Indian expat Mario Fernandes credits Dubai for everything he has achieved

Gulf News

“I love Dubai and Dubai has given me everything… I came here without anything, and everything I have today is because of Dubai… “  Mario Fernandes came to the UAE as a technician. 38 years later, he is a project manager at Danway Group of Companies in Dubai. It was in 1985 that Fernandes got an interview letter for a job he hadn’t applied for.  Read the full story here: https://gulfnews.com/uae/government/indian-expat-mario-fernandes-i-love-dubai-dubai-gave-me-everything-1.1684297013344  See more videos at https://gulfnews.com/videos Read more Gulf News stories here: https://bit.ly/2HLJ2km  Subscribe to Gulf News on YouTube and watch more of our videos: https://www.youtube.com/user/GulfNewsTV  #UAEnews #Dubai #Taqdeerawards

Transcript

00:00My name is Mario Luis Fernandez.

00:09I'm from India.

00:13I was born in a middle class family.

00:15We were four brothers and two sisters, and my father was an artist, my mom was a housewife.

00:23I used to do a lot of experiments even when I was at home, when I was a little boy in

00:27school.

00:28It first started when I was asked to make a table lamp.

00:32So I made a table lamp with everything, and I said, what's a table lamp without electricity?

00:37I plugged it into the socket, I switched it on, and there was a blast, boom.

00:42And that's how I picked up how to be an electrician.

00:46Mario is a very fun-loving person.

00:49You can say anything to him and he'll come out with a witty answer.

00:53Even if you're angry, you can't do anything but laugh.

00:56He's that kind of a person.

00:59I wanted to continue with college.

01:00Actually, I gave up college after doing my 11th grade.

01:04My father expired when I was just 17 years old, and my two sisters needed to go to college.

01:09My younger brother was still in school, and my mom, she couldn't give me at least the

01:14attention and the fees that are required to go to college.

01:17So she asked me if I could do something that I could start with and start working at an

01:23earlier age.

01:24I used to go to college from 6 to 9 in the morning, there were colleges there.

01:32From the age of 18 to the age of 25, I worked in different fields in India to make some

01:39money and to pay for my brothers' and sisters' schools and college.

01:45I remember at one time, at one particular day, I walked almost 26 kilometers, and I

01:52did around 26 companies in one day.

01:55I walked, I don't know, I can still remember that day.

02:00It was in an industrial area of Pune, and I walked a lot on that particular day, I remember

02:06that.

02:11At the same time, I was doing my electrical work part-time, working in different, if somebody

02:15had a house wiring to be done, I would do the house wiring, and little money that I

02:19would get, I would give it to my mom.

02:22This is how I worked, I did whatever I could do, when I was a little boy.

02:36Then I miss him not being here, as well as I miss my mom, so it brings back sweet memories.

02:52I came here, I remember the day that I was interviewed by my managing director, who's

02:59still my managing director, Mr. Nair, S.G.

03:02Nair.

03:03I was waiting in the lobby to be interviewed.

03:06The post that I had applied for, people have come in and gone, and I was still sitting

03:09down there waiting for the interview, from 8 in the morning to around 3 in the afternoon.

03:15And then Mr. Nair comes out, he says, what are you waiting for?

03:18I said, I'm waiting to be interviewed.

03:20What post?

03:21He said, what post of an electrician?

03:22He said, I've already done all the electricians, I don't require any more now.

03:27But since you're waiting here, I said, I'll interview you.

03:33I don't know what made him look to me, and he said, I don't know how you work, but I

03:39like the way you talk to me, and you explain things to me, and all those things, and looking

03:44at that, I'm going to take you, he said.

03:46And he brought me here in 1980, I landed here on the 21st of May, 1985.

03:58He came up pretty soon from a technician level to a supervisory level, and then he became

04:07an engineer, eventually became a project manager.

04:13Believe it or not, now we are in 2023, Mario has been in Dubai for 30 years, and every

04:21single contract, we have done a number of projects for Dubai, and Imal, and all together

04:27for EGA.

04:28Every single contract when we get, the client used to tell me, are you going to put Mario

04:33as in charge?

04:34I say, yes.

04:36So Mario has become a part of the setup for Dubai, because the way he was showing his

04:43leadership qualities, the way he managed the projects, the way he handled our customers,

04:51it was very, very important for me, because the reputation of Danway today, to a great

04:58extent, he has been one of the pillars for us.

05:06I am very proud of my dad.

05:07I think all of the skills that I have today are an extension of what my dad has done in

05:14his life, and I've always wanted to improve of them, and work on them, and do more of

05:20those things, and actually integrate that into my career as well.

05:27It was a nice experience in this country.

05:29This country has given me a lot.

05:31I came with nothing, and I have everything today.

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