in Marina Mall. The other interesting competition we supported was BrandMoxie’s Flash Fiction Competition with New York University Abu Dhabi. Read and watch in this Tempo, the brilliant submissions received for both competitions.

We share in this issue the contributions by our brilliant team of writers, who pour their hearts and minds into what goes into this magazine. We salute all those who spread goodness, in whatever form, to help those who have less. At Tempo we always strive to live up to our mantra, ‘we aim to help those who help others.’

Tell us how we are doing. Share your comments, ideas and recommendations. Feel free to reach me directly using any of my contact details below.

Ramadan Mubarak. Peace on earth.

– Sana Bagersh

Managing Editor, Tempo Magazine

Twitter: @sanabagersh