Dewa daycare centre a boon for mothers

For three years Ahlam Ismail, an executive at the billing department of the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (Dewa), would wake up early to tend to her daughter's needs before going to work.

She used to leave three-year-old Alyazia with her mother, who was also swamped with household chores. Now, thanks to a child daycare centre close to Dewa's offices, almost half her daily cares have been removed from her shoulders.

"Thanks to this new centre I have now more time to devote to my career, my other child – who is eight months old – my family and myself as a person," Ismail told Emirates Business yesterday as Dewa Managing Director and CEO Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer carried her daughter at the inauguration of the centre.

The centre is available for Dewa employees' children aged from three months to four years for a fee of Dh500 per month.

The fee, according to Fatima Salman Al Deemas, Senior Manager, Employee Relations, is not intended to raise revenue. "We just want to have commitment from the mothers," she said. "If there's no fee they may just bring their children for a day or two. What we want is consistency.

Ismail said Alyazia had improved on her numeracy and literacy skills in as little as two weeks.

"She is always excited," she added. "This project has not only benefited the parents but the children as well."

The centre can handle 32 children but Dewa is planning to expand the service to other areas over the next two years. The nursery programme is set to spread to other government agencies.

The Roads and Transport Authority is setting up a 500 square metres nursery, which will be ready by the end of this month.

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