Heroes of Hope isn’t just a nonprofit organisation – it’s a lifeline for children with special needs in the UAE, driven by founder Hollie Murphy. With her unique skill-set and undying commitment to the cause, she’s been changing the lives of both children and families alike.
Zubeda Rizvi and her family moved from India to the UAE in 2021, driven by one goal: to find better support for her son, Rayhaan, who has Down’s syndrome.
“[In India], there is no empathy for such children,” Zubeda shares, “People question them, saying, ‘What are they?’ ‘Why are they different?’”
When the family first arrived, Rayhaan was nearly non-verbal. But since joining Heroes of Hope, Zubeda says his transformation has been remarkable.
“Now, Alhamdulillah, he has so much more vocabulary,” she says, “He always used to sit in the stroller – never wanted to walk. Thanks to Heroes of Hope, Rayhaan does 5Ks now.
“Hollie is indeed a blessing in our lives. As a parent of a child with special needs, sometimes it’s difficult to get through the day. But Hollie – she has this never-give-up attitude.”
And if there’s one word to describe Hollie Murphy, it’s dedicated.
After a fifteen year long teaching career, Dublin-born Hollie shifted her focus to supporting disabled youth in the UAE, helping them develop social, interpersonal, and sporting skills through her not-for-profit organisation, Heroes of Hope.
For the past six years now, she has partnered with countless families, creating opportunities for their children to learn, grow, and express themselves through sport – revealing sides of them that their families, and society as a whole, may have never seen before.
“I wanted to fill a gap.” Hollie explains, “Children with special needs love to move – they’re born to move. Sport was a perfect place for them to be their natural selves – if they want to run, let them run.”
“If they’re in a space that is comfortable and can really nurture them, then let them be their full selves.”
In the UAE, people with disabilities are known as People of Determination (PoD), a term coined in 2017 to better ‘recognise their achievements in different fields.’ It was all part of a wider push to better support People of Determination, with them also being granted financial aid, discounted public transport, free entry to attractions, and more.
Hollie’s early work with People of Determination caught the attention of Ma’an, the Authority of Social Contribution in Abu Dhabi. She was invited to join their ‘incubator’ program, designed to support community initiatives for special needs.
Through Ma’an, Hollie gained the opportunity to network with other like-minded individuals and further refine her ideas. With their backing and the funds raised through various events, she officially launched Heroes of Hope in 2019.
“If I don’t do it, nobody else will,” Hollie explains. “Creating opportunities doesn’t happen for People of Determination. You need people out there who will advocate for them and make it happen.”
Heroes of Hope offers a diverse range of programs, including basketball, rugby, swimming, golf, and more, giving participants the opportunity to explore various sports and reach their full potential.
For many parents, it’s more than they could have ever hoped for.
This article is part of our This:Ability series, celebrating individuals with disabilities in sport. Read our other story on the Sheffield Strikers here, on the Sheffield Steelkings here, or on the rise of disabled tennis here!
Zubeda’s sentiment is one shared by other parents, like Mai el Dahan, whose son, Saif, has autism and ADHD.
He struggles with gross and fine motor skills, making left-right coordination a challenge. Though he had dabbled in swimming and cycling, his opportunities were limited – until Mai discovered Heroes of Hope.
“He does all these sessions now,” Mai says, “He’s won gold medals in many of them. He takes part in community races and has even come in first a couple of times. He’s doing so well.”
For Mai, the impact goes beyond athletic achievements: “It’s given him discipline, a sense of achievement, and exposure to experiences I probably wouldn’t have been aware of as a parent.”
Hollie supports these children beyond just sports, giving them opportunities that they may never have been able to access otherwise;
“She had an invitation to the F1 Grand Prix in Abu Dhabi because she’d worked with a sponsor,” Mai recalls, “She had an invitation for one hero, and she gave it to Saif because she knows he likes cars and racing and so he got to attend from a VIP balcony.”
“She was able to give him that – I mean tickets are so expensive, I probably never would have taken him to the F1 as a parent so she has really, in a lot of ways, changed our life.”
And with the recent launch of an international program that took children to South Africa last year to help foster independence, it’s become clear there are no limits to what Hollie is willing to do for these kids.
Linda Dickinson joined Heroes of Hope in 2021 as the organisation and community officer, and very quickly began to understand the unique and supportive community it had fostered.
“When I first joined,” she recalls, “They had a race going on – I was there taking pictures as they were coming in. There was one child who was really struggling to get around. Virtually everyone had finished the course and he had still not appeared.”
“One by one, the coaches were going back into the course until eventually they all ran in with him. Everyone in the sidelines was clapping and cheering for him and it was utterly beautiful. I was taking pictures and wiping my tears at the same time.”
Heroes of Hope’s strongest aspect is its community and shared love that everyone involved has for each other. It transcends just supporting the children, but also supporting the parents who work thanklessly and tirelessly to raise children with special needs.
Hollie began a ‘mum’s running club,’ allowing these parents who had been isolated from other families for so long to finally come together and have a community.
“She sees us.” Zubeda shares, “Every day, showing up – it’s not easy. She says ‘why don’t you mamas do this’, and a few of us got together – and we did it.”
For Zubeda, running a marathon was something she had never imagined. But thanks to Hollie’s encouragement, she completed her first 10K.
“I took my own sweet time, of course,” she laughs, “But they all waited for me at the finish line, cheering me on. The sense of community – the feeling that I belong somewhere – was so beautiful.”
For Mai, the community around Heroes of Hope has allowed her to find some relatability.
“All the families – we have the same struggles,” Mai says, “We live on the same insane schedule and I see these mums more than I see my own sister. We are all on the same wave-length.”
Linda said that this bond between parents is a linchpin in their lives, offering support systems for each other and a shared understanding of the struggle.
“The running club has given them a bit of time to invest in themselves,” Linda explained, “There are so many of them who say to me ‘I never realised what I was feeling, other people were feeling as well. We didn’t know who to ask, or what to do.’”
It’s this community – parents supporting each other, children reaching their full potential, and Hollie driving it all forward – that defines Heroes of Hope.
From being recognized by local women’s organization BEINGSHE as a Woman of Influence to having her own Häagen-Dazs flavor, Hollie’s efforts have not gone unnoticed.
But for her, accolades are far from the focus. Her mind is always on the future and the children she serves.
“Obviously, the awards are nice – you can pat yourself on the back – but the reality is that the work has to be ongoing,” she says, “We’re not government-funded, we don’t have grants. It’s up to us to figure out how to sustain things as best we can.”
“If we were to take Heroes of Hope away from these children tomorrow, it would have a dire effect on their lives.”
While Heroes of Hope charges families a minimal fee and benefits from sponsorships, sustaining a nonprofit is an ongoing challenge. Funding remains the group’s most significant hurdle.
“The whole idea is that you’re relying day in and day out on the goodwill of others,” Linda explains. “Not just in terms of people volunteering their time, but in terms of donations and sponsorships – and that can be really tough.”
With the weight of leadership and sustainability on her shoulders, Hollie’s dedication to the cause forever remains strong. Every day brings a new challenge, a new opportunity, and a renewed commitment to the children she considers her own. And as long as there’s a child who needs hope, she’ll keep going.
“They are literally like my children,” Hollie says, “Having the kids there for such a long time and to be part of their journey – it’s amazing. You see them go from strength to strength and I love to be in a position to do more things for them.”
For more information, check out the Heroes of Hope website here.
