ABU DHABI // As the UAE marks Zayed Humanitarian Day, Emiratis remember how the nation’s Founding Father made a difference to their lives.
Noura Abu Baker said she was thankful to Sheikh Zayed every time she looked at her three grown-up sons.
Ahmed Aljailani, 28, Hussein Aljailani, 32, and Abdulraham Aljailani, 22, have mental disabilities.
“When they were small, there was nowhere I could take them and they stayed home all day.”
She was then advised to take them to the Zayed Higher Organisation for Humanitarian Care and Special Needs.
“Our lives completely changed. Thank God. I never imagined that this day would happen.”
Ahmed and Hussein are both married and all three men are employed at the Zayed Agricultural Centre for Development and Rehabilitation.
Hussein has two children – a one-year-old boy and a two-year-old girl – while Ahmed has a nine-month-old son.
“It’s hard. I wont lie to you. It’s hardest on their wives,” she said. “But without the vocational training of the organisation this wouldn’t have been possible”.
“This is all because of Zayed. He built this organisation. He gave us the Emirati nationality, a house and everything.”
Ms Abu Baker said her sons were good fathers and contributed to their households. The only difference between them and non-disabled people is “that you need to be gentle and speak to them slowly. Slowly explain things and explain to them what to do. Show them what’s right and what’s wrong”.
Ahmed said he would use the day to remember Sheikh Zayed. “When Sheikh Zayed died I was sad. It felt like my father died but I see him in Sheikh Mohammed. I see him here at the organisation,” he said.
Zafarana Ahmed Khamis’ daughters also have special needs, with Hamda Ali Al Hosani, 25, an epileptic and Maryam Al Hosani, 24, having Down syndrome.
“My girls were never ridiculed and made fun of. They were always cared for through Zayed. They never felt or looked at or treated differently,” Ms Khamis said.
Both women are Special Olympics gold medallists, with Maryam winning in bowling and Hamda in running.
“Zayed cared for everyone but people with special needs most of all,” said Ms Khamis.
The organisation has 19 centres and clubs offering services to train, educate and rehabilitate the disabled.
Wedad Al Mubarak, head of activities at the organisation, remembered that when the engineer showed Sheikh Zayed the site plan of the organisation, he kept asking him to expand.
“‘Make it bigger,’ Sheikh Zayed used to always tell the engineer, ‘they need the space more than anyone else’.”
Hehsam Al Wahedi, 30, started going blind because of a brain tumour that was detected when he was 13.
“I had to stop school and was getting treatment in Germany for two years to remove the tumour,” he said.
After returning to the UAE, the organisation helped him in continuing his studies. He now works at a Braille printing press.
“Sheikh Zayed is a role model, a father and a supporter of everyone not just us who have special needs,” said Mr Al Wahedi.
Saeed Al Awadhi, a thalassaemia patient who works for the Sheikh Sultan bin Khalifa Al Nahyan Humanitarian and Scientific Foundation, also praised his care for the disabled and ill.
“Zayed didn’t die. He is in every one of us. He is in his sons. He is in our country. There is nothing to remember because he is among us and in our souls,” said Mr Al Awadhi, 30.
“Show me a house that doesn’t have a portrait of Sheikh Zayed on their walls or a person who doesn’t have Sheikh Zayed’s photo on their phone.”
Thalassaemia, an inherited blood disorder, costs up to Dh30,000 a month to treat, but Sheikh Zayed ensured that all patients – whether Emirati or expatriate – received free treatment.
“What country in the world does that? This is a country that Zayed set up. A country that ensures that all residents, regardless of nationality, enjoy the basic necessities free of charge,” he said.
salnuwais@thenational.ae
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Remembering Sheikh Zayed:
› Tributes pour in for Founding Father as UAE marks Zayed Humanitarian Day
› NMC chief to build Abu Dhabi's first medical university in honour of Sheikh Zayed
› Emiratis share memories of a wise and giving leader
› Opinion: Inspiration of Sheikh Zayed remains alive