Dubai's community spirit is at the fore as British boy reunites with his penguin

Dubai: An 11-year-old British boy in Dubai was reunited with his lost penguin last week, in a heartening story that also bore out a rare sense of empathy and community belonging in the city.

Talking to Gulf News after his unlikely find, young Lukie, a Year 6 student, said: “I am so, so happy that my penguin is back with me. Chubbs was a Christmas gift from my parents. He became my most favourite friend in a short time and I was very sad when I lost him.”

His mum, Holly Hart, said Chubbs went missing when they were returning to Dubai after their Christmas vacation in London. “We had gone home for the holidays. When we flew back to Dubai, Lukie was carrying the penguin in his hands with strict instructions not to lose him. But somehow, none of us realised when Chubbs went missing. It was only when we reached home from the airport that it dawned upon us that he was not there,” she said, adding that her second son, 9, was also travelling with them.

Holly said she had bought the penguin at a souq in Dubai before she left for London. “On Christmas Day, I gave Lukie the present and he was delighted. When Chubbs went missing, he took it badly and was very upset.”

But as luck would have it, another Dubai-based British expat, who was on the same flight, happened to notice a penguin on the train shuttle to the arrivals area after landing in Dubai airport.

‘There might be a crying child somewhere’

The woman, Katie-Walton Orchard, whom Gulf News reached out to, said she asked around to find out if it belonged to anyone but to no avail. Not willing to leave the penguin alone, she decided to pick him up and do what needed to be done.

“I did it whilst I was waiting in the baggage reclaim area,” she said.

The picture was accompanied by a question on whether the penguin belonged to anyone on a flight from London Gatwick that had just landed. “Found it in the shuttle and know there might be a crying child somewhere,” she wrote.

To her utter delight, she received a response from Holly, saying the penguin belonged to her son.

Having exchanged telephone numbers, they spoke and decided to meet to reunite Chubbs with Lukie.

Holly said a friend of hers who is also on Real Mums had alerted her about Katie’s post. “That’s how strong the community spirit is and as Real Mums aptly puts it, “It takes a village”. Lukie is so happy now. We can’t thank Katie and Real Mums enough,” she said.

‘The gut punch feeling’

Megan Al Marzooqi, founder of Real Mums UAE, told Gulf News, “There is something very special when our group works together and manages to locate a lost toy. As mums, we all know the gut punch feeling we get when a special toy or comfort cuddly is lost, the panic, the hot sweats, the heart palpitations that start immediately while we wonder where it’s been lost and what we are going to do. It’s something only parents will understand.”

She said, “We have been able to reunite several lost toys and heartbroken children over the seven years that Real Mums UAE has been running. Each one warms my heart. From lots toys in a local mall to international reunions after summer holidays, they are all a huge team effort in the village.

"The lost penguin at the airport last week was no different, mums sticking together and helping each other - the sisterhood in motherhood. Bravo to the mum who thought to lift it and post about it in our village and a massive tap on the back to all the mums who then got to work contacting other mums that had been travelling that night. The power of our little village never ceases to amaze me.”