Consulate General of India : ICWC

Indian Community Welfare Committee

Indian Community Welfare Committee is a Pro-Active Initiative by The Consulate General of India, Dubai & The Indian Community in Dubai and the Northern Emirates.

The Indian Community Welfare Committee was formed in June 2000 under the direct patronage of the Consulate General of India. ICWC was born out of a sincere concern for the welfare of the large Indian expatriates, particularly the under privileged. It is a joint initiative between the Consulate General of India, Dubai and the Indian Community with four core objectives and any other initiative that may be consented by the CG and the Executive Committee from time to time.

Core Objectives:

To look after the welfare of Indian Citizens in the Following Category:

Destitute House Maids
Stranded Work Force
Persons in detention in the Prison for crimes other than Economic, Drug related and Political offences
Persons undergoing prolonged treatment in hospitals

Membership

The ICWC membership is open to all Indian Associations, Organizations and ‘employed Professionals’ in Dubai and Northern Emirates, upon payment of an annual participation fees.

The General Body nominates an Executive Committee and a Convener to carry on the routine activities. The General Body meets on the last Wednesday of each month at 2000 hours and the Executive Committee meets an hour earlier on the same day. The Executive committee may hold additional meetings as required to efficiently manage the affairs of the ICWC.

All meetings shall only be held only at the premises of CGI. Dubai.

Current composition of membership
Corporate	7
Larger Association	1
Public Sector Undertaking	3
Associations from Northern Emirates	4
Associations in Dubai	11
Other Organizations	15
Total	41

Accounts

The ICWC operates an account (Number 63131) with Bank of Baroda, Dubai.

Legal Wing

1 or 2 Lawyers from a panel of 21 Dubai based Indian Lawyers are available for free legal consultation at the CGI, Dubai premises by prior appointment.

Recognition

In the 6 years of existence, the ICWC has done a commendable work in their focus area and has won the recognition of the Community as well as a number of Dubai Government departments (Prisons, Hospitals, Courts, Immigration etc.) and Officials. ICWC’s work has also won accolades from the Government of India.

Jail Visits

Volunteers accompanied by Consular Officers continue to visit Jails to understand the needs of the inmates as well as assist them wherever possible. During one of the visits along with CG, a proposal to conduct language and Computer classes has been put up for consideration.

Statistics for year 2006
Air-Tickets	127
Embalming, Coffin & Ambulance cases	24
Financial help for Medical Cases	18
Burial Charges	1
Medical Expenses	18

Key Projects completed

In Dubai:

Interactive Voice Response System:
ICWC set up the IVR telephone system through which one could get the details and requirements about the services offered at the CGI, Dubai in Hindi, Malayalam, Tamil and English.
Hand Book:
ICWC brought out a very useful pocket edition of a community handbook in Hindi, Malayalam, Tamil and English containing information about the Consular services and other important information.
English Language Classes at Labour Camp:
For the first time English Language Classes were conducted in the Wade Adams Camp in Jebel Ali and the same still continues and is very popular.
E-mail facility at labour camps:
E-mail facility was set up in labour camps through which messages could be sent to any part of India. These messages would be down loaded by the specially dedicated address and posted to the concerned addressee.
Shelter Home for the Destitute Women
ICWC now has it’s own shelter home for the destitute women
On-line application for Consular Services:
1. As part of assisting the CGI, Dubai in its efforts to leverage technology, ICWC has employed two dedicated persons who
2. Receive applications for various Consular services on-line,
3. Fix appointment to visit the CGI with relevant original documents,
4. Collect the required fee,
5. Submit these applications to CGI
6. Deliver the documents upon completion.

This project is expected to reduce the pressure at the service hall as well as help in building a database of the Indian Diaspora,

In India:

ICWC raised nearly Dirhams: 200,000/ to rebuild two Schools completely devastated by the worst earthquake in January 2001.

Projects in the pipeline

Set-up Passport application scanning device to expedite data uploading.
Set-up a typing centre to type machine readable Passport form.

CRISIS PREVENTION PROGRAM

Our Motto

To put that missing smile back on the faces of our less privileged countrymen & women by caring to share

ISSUES PRESENTED

Depression
Anxiety/Phobia
Family Conflict
Intergenerational conflicts
Relationship strains in home country
Financial issues
Relationship issues
Marital discord
Suicidal ideations
Alcoholism
Career issues
Behavioral issues in children