The Westin Resort Experience in Dubai

Winners for the Inspire Dubai Awards 2008

Environmental Achiever of the Year

Habiba Al Marashi
Co-founder and Chairperson of the Emirates Environmental Group (EEG)

EEG is a voluntary, non-governmental organization, which aims to encourage responsibility for the preservation and protection of the environment in the UAE. Habiba Al Marashi, who has led the group since its formation in 1991, has gained worldwide respect for her dedication to the environment, working on the United Nations Environment Programme and helping to keep green issues firmly on the agenda in the UAE. For Habiba, the problem is “not ignorance, but indifference”. An inspiration to those who work around her, she remains modest despite her considerable achievements: “I see this as my national duty – to keep my country clean.”

Lifesaver of the Year

Muhannad Al Jazireh
Presenter on Channel 4 FM, who saved a woman from drowning in Umm Al Quwain

On Friday 7 November 2008, Muhannad Al Jazireh, otherwise known as DJ Moe of Channel 4 FM, rescued a man and wife from the sea in Umm Al Quwain. With no lifeguards in sight, a strong current and many onlookers, Muhannad took the plunge after he heard the husband crying for help as he struggled to save his wife from drowning. Shouting words of encouragement to the stricken pair, he battled the current, before struggling to pull them both ashore.

Young Achiever of the Year

Dana Nashawati
Despite losing her vision at the age of 13, Dana Nashawati has excelled in an environment that caters poorly to the blind

Dana Nashawati lost her sight at the age of 13, after an eye infection affected her optic nerves. Forced to discontinue school, she nevertheless managed to successfully complete her exams through the help of private tutors and her own unfaltering determination to succeed. Now 21, Dana is holding down a full-time job with Emirates Airlines while also working towards her degree at the Canadian University of Dubai. Her positive outlook on life, and her resolve to change attitudes towards those with special needs in Dubai, have proved inspirational to those around her.

Child of Bravery

Callum Woods
After losing his mother in a tragic hit-and-run accident, Callum has dealt with attention from the press, and his own grief, with great courage

Callum Woods recently had to contend with the tragedy of losing his mother, after she was run down by a car on the night of his father’s birthday. As well as having to deal with his own grief, Callum had to contend with considerable attention from the press, as they picked apart what happened on that tragic night. In spite of it all, Callum has continued to be an inspiration to his peers, working with younger children in school, leading his own band, supporting the learning environment, and generally throwing himself into his life at school. His courage has been humbling to all who know him.

Fundraiser of the Year

Jalal Binthaneya
A young Emirati activist and campaigner, Jalal has climbed 100 skyscrapers and walked across the UAE to raise awareness and funds for children with special needs

21-year-old Jalal Binthaneya is a UAE national and a student at the American University of Dubai. He believes that people of all nationalities and abilities should be given equal rights and opportunities. Jalal dedicates his spare time to raising awareness for people in the UAE with special needs by planning and executing extreme challenges. In January 2007 he trekked 600km across the desert to become the first person to walk across the UAE, while earlier this year he climbed 100 towers in Dubai, which involved trudging up and down a staggering 90,000 steps.

Educator of the Year

Janet Webber
A teacher all of her life, Janet has shown significant dedication to Early Years Education in Dubai, inspiring those around her

Janet Webber has been teaching for 30 years in schools from Saudi Arabia to Dubai. She is one of those rare teachers who has a profound influence on her pupils, living by her motto that “to teach is to touch a life forever”. Janet runs two of the most sought-after nursery schools in Dubai, and despite the threat of closure, followed by a recent diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis and then a brain haemorrhage, she continues to run her schools with vigour and instil in her pupils a joy for learning.

Guardian of the Year x 3

Elle and Roger Trow
Founders of Helping Hands, an inspirational charity which reaches out to underprivileged workers in Dubai, Elle and Roger have dedicated their lives to looking after others in need

In 2006 Elle and Roger Trow, both in their 60s, took it upon themselves to stand up for a cause that few others were prepared to tackle openly – the plight of Dubai’s underclass of labourers and domestic workers. Their hands-on approach and unerring drive has helped earn them the respect of all who come into their contact, not least the men and women they help. Each day, Elle and Trow personally deliver food and toiletries, phone cards and clothes to those in most need in the labour camps, whilst also facilitating recreational activities to promote the mental health of workers.

Afra Al Basti
Chief Executive Officer of the Foundation for Women and Children, Afra Albasti is well known for her work to protect and support abused women and children in the UAE

Afra Al Basti heads up the commendable Foundation for Women and Children, which provides a refuge for women and children afflicted by poverty and abuse. The foundation offers legal counsel, shelter and one-on-one care for those who have suffered through circumstance, domestic violence, or exploitation. Her work has raised all-important awareness of the sufferings of women and children in the UAE.

Gulshan Kavarana
Gulshan has given up the last 10 years of her life to care for children with special needs, volunteering for the Dubai Centre for Special Needs and running support groups for affected families

Viewed by those around her as something of a guardian angel, Gulshan Kavarana has been committed to the cause of caring for children with special needs for many years. A well-respected volunteer at the Dubai Centre for Special Needs, she offers the children there her love and support, whilst also supporting their families by organising social events and activities. Gulshan’s driving passion is to strive for the acceptance of these children within the community.
Inspiring Personality

Katy Newitt
Katy inspired the creation of Foresight, which educates people about blindness in the UAE and funds research into hereditary eye disease

Blindness is thought to be the biggest cause of disability in the UAE and yet the support structure for the blind is minimal. After losing her own vision due to hereditary eye disease, Katy has thrown herself into the cause, and begun to change perceptions about blindness in Dubai. Her aims are wide-ranging, from raising money to fund research into these devastating diseases, to helping to break down barriers so that blind people can by properly integrated into UAE society. Examples of her enterprise include mobility training courses, blind dinners (where sighted people are blind-folded for the evening in order to share the experience of socialising without sight), and challenges, such as cycling from Dubai to Fujeirah on a tandem bike.

Special Recognition

Joy Jones
Respected by the authorities, church leaders and those around her, Joy has visited prisoners in Dubai for many years, offering support to the prisoners themselves and to their families

For 18 years, Joy Jones, a Filipino resident of Dubai, has offered support to needy prisoners, visiting them unfailingly week on week. A tiny lady (barely 4ft tall), Joy nevertheless has enormous strength of character with a selfless drive to lend a hand – whether by raising funds to fly the wife and children of a prisoner back to their home country, or by providing emotional support to a Russian woman imprisoned because of a bounced cheque. Joy is a genuine unsung hero, giving to others with no expectation of thanks or reward.

Lifetime Achievement

Mohammed Al Reyaysa
Head of the Difficult Missions Team, an elite police unit responsible for saving the lives of many

Working round the clock, the Difficult Missions Team (DMT) specialise in accident rescue. Team leader First Lieutenant Mohammed Al Reyaysa has been with the DMT since it was formed 16 years ago. Often on the accident scene within minutes, countless Dubaians have Mohammed Al Reyaysa and his team to thank for their lives. His long service, and enduring determination to save lives in the face of horrors that few of us would ever wish to experience, is worthy of heartfelt thanks from the community as a whole.