Golf: Murphy focused on building the dreams of 'her heroes'

Every child is special and has something to offer with the right parenting, education, and environment.

That’s the view of Hollie Murphy who has taken up the responsibility of helping shape the future of young minds of people of determination.

An athlete who has played a variety of sports and studied physical education at a university in her home country of Ireland, Murphy professes her love for working closely with children with disabilities in the UAE.

She even ran ‘7 Marathons in 7 Emirates in 7 Day’ to raise awareness for the Heroes of Hope programme and the Al Jalila Foundation.

“I was working out here as a schoolteacher when I realised these students were not getting a lot of opportunities to do sports after school and felt there was a massive gap for them to thrive pragmatically and socially,” she said.

“So. I resigned from my job and started the Heroes of Hope programme, full-time.

“I wanted children with special needs to have a place where they could excel at sports. Somewhere where they could try new things and meet new people and just thrive. So that’s why we developed Heroes of Hope.”

Murphy, who has lived in Dubai for over a decade, believes that physical education and sport is an important aspect for every growing child and not just those physically challenged.

She advocates: “It is important to give these youngsters the right exposure and experience. That's the only way they can grow as an individual and it is the only way that they're going to understand the things that they are really passionate about".

Murphy, who looks after over 100 kids of determination aged between seven and 22 and who she calls ‘Her Heroes’, says that she wants to help them discover what they want to achieve in life.

“We’ve got a mixed group, some older athletes, some with physical disabilities, some with cerebral palsy and autism. But our job is to open up doors for them,” she says.

“Initiatives like the tie-up with the Dubai Desert Classic show that golf is for everyone and not something to shy away from. But these enterprises encourage you to get involved and to understand that at the Emirates Golf Club there's a place for you.

“I think the golf community in the UAE can embrace people of determination and help them become the best version of themselves.”

Besides the golf programme, the Heroes of Hope athletes train through the week in multiple sports including fitness, athletics, boxing and swimming.

The programme is also supported by voluntary coaches who dedicate a lot of their free time to the cause.

Let’s leave you with one final thought from Murphy who says ‘an obstacle is only a state of mind, it is up to us coaches to show our athletes that they can achieve anything that they want.’

• Sports