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THE One currently employs 15 Challenged individuals, one of whom has been with us for over 15 years. What’s more, our three Emirati special needs employees are all celebrating 12 years with THE One this year! THE One takes every opportunity to hire Challenged Employees. 

http://www.almazroui.com/blog/the-wonderful-story-of-ebrahim-al-noor-at-the-one

“One of the coolest dudes we know”, that’s the feeling of THE One team when Ebrahim is around them, either striving to bring thankful smiles on the faces of the customers or creating pleasant mornings even from the worst ones for his colleagues while enjoying together a tasty cup of tea.

The family-like spirit hovers among the visitors when entering the shops of THE One and Ebrahim passionately brings his full contribution to “building something bigger”, as Thomas Lundgren founder of THE One Total Home Experience says.  

An exemplary team player, Ebrahim is surrounded by warm-hearted colleagues who make him forget about the sadness that he is carrying in his soul since he was a child. He joined THE One Jumeirah team on May 1, 2006, as a part-time Salesperson Assistant. Before he used to be a minder at the Ministry of Labor’s Special Needs Centre when he expressed the desire to integrate and be active in the society.

Trisomy 21, known also as “Down Syndrome”, the genetic disorder which burdens his shoulders doesn’t stop him working five hours a day, five days a week. 

This syndrome named after its discoverer, the British doctor John Langdon Down, is one of the most common chromosome abnormalities in humans, occurring in about one per 1000 babies born each year. The genetic cause is an extra copy of chromosome 21 and unfortunately, there is no cure for that.

This month Al Bayan, one of the most popular Arabic language newspapers in the UAE, dedicated a 2 column article to the story of Ebrahim, praising his dedication to overcome the challenges of life.

Education and proper care improved the quality of life for Ebrahim. He found at THE One a shelter and a chance for his dreams of accomplishing something good in life. Efforts such as early childhood intervention, screening for common problems, medical treatment where indicated, a good family environment, and work-related training improved his development.

Ahmed Liaqat, a young Pakistani who is hearing and speech impaired, joined THE One Abu Dhabi tribe in May 2011. Our Khalidiya team first met Ahmed in July 2008 when he visited our store as a vocational trainee from the Special Care Centre. Starting with the packing of items at the cash tills during ...

Iraqi national Ghanima Abdulla Salem was recommended to us by the principal of the Khalifa School. Ghanima was diagnosed with Autism at the age of two-and-a-half. She started working with us on May 1, 2006 and works four hours a day, five days a week in Administration where she helps in taking notes...

Yasmeen Fekri, a lively young Bahraini born with learning difficulties, joined THE One Bahrain team in June 2013 as a part-time Sales Assistant. We first met her through the Rehabilitation Institute of Active Learning (RIA) Centre, which is a voluntary run school for children of all nationalities wi...

Shaikha Ahmad Ali Mohammed Huraiz, an Emirati with special learning needs, joined THE One Mall of the Emirates team on January 21, 2007. Shaikha, who was recommended to us when we contacted the Ministry of Labour’s Special Needs Centre, loved THE One so much after a week’s trial that she decided to ...

Rody Mallari, ayoung Filipino born with Leg Length Discrepancy, joined our Dubai Local Distribution Centre team on 3 December 2013 as a fulltime Warehouse Assistant. As a child, Rody suffered from severe back pain due to his condition, but a spinal operation at the age of 9 alleviated this pain and ...

Faisal Aziz, a young Emirati with special learning needs, joined THE One’s Office team on Sunday May 7, 2006. We ‘discovered’ Faisal during a visit to the Ministry of Labour’s Special Needs Centre and employed him to assist in routine cleaning tasks around THE Office for six hours a day, five days a...

Muneer Wadhwania, a Canadian National of Pakistani origin affected by Developmental Delay, was ‘discovered’ by our staff committee members during a visit to the Khalifa School - a private educational institution for special needs students and THE One Kuwait’s supported cause. After interviewing Mune...

Awais Iftikhar, a young Pakistani who is hearing and speech impaired, joined our Khalidiya Theatre tribe on 1 April 2015. We discovered Awais when his father’s colleague, who had heard about our Challenged Employee programme, passed on his CV to our Sales Manager. Following the interview we immediat...