Dubai
Five years ago, Habib-ur-Rehman was a nervous man who would easily get intimidated when asked to speak in English. But this has all changed now.
Sporting long sleeves with a tie and slacks, Rehman entered the classroom with confidence and a smile. The Pakistani has come a long way since he first started working as a building watchman five years ago.
“When I first joined the English class in 2012, my English speaking skills were very weak,” Rehman, 36, who did not finish primary school but completed first grade in Pakistan, told Gulf News.
“If someone from the UK or Europe talked to me then, I’d get stressed because I could not understand them. But now, I can speak to any client from any country with ease.”
Rehman has been taking English language classes for free for the past five years at the Danube Welfare Centre, a non-profit social club licensed by the Community Development Authority (CDA) in Dubai. He was the centre’s first student in 2012.
“On the first day of class, he was very nervous,” Sameer Anwar Shah, Director of the Danube Welfare Centre, told Gulf News as Rehman, who was sitting beside him, chuckled when he recalled that fateful day. “And then when he saw the English teacher, he got even more nervous.”
Shah said the centre also taught Rehman Personality Development and Grooming so he could look smart when talking to his boss’ clients. From being a building watchman, Rehman’s boss has promoted him to be his right-hand man and office manager. Rehman now manages his boss’ property along with other things.
“My family is very happy. My boss is very happy with me also, he has given me a good salary. I already know how to speak a bit of Arabic. English is my plus point,” Rehman said.
“So many companies are offering me a good job now but because this is where I started, I don’t want to go elsewhere.”
Like Rehman, Mohammad Shiraz, also from Pakistan, has been doing well with his studies for the past three months.
“When I started, I could only understand English but I couldn’t speak the language. Now I can speak English and I’ve progressed a lot,” Shiraz, 27, said.
Going to class is challenging for Rehman and Shiraz especially during Ramadan. For Shiraz, who works in construction, it is work at night and sleep during the day. But he has to squeeze in a few hours for his classes in between. The commute in the summer heat makes it doubly hard.
“Even if it’s hard, if I want to improve myself, I have to face the challenges. How will I improve myself if I don’t do this?” he said.
Rehman and Shiraz are just two among the 1,000 blue-collar workers currently enrolled at the centre whose programme is part of the Honour Labour programme of CDA. Shah said they started with 551 students in 2012, which grew to 881 to 1,000 this year.
“We have seen a lot of progress. Today, mashallah, we have so many blue-collar workers and so many people who have actually got promoted in their job,” Shah said. “Rather than give donations or charity work every year, our chairman, Rizwan Sajan, wants to teach people to fish rather than give them fish for a day.”
Apart from teaching English and personality development, the centre also coaches students on how to build confidence and develop positive attitude, how to ace a job interview, how to dress well, and among many other things.
“Very few organisations or companies actually invest in the development of blue-collar workers. We want to inculcate this culture where every organisation will start developing blue-collar workers as an integral part of their organisation,” Shah said.
“They have potential, skills. We only have to give them a chance.”
FACT FILE: To register at Danube Welfare Centre, call 0552213030
