Dubai expat loses wallet carrying late father’s treasured photo – driver returns it intact

Dubai: It was at exactly 11.33am on September 15 that Indian expat Vartika Sharma rushed out of her taxi to make it to a client meeting. It wasn’t until 9.30pm, that night, that she realised her wallet was not in her bag. “When I realised it was missing, my heart sank,” she told Emirates 24|7. The wallet in question didn’t just have her passport, Emirates ID, bank cards and cash, but something a lot more valuable – her father’s photograph. “He passed away in December last year,” Sharma said. Her first thought was that she might have left it at the hotel she was staying in. The hotel staff, she says, was very helpful and immediately came to her with a laptop showing CCTV footage of her movements that day in the lobby. There was no sign of the wallet falling off or being left behind. Her next instinct was to check with Careem. “I thought perhaps I left it in the taxi … so, I just dropped a message on the app. In just a few minutes, I got a reply saying the wallet was with the driver. They gave me his number too, so that I could coordinate with him,” she added. As Sharma waited at her hotel lobby, the driver – 30-year-old Ghanian Ebenezer Afibi – made his way from Al Barsha Heights to Sheikh Zayed Road to return the wallet. She said: “He was an extremely polite gentleman, he wasn't even talking much. He just said, ‘Here it is. I came back, but you were not there, so I left again.’” As Sharma thanked him profusely, she looked inside her wallet. Everything was intact – the cash, the cards, and yes, her father’s photograph. He refused to take a tip. It’s just habit When Emirates 24|7 spoke with Afibi, who has been working as a limousine driver in Dubai for two years, his response was simple: “It has become my habit – anything that is not mine, I see it as that. This is what my parents taught me when I was growing up – even if you bring something in your house taken from the roadside, they will tell you to report it to the police, so that’s how it has become a habit for me.” He also made a point to thank his brother, Prince Prempeh, who taught him the steps to report the lost wallet through the Careem app. “The customer was in a hurry, perhaps because she had an appointment or meeting. After I dropped her, I checked the backseat and found a purse there. I waited for about 15 minutes to see if she will remember and come out, but I didn't see any sign of her. I drove ahead to take a turn back, but unfortunately that led me to the main road. I drove for another four kms to come back to where I dropped her but still didn't find her. Ebenezer Afibi "I then asked my brother who is also a driver on how I should report the lost wallet, and he helped me file the report,” he said. Kiko Baptista, Head of Driver Operations, Uber and Careem Rides, said Afibi’s actions reflected the care and honesty Careem seeks to foster among its driver community. “Captains are the backbone of Careem Rides, and Ebenezer’s actions are a wonderful example of the care and honesty that the Captain community brings to the platform. Going kilometres out of his way to make sure a customer's wallet was returned speaks volumes about his character,” he said. "To make doing the right thing as seamless as possible, Careem provides Captains with dedicated safety guidance and in-app tools designed to report and return lost property securely. But these guidelines really come to life with the integrity of the person behind the wheel. We place immense value on Captains like Ebenezer who bring this level of heart to their work every day," he added. A story she tells everyone Sharma, who works as the Vice President of Sales at Terbium Solutions and travels between Mumbai, India and Dubai every month, says the experience left her wanting to move to the city, permanently. “I had always heard about the safety in Dubai, but this was the first time I experienced it,” she said. “Huge respect.” The experience has also given her a story she doesn’t fail to tell everyone. “I’ve told my husband, my mum, even my friends. It was just such a moving experience,” she said. But this isn’t the only story she tells about Dubai. Last year in August, she was able to bring her parents to the city for a short visit, an experience that she will cherish forever. “My dad had been battling cancer since 2013. He was a bit better last year, so I urged him to make the trip. I remember telling him: ‘Get at least one stamp on your passport’,” she said. “It was his first, and unfortunately last, international trip,” she said. And while the memories are bittersweet, Sharma lights up remembering just how much her parents enjoyed the Dubai experience. "The immigration officer at the airport helped my mum at passport control, calling her ‘mama’. She had a smile on her face all the way to the hotel, wondering how the officer knew she was ‘mama’," she said. The moment they reached the hotel, her father touched the ground, a sign of respect to the land he was visiting. From regular visits to the be