A story of how 17,793 nails have changed the lives of UAE's blue-collar workers' children
Philosophy
There are over a million blue-collar workers in UAE, building the dreams of the country and its people. Brick by brick, nail by nail, they are also silently working towards their own dreams of giving their children a better education and hence, a better life. But we discovered that even though some workers hammer in over 200,000 nails a month, their salaries (as low as 200-300 USD) might never be enough for that dream. SmartLife Foundation (an NGO for UAE’s blue-collar workers) wanted to use the same nails the workers hammer daily, to help build their dreams. So, we created SAPNA (in Hindi or Urdu languages means "Dream"). And built a Wall of Dreams on a prominent street in Dubai. We then invited people to buy a nail for a minimum of 10 AED and hammer it onto our markers on the wall. Thus, giving them the chance to feel a fraction of the workers’ efforts and give back one nail at a time. The wall's location and timing (festive season) positively provoked shoppers to contribute and support the cause. And as the wall was completed, the dream came to life, with all the nails forming the image of a child being handed a graduation hat.
Result
At an absolute zero cost (all materials, media space, media channels, production, volunteers and filming were pro bono), the wall became a centre of attention in Dubai, attracting over 55 different nationalities, popular Arab celebrities and local influencers, as well leading print (Khaleej times, 7 Days), radio (Radio Mirchi, Virgin Radio) and TV (Dubai One, Studio One) channels, and international websites as far as France.#sapnadubai became a popular topic on social media and people's shared photos generated over 100,000 free social ads for us.As a result of all the organic word of mouth, over $400,000 have been generated in earned media and rising.Most importantly, in just 9 days, all 17,793 nails were hammered in the wall. The money raised will help educate many children through their schooling right up until graduation. The wall has also become the first ever crowd-sourced nail art piece for charity.Because of its success, the wall will be traveling across the region, building many more dreams, one nail at a time. SAPNA has also been invited globally in markets such as Singapore.