DEWA launches ‘Absher’ and ‘Omniyati’ initiatives to fulfill the wishes of employees with special needs

In line with the vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, to promote social service, and the ‘My Community... A City for Everyone’ initiative, launched by His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of the Dubai Executive Council, to turn Dubai into a fully inclusive disability-friendly city by 2020, Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) is working according to a strategy aimed to establish an inclusive environment for people with disabilities. To achieve this goal, DEWA has launched many programmes and initiatives aimed at customers, employees, and the community to help persons with disabilities.

 “These initiatives were launched in support of the objectives of UAE Vision 2021 and Dubai Plan 2021 to shape an inclusive city that supports cohesive families and communities, forming the bedrock of society. DEWA is committed to fulfilling its corporate social responsibility in line with its vision to become a sustainable innovative world-class utility; DEWA adopts plans and strategies based on the highest international standards. To achieve our vision of social responsibility, a special permanent committee called “Maa’n” was formed, to supervise the implementation of these strategies,” said HE Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD & CEO of DEWA.

 “DEWA has clear strategies in place to serve persons with disabilities. It has launched in 2014 the ‘Ash'ir’ service that enables individuals with special needs to communicate directly with DEWA’s call centre staff via instant visual conversation using sign language as a means of dialogue, and is the first government organisation in the UAE to launch this service. DEWA has also revamped its website and smart application to better suit the needs of those with disabilities. It accepts large numbers of applicants with special needs and sends them to different departments while meeting their human resource requirements and matching them with a suitable job within the limits of their capabilities, helping them to integrate into society and to build families,” HE added.

 “DEWA has launched the ‘Absher Initiative’ that includes a dedicated team of specialists and qualified staff in human resources, in addition to a hotline, to provide guidance to employees with special needs, and assist them with their paperwork. We have also launched the ‘Omniyati initiative,’ in order to grant the wishes of our employees with disabilities, whose conditions may have prevented them from achieving their wishes, to make them happy, and to integrate them into society. We have successfully fulfilled the wishes of 10 employees with special needs so far,” said Dr. Yousef Al Akraf, Executive Vice President of Business Support and Human Resources at DEWA, head of “Maa’n” committee.

DEWA recently received MVO 8000 certification in social responsibility, to become the first government institution in Dubai to receive this global recognition. It has also reached advanced levels in implementing the guidelines of ISO 26000 in social responsibility. 

DEWA is the strategic sponsor of AccessAbilities Expo, which will be held in Dubai from the 8th to 10th of February 2016.  DEWA will showcase services devoted to individuals with special needs, and brief their families on ways of benefit from them. This exhibition comes at a time when global statistics indicate that there are about 700 million people with special needs internationally, and 50 million in the Middle East region alone.