Letters

With reference to last week’s issue of GulfWeekly. We were amazed and beyond words at the way you put forth the message of inclusion to the public featuring Rhea. 

A front page article spilling on to Page 2, wow, so much to boost Rhea’s confidence and our morale, while spreading awareness and letting society know that children like her are effectively a part of the functional community and, they too, have dreams and hopes, just like us, to prove their potential. 

A huge thanks to Christine at the RIA Institute for accepting her and giving her that opportunity as a teaching assistant and to all those who have worked with her to bring out the best in her.

It is truly an honour to see the article, read it and now live up to it.

Thank you so much and our best regards too. More power to reporter Mai’s Al Khatib-Camille’s pen, keep writing and inspiring …

Sylvia D’Mello,

Rhea’s mum.

I read with interest your cover story about inclusion featuring Rhea D’Mello, who has Down syndrome and has not only secured a position as a teaching assistant, has also spoken about the subject at a major international conference.

She must be so brave, I don’t think I could stand up in front of so many people!

What an inspiring young lady. I remember seeing her helping out at the Art for Autism Awareness Event (which I attended at Harbour Gate as a result of reading your story in GulfWeekly promoting it).

Your readers may not be aware that BMMI was the first Bahraini organisation approached to become a business partner for the launch of the Employment Facilitation Training Service Programme, conducted in collaboration with the Bahrain Society for Children with Behavioural and Communication Difficulties.

A friend who works for the company told me all about it. Under the initiative, 14 trainees with Autism Spectrum Disorder were able to receive valuable workplace training at Alosra supermarket.

It was a joy to engage with these young people when I did my regular shop. They were friendly and helpful with the tasks they undertook, including helping customers like me with their bags.

I hope other companies step forward and offer similar opportunities. Everyone deserves a chance and celebrating diversity helps make us all a little more understanding and caring.

Continue the good work of highlighting these positive community stories each Wednesday – you make my week!

Helena, Saar.

There has been a recent surge in Whatsapp and IMO account hijacking in the region. In most cases, this occurs through social engineering where the victim receives a Whatsapp or IMO call and is asked to provide a code mentioned in the SMS which they received in order to claim a prize.

The SMS, is in fact, contains the verification code used to register with that device. When acquired, this gives the hijacker complete control of the victim’s account.

These hijacked accounts are then used for further fraudulent activities, such as sending scam messages to the people already in contact with the victim’s WhatsApp/IMO account.

This is an attempt to compromise further WhatsApp/IMO accounts and trick people into transferring funds to the fraudster’s bank account.

Recommendations: Stay aware of such attempts by scammers, who may be impersonating someone in your contact list, or may tempt users by claiming they have won a prize.

Enable two-factor authentication by setting a PIN on your business as well as personal WhatsApp accounts. This can be done by going into Settings, then Account, then Two-step verification.

Maram Al-Aradi, marketing executive, Cyber Threat Management (CTM360).