DUBAI // Three Emirati students say their trip to rural Kenya to teach Masai schoolchildren how to use the internet has taught them to appreciate their own education.
Arwa al Mazrooie, 20, Khadija al Abbas, 20, and Fatima al Sayegh, 21, recently visited Kajiado, a town of 8,000 people near the Tanzanian border.
The students from Zayed University in Dubai taught 45 secondary schoolgirls how to use social media to further their education.
"We bonded with the girls," said Ms al Mazrooie. "To be able to do that in five days is amazing."
Ms al Sayegh said: "We taught them how to open their e-mail accounts. They took the bull by the horns and began to research for themselves. Medicine scholarships, how to learn Chinese - every one of them wanted more websites to learn from."
The Kenyan girls' thirst for knowledge was increased by their exposure to the internet's wealth of e-books, videos and tutorials.
"They're so eager to learn," Ms al Mazrooie said. "We didn't want to overwhelm them with information but they started to challenge us right away."
Female empowerment was also on the agenda, said Ms al Sayegh.
"The girls need to believe that they can be empowered," she said. "I asked them if they believed they had the potential to change their country as women. Some said yes, some no, because they believed that as women they wouldn't be allowed to.
"We kept reassuring them that just because they're women, it didn't mean that they couldn't make a substantial difference. It was so striking how similar their lives are to ours."
Ms al Abbas agreed: "To them, a women's place is in the kitchen or their house, or raising kids and getting married.
"We told them that was exactly what we were thinking when we were in high school. But we told them that we were inspired by our older generation, our teachers and parents and I hope we changed their opinion."
The school there is run by Al Maktoum Foundation of Dubai and offers free classes for girls. Until now, most of the visitors from the UAE had been much older managers.
"I think the foundation got a younger feel to their programmes and their schools," Ms al Abbas said. "Previously it was older men travelling to Africa, unveiling a school and becoming very formal. But we connected with the girls."
The foundation sponsored the whole trip. "We were like their daughters. They really took care of us," said Ms al Sayegh.
The women launched a website called Al Bedaya, or "The Start", a blog and a Twitter feed that was streamed live on Zayed University's student website. And they feel it was a success.
"One teacher told us, 'I teach them about computer sciences but you gave them the wings to fly and help them with their education'," said Ms al Mazrooie.
But the visit carried a little disappointment for some of the girls.
"They were disappointed that scholarships weren't offered to the UAE," said Ms al Mazrooie. "One girl told us that if you want a relationship with other countries you should open your colleges to them."
Although there are no immediate plans to repeat the programme, Al Maktoum Foundation has asked the women if they could do it in Rwanda.
"If anyone is willing to do it again, we're ready. If other foundations would like to do it again, we'd like them to adopt this idea," said Ms al Mazrooie.
The visit, she said, has changed their perspectives since they returned on May 22.
"I can't live my life as I used to," Ms al Mazrooie said. "To understand the value of what you have - you appreciate things more and your values change. You learn to make the most of it.
"It's not that we were obsessed with shallow things before but those girls wanted to use everything they had to improve.
"When we complain about our education I now realise we should be making the most of it and how proud we are of Zayed University."
hhamid@thenational.ae
How to wear a kandura
Dos
- Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion
- Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
- Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work
- Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester
Don’ts
- Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal
- Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying
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Engine: 3.8-litre twin-turbo flat-six
Power: 650hp at 6,750rpm
Torque: 800Nm from 2,500-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch auto
Fuel consumption: 11.12L/100km
Price: From Dh796,600
On sale: now
COMPANY PROFILE
Initial investment: Undisclosed
Investment stage: Series A
Investors: Core42
Current number of staff: 47
The%20specs
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MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-finals, first leg
Liverpool v Roma
When: April 24, 10.45pm kick-off (UAE)
Where: Anfield, Liverpool
Live: BeIN Sports HD
Second leg: May 2, Stadio Olimpico, Rome
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Name: Qyubic
Started: October 2023
Founder: Namrata Raina
Based: Dubai
Sector: E-commerce
Current number of staff: 10
Investment stage: Pre-seed
Initial investment: Undisclosed
Another way to earn air miles
In addition to the Emirates and Etihad programmes, there is the Air Miles Middle East card, which offers members the ability to choose any airline, has no black-out dates and no restrictions on seat availability. Air Miles is linked up to HSBC credit cards and can also be earned through retail partners such as Spinneys, Sharaf DG and The Toy Store.
An Emirates Dubai-London round-trip ticket costs 180,000 miles on the Air Miles website. But customers earn these ‘miles’ at a much faster rate than airline miles. Adidas offers two air miles per Dh1 spent. Air Miles has partnerships with websites as well, so booking.com and agoda.com offer three miles per Dh1 spent.
“If you use your HSBC credit card when shopping at our partners, you are able to earn Air Miles twice which will mean you can get that flight reward faster and for less spend,” says Paul Lacey, the managing director for Europe, Middle East and India for Aimia, which owns and operates Air Miles Middle East.
Election pledges on migration
CDU: "Now is the time to control the German borders and enforce strict border rejections"
SPD: "Border closures and blanket rejections at internal borders contradict the spirit of a common area of freedom"
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- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
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- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
PAKISTAN SQUAD
Pakistan - Sarfraz Ahmed (captain), Azhar Ali, Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Babar Azam, Shoaib Malik, Mohammad Hafeez, Haris Sohail, Faheem Ashraf, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Amir, Hasan Ali, Aamer Yamin, Rumman Raees.
More on Quran memorisation:
MATCH SCHEDULE
Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg
Tuesday, April 24 (10.45pm)
Liverpool v Roma
Wednesday, April 25
Bayern Munich v Real Madrid (10.45pm)
Europa League semi-final, first leg
Thursday, April 26
Arsenal v Atletico Madrid (11.05pm)
Marseille v Salzburg (11.05pm)
MATCH INFO
Manchester City 3 (Sterling 46', De Bruyne 65', Gundogan 70')
Aston Villa 0
Red card: Fernandinho (Manchester City)
Man of the Match: Raheem Sterling (Manchester City)
2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, (Leon banned).
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
Ms Yang's top tips for parents new to the UAE
- Join parent networks
- Look beyond school fees
- Keep an open mind
