Volunteering platform and hydration solution aim to improve lives of outdoor workers 

Dubai, Sept 11, 2026: Dubai-based students, Radhika Prabhu and Jash Jain, have turned their ideas into action as they have created two separate initiatives to help improve the lives of Dubai’s blue-collar community. Both mentored by university admissions experts, UniHawk, the pair decided to act upon the challenges they had witnessed firsthand, leading Radhika to build a platform connecting students and community members with meaningful volunteering opportunities, while Jain developed Thirst-E, a social enterprise initiative focused on making hydration more accessible to outdoor workers. 

While LabourLink focuses on mobilising people, Jain’s solution, known as Thirst-E, addresses a different challenge among the blue collar community. With a mission to ensure that outdoor workers’ critical hydration needs are met, the initiative was sparked by Jain’s encounter with a food delivery rider in India, who appeared to be severely affected by the heat. After returning to Dubai, Jain began looking more closely at the conditions faced by delivery riders and other outdoor workers, recognising that prolonged exposure to high temperatures can create significant hydration problems.

Jain explains, “I noticed that delivery riders here are out in the heat for hours every day, wearing full-sleeve uniforms and often working with limited opportunities to escape the heat. I realised that water alone might not always be enough, and I started looking into how we could make hydration tablets more accessible.”
Jain researched the market, comparing products available through pharmacies and online retailers before working with a manufacturer in India to develop an affordable sachet-based solution. Thirst-E provides essential hydration for drivers, gardeners and other outdoor community workers in individual sachets that can be added to water. The effervescent tablet is a careful blend of 4 key nutrients, including sodium, vitamin C, zinc and magnesium, with affordability and accessibility remaining at the heart of the concept. 

Supported by UniHawk in raising awareness of the initiative, Jain has already progressed beyond the idea stage to undertake product testing. He reveals, “We have conducted pilots with organisations including 6th Street, providing 10,000 sachets to its rider team over a two-week trial and gathering feedback to refine the product. We are also exploring partnerships with companies employing large numbers of outdoor workers, positioning Thirst-E as both a worker-well-being initiative and a potential corporate social responsibility opportunity.” 

With the product currently sold at cost, Jain’s focus remains accessibility rather than profitability. Over 1,500 people have benefited from the solution through testing, corporate engagement and community outreach. A survey of 300+ recipients recorded a 92–95% satisfaction rate across three measures: hydration effectiveness, ease of use and affordability. Jain’s longer-term ambition is to develop Thirst-E into a social enterprise serving outdoor workers across the wider MENA region.