A dozen volunteers from the United Arab Emirates, including government worker Tuaiba Aldarmaki, above, are in Sea Bright this week working with Habitat for Humanity to build a new house for a family displaced by Hurricane Sandy.

Under the rubric of an organization called ‘Takatof,’ for “shoulder to shoulder, volunteers have previously helped rebuild homes following disasters in Joplin, Missouri, Tuscaloosa, Alabama and Brooklyn.

‘What’s similar between our cultures is hospitality,’ said Lujan Mourad, an official with the Emirates Foundation for Youth Development, who noted that strangers have stopped by the job site, at Ocean Avenue and Marius Place, to feed the volunteers. (Photos by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)