Dubai // When her autistic son repeatedly banged his head against the wall, screaming and crying, Fatima Al Matrooshi just could not understand why.
So when the opportunity came up to sign up for the Al Jalila Foundation’s Ta’alouf programme for parents of children with special needs, she was among the first to enrol.
On Monday, Mrs Al Matrooshi became one of 53 parents to graduate from the 12-week behavioural training programme. The inaugural graduates were recognised at a ceremony held at the Mohammed bin Rashid Academic Medical Centre.
“It has opened our eyes,” Mrs Al Matrooshi said of Ta’alouf.
Since participating in the course, Mrs Al Matrooshi said she learnt to be more observant of her 14-year-old son and pay closer attention to the environmental factors that may precipitate an outburst. She now keeps an eye out for potential triggers that could set him off.
“I learnt more about behaviour,” said Mrs Al Matrooshi, of Dubai. “The child, sometimes you don’t understand him and you don’t know why he is crying, why he is banging his head, why he is screaming. You have to look. They call it A, B, C. The B is the behaviour, good or bad. A is before the behaviour, what happened? Maybe the weather was hot, maybe the boy wanted something but nobody listened to him, he was ignored.
“This way you have to see the action of the child and see what was before. This is what we learn. And after that, if I did not change the behaviour or I did not give him what he wants, I see what will happen next. If he is more agitated.
“I have to try lots of things until I know what is he thinking. Then after that, before the behaviours, I know the signs.”
The programme has helped bring her closer to her son, Rashid.
“Now I observe him more, try to play with him more than before. I feel more comfortable with my son,” she said. “If you want your son to behave well, if you want your son to feel more relaxed, attend this class.”
The second course, set to begin next month, will have room for 100 students, twice the number of parents in the first session. Classes will be offered in English and Arabic every Saturday from 9am to 3pm.
The programme is funded by the Al Jalila Foundation and is free. However, all parents must first pass an entrance interview.
“It’s very important that these parents, first of all, know how they can raise their own children, how they can build their self esteem, how they can build their self confidence,” said Dr Abdulkareem Al Olama, the chief executive of Al Jalila Foundation.
“If you are able to change the way they think, then these children, instead of becoming disabled, will be productive members of society.”
Ta’alouf means harmony in Arabic, and Dr Al Olama said: “We wanted the whole community to live in harmony with that child. We wanted people to take the child away from the disabilities books and look to him as a normal person who has the strength and has abilities that he can live with.”
Fatima Nasser, 33, who graduated from the course along with her husband, Hatim Moyad, 36, said the lessons they learned extended to their own relationship. Their six-year-old daughter Moza Hatim is autistic.
“Before, if Moza needed something, I’d say no but he would do it for her. He would not follow my decision. But, now we discuss things,” said Mrs Nasser, of Sharjah.
The course has also helped them become more organised in trying to anticipate their daughter’s needs, and it introduced them to community and government resources they never knew existed.
“I am happy in this programme and I want other parents also to comes, to learn more. Because this will change our life,” said Mrs Nasser.
rpennington@thenational.ae
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
If you go
Flight connections to Ulaanbaatar are available through a variety of hubs, including Seoul and Beijing, with airlines including Mongolian Airlines and Korean Air. While some nationalities, such as Americans, don’t need a tourist visa for Mongolia, others, including UAE citizens, can obtain a visa on arrival, while others including UK citizens, need to obtain a visa in advance. Contact the Mongolian Embassy in the UAE for more information.
Nomadic Road offers expedition-style trips to Mongolia in January and August, and other destinations during most other months. Its nine-day August 2020 Mongolia trip will cost from $5,250 per person based on two sharing, including airport transfers, two nights’ hotel accommodation in Ulaanbaatar, vehicle rental, fuel, third party vehicle liability insurance, the services of a guide and support team, accommodation, food and entrance fees; nomadicroad.com
A fully guided three-day, two-night itinerary at Three Camel Lodge costs from $2,420 per person based on two sharing, including airport transfers, accommodation, meals and excursions including the Yol Valley and Flaming Cliffs. A return internal flight from Ulaanbaatar to Dalanzadgad costs $300 per person and the flight takes 90 minutes each way; threecamellodge.com
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Super Bowl LIII schedule
What Super Bowl LIII
Who is playing New England Patriots v Los Angeles Rams
Where Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, United States
When Sunday (start time is 3.30am on Monday UAE time)
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
Specs
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