Dubai: The category of awards for unsung heroes in Dubai’s Government Excellence Programme (DGEP) Awards brings the much-needed recognition and acclaim for employees whose dedication and passion for their job is exemplary. In 2016, the 19th edition of the awards, winners in the ‘unsung heroes’ category came from a swathe of departments such as Dewa, Dubai Municipality, Dubai Culture, Dubai Customs, Mohammad Bin Rashid Housing Establishment, Dubai Police, Dubai Corporation for Ambulance Services, General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs in Dubai, and Dubai Courts.
Irrespective of their background, age or gender, each winner exemplifies the lasting virtues of dedication, commitment and hard work, and offers lessons in how adherence to best practices can enable an individual to succeed in their pursuit of excellence.
Gulf News speaks to a few unsung heroes.
Serving with dedication at Rashid Hospital
Hassan Jaafar Mahmoudi Al Zada, 62, Emirati
Employed with: Dubai Health Authority as a messenger
Awarded in the Unsung Heroes category, Hassan Jaafar Mahmoudi Al Zada cannot remember a day when he did not turn up for work at Rashid Hospital in the last 40 years. With verve and enthusiasm belying his age, 62, a time of life wherein many people prefer to lead a retired life, Al Zada continues to report to work at 7am and complete whatever task he is assigned for the day. Speaking in chaste Arabic, he recalls the time in 1977 when, all of 23 years old, he began work at the newly opened Rashid Hospital.
“I had never been to school but in my heart, I wanted to be part of this beautiful hospital that was serving the sick and needy. So I joined as a driver ferrying hospital staff from their residential quarters. I felt good being able to do the work I know and being part of the health sector.”
Subsequently, he worked as a supervisor for the cleaning staff and currently, he works as a messenger for the hospital. Not having taken any sick leave in 40 years of his work, Al Zada looks forward to his daily work schedule. “Cleanliness and sanitation are important aspects of hospital decorum and as a cleaning supervisor, I always inspired my workers to work hard and never shirk any cleaning duties, “ says Al Zada, who has three children who have received basic school education.
Al Zada was delighted to meet His Highness Shaikh Mohmmad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, and Shaikh Hamdan Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Dubai Crown Prince and Chairman of the Dubai Executive Council.
“It was a dream come true for me. I could never have imagined that they would recognise and honour me. I am thrilled with this award,” he said.
He is not ready to hang up his boots just yet and plans to continue working as a messenger at the hospital because he loves the buzz at his workplace. “I will continue to make my humble contribution to my community for as long I can,” he says, his voice filled with pride.
Another success story of a man who overcame disability
Ahmad Yusuf Hassan Murad, 34
Employed with Dubai Municipality, as principal laboratory equipment operator
Being born deaf did not stop Ahmad Yusuf Hassan Murad, 34, from becoming outstanding in what he chose to do.
Murad, who is from the Comoros Islands, was chosen as one of the unsung heroes and honoured by His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, at the Dubai Government Excellence Awards on Tuesday.
Murad has been working for Dubai Municipality’s Central laboratory since June 2001, where he joined as part of a rehabilitation programme for people with special needs at the laboratory.
Gulf News was able to communicate with Murad through his colleague Reda Samir Hassan, who has been working with him for 8 years and who helped him with his application for the award.
Hassan said they communicate mostly on WhatsApp and Facebook, and he has picked up some sign language over the years.
Murad began as a Grade 3 laboratory technician, and was gradually promoted through the ranks thanks to his skill and hard work to become a grade 6 principal laboratory equipment operator.
“Murad overcame the challenges of being deaf and mute and joined the Disabled Care and Rehabilitation Center that is part of the Ministry of Social Affairs and received a certificate that he finished vocational rehabilitation in general maintenance for the academic year 1997-1998,” Hassan said.
Murad said he chose this field because it was interesting and because he could prove himself, as it was what he had studied in the rehabilitation programme.
“I want to thank Dubai Municipality and their central laboratory for giving me a chance to work and prove myself,” he keyed in a reply.
Murad was very happy to be honoured by Shaikh Mohammad. “He is a great leader and this recognition will make me work harder,” he said.
Hassan said that Murad’s two children, Suood and Fatima, were very proud of their father who set an example in overcoming disability.
Murad communicates with his colleagues through social media and SMS, and those around him, like Hassan, picked up some sign language from him.
“Murad is very energetic and skilled and he has proven himself to be a valued member in the Chemical Analysis unit, and has become an example anyone with disability should follow,” Hassan said.
Murad thanked Reda for helping him with his application and all his colleagues at work who supported him.
In 38 years, he has not missed a day’s work
Gulam Mohammad Gulam Dastagir, 58, Indian
Employed with: Dubai Customs, as office supervisor
Amidst the joy and bonhomie being expressed by his colleagues for having won the prestigious Government Excellence Programme Awards, Gulam Mohammad Gulam Dastagir looks back at his 39 years of working in the UAE and the values he chose to live by that culminated in what he calls ‘the greatest honour of his life’.
His commitment to his job at Dubai Customs as an office supervisor earned him the badge of excellence for which he is deeply grateful.
Dastagir, 58, who comes from India, says the recognition is a milestone and a gift from God.
In his 38 years with the Dubai Customs - he joined it 18 months after arriving in Dubai - Dastagir has never missed a single day’s work. Even when indisposed, he would turn up and at the most clock off a little earlier than usual due to the kindness of his managers, he said. “It’s one’s attitude towards work that defines who they are. I’m a believer in honesty. It’s the best policy,” said Dastagir.
He has instilled this value in his seven children, three girls and four boys, who he is proud to have sent to English curriculum schools in Dubai. The one thing he ensured when he began working, he said, was that his children got the gift of education, an advantage he did not enjoy. He has spent all his money on their education, he said, and it is only now that he has turned his mind to building a small house for himself in Mumbai.
“[Education] was something I couldn’t get but wanted my children to have. Now, that they have finished learning, I want to save money for a home I have dreamt of in India.”
Dastagir, who came to the UAE in 1977, began his career with Dubai Customs as a helper.
Apart from his positive attitude at work, Dastagir is also known for motivating his fellow employees at work and teaching people about the importance of being grateful for every single blessing.
“We should be grateful for whatever God gives us. If He chooses to give us half a loaf of bread, so be it, we should be content with it. When He wants to give us a full loaf, He will,” said an emotional Dastagir, overwhelmed by happiness at the award.
He said he always tells his children “to never lose their morals for money, I’ve lived my life following this principle.”
Rising bowling star amongst DGEW unsung heroes
Sukaina Aziz Abdul Rahman Karam, 25, Emirati
Employed with: Dubai Public Prosecution as entry operator
Sukaina Aziz Abdul Rahman Karam, 25, is not just a unsung hero who was honoured during Tuesday’s Dubai Government Excellence Programme (DGEP) Awards. She is also a rising bowling star.
Applauded by His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, as one of the 19th DGEP’s unsung heroes, Karam, a 25-year-old speech-impaired Emirati woman, believes she was rewarded for her hard work and devotion as a data entry operator at Dubai Public Prosecution (DPP).
“I am so delighted and honoured. I love my work and have been devoted to it since I got hired in 2014. When I was receiving the special acclaim from His Highness Shaikh Mohammad, I remembered my late parents … I am sure that I made them proud. Actually it felt like my father and mother were the ones being honoured,” she told Gulf News on Wednesday.
Besides being a full-time employee at DPP’s Cases Registry Section, Karam is a shining and rising bowling star, who has won a number of domestic bowling competitions.
She is a key player in the bowling team of the Dubai Club for the Disabled and won the first place in this year’s Shaikha Hind Bowling Competition. She also won the first place in the bowling competition of Dubai Sports Council in January 2014.
Speaking to Gulf News through a sign-language interpreter, Karam said: “I have been granted the DGEP Award because of my hard work, dedication and commitment … I was so articulate and proficient at the section where I key in data on the computer. Actually, I thank my colleagues at work, who have been extremely supportive and encouraging, and without whom I wouldn’t have achieved this acclamation.”
She also praised Dubai’s Attorney General Essam Eisa Al Humaidan whom she described as her number-one supporter.
“Since the beginning, he encouraged me a lot … his constant and unprecedented encouragement helped me integrate quickly with my colleagues at DPP. I call on all my fellow counterparts [individuals with special needs] to be persistent and train and educate themselves relentlessly, as they are productive and efficient members of the society. This is what I am today,” she said.
