From renovated schools to lifesaving surgeries: How Abu Dhabi's 'Ahla Al Ataa' drives change
The second season of the series was launched this week at an event celebrating the reach of its inaugural season — which, according to officials, has already engaged more than one million people across the community.
'The impact of Ma'an has reached over 1 million people since it kicked off around four years ago, as it provides a variety of community support programmes,' said Dr Mugheer Al Khaili, Chairman of the Department of Community Development. 'The goal is to find a foundation for social giving to solve existing social problems. Today, we are focusing on a model from the society or from the programmes that we supported in the past.'
Dr Al Khaili said the themes of Ahl Al Ataa are directly linked to findings from Abu Dhabi's quality of life surveys, which help authorities identify where support is most needed. 'For example, the first cycle of the quality-of-life surveys five years ago, showed the satisfaction of people of determination to be 30 per cent less than the other participants. So, we focused on this group,' he said.
"And a special strategy was formed for them and launched by the UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan himself. Ma'an took this strategy and started to focus on some aspects. So, Ma'an's first social incubator was allocated for people of determination.'
Other community issues revealed through the surveys and then targeted by Ma'an include initiatives for senior citizens, fertility and Medeem — a model wedding programme.
Among the organisations featured in the series was the Pakistani Community Welfare School, a non-profit campus that had operated without any major upgrades since it opened in 1992. 'Our building was very old and it was not a safe environment for the students,' said Farhat Jadoon, principal of the school. 'It's a welfare school, not funded by a third party, and the tuition fees are the lowest in the state, around 3,000 dirhams per year. So, within that budget we were unable to look into other aspects.'
With Ma'an's support, the school was renovated over the summer break. 'They changed the flooring, changed the roof, improved the learning space… they made a very upskilled school clinic as well,' Jadoon said. 'They looked into every single detail… Without Ma'an, we wouldn't have been able to do it with our restricted financial budgets.'
The results have been profound. Attendance has jumped from around 70 per cent to over 95 per cent, according to the principal. 'It's a good culture now,' she said. 'Now we are able to have many happenings in the school. Not just the students; now we are able to do it for the parents as well.'
For the first time in its history, the school hosted an International Day, inviting students from Bangladeshi and Filipino schools, and was rated 'Good' by Abu Dhabi Department of Education and Knowledge (ADEK) inspectors.
'We are doing a lot of things for the first time,' said Jadoon. 'We have added clubs — karate club, music clubs, because now we have more space, shaded space is more important.'
Operation Smile UAE
The series has also brought visibility and funding to causes like Operation Smile UAE, which provides cleft lip and cleft palate surgeries to children and young adults. 'Ma'an has helped not only spread the word amongst everyone in Abu Dhabi… but also helped us raise funds to be able to pay for the surgeries that these children, their families, would never be able to afford,' said Morag Cromey-Hawke, Executive Director of Operation Smile UAE.
'It costs around 30,000 dirhams for a surgery and people that live here, they can't afford that type of funds when they're only on a small income.'
Cromey-Hawke shared the story of Covenant, an eight-year-old boy from Ghana suffering from severe facial anomalies, including a cleft palate and orbital deformities. Thanks to the UAE's support, Covenant is set to undergo complex craniofacial surgery at Great Ormond Street Hospital in London — at an estimated cost of 100,000 dirhams. 'We've raised the money for him,' Cromey-Hawke said. 'We're working with Operation Smile UK to see if they can help facilitate, because they will need to have accommodation. The hospital has helped us out and said… there's housing next door. We're working with three organisations and we're going to try and see if some of the airlines will help with flights and everything.'
Providing free, safe surgeries
Since receiving its licence in 2011, Operation Smile UAE has helped between 3,500 to 4,000 patients, providing free, safe surgeries and comprehensive care both locally and through international missions. While it initially operated as a resource country — recruiting medical volunteers and raising funds for programmes abroad — its UAE-based surgical operations began in 2017, in partnership with Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi. Since then, the charity has supported over 150 cleft surgeries across the Emirates, in addition to providing dental care, nutrition support and speech therapy for children in need.
'His mother wants him to be just a regular little boy,' Cromey-Hawke added, 'doing the same as everyone else.'
With Season 2 of Ahl Al Ataa now underway, Dr Al Khaili said the authority will continue to spotlight and support grassroots initiatives that address real challenges on the ground. 'Based on the challenges [from the quality of life survey], next year, God willing, there will be another group of coverages on other challenges,' he said. The idea, he added, is to use storytelling as a form of civic scaffolding — inspiring others to contribute while building institutional memory for how community support works in practice.
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