Orphan kids to learn space secrets for free
Two orphan children will soon be learning all things related to space, including lessons from senior Nasa experts, thanks to the organisers of the UAE’s first Nasa-curriculum space camp that is being held in Dubai.
The two children, Abdulrahman Rashid Obeid Al Muftol and Issa Ahmed Ali Al Hosani, are part of the Sharjah Social Empowerment Foundation and will attend the camp for free.
UAE-based firm Compass International, the regional partners of Nasa and the US Rocket Space Centre, are organising the camp in collaboration with the UAE Space Agency and offered the free spots to the orphans. The cost for the five-day Space and Rocketry Academy Camp is Dh2,650 per student.
Senior experts from Nasa will be guest-lecturing at the camp, which is being held from July 15 to August 23 and will educate the youth on space missions, as well as teach them how to build model rockets.
Mariam Ali Al Dhanhani, spokesperson of the Sharjah Social Empowerment Foundation, said the children’s participation in the space camp will help empower them.
“The foundation is keen to pay attention to the orphans as their family, where it is imperative for us to direct all efforts, listen to their concerns, touch their needs and provide all the conditions set for their distinct care in order to direct their energies on the right track,” Al Dhanhani said.
“Our message is that we work to distinguish orphans and their mothers in the community by focusing on developing their ambitions, building their abilities and launching their talents in sustainable ways. We do this through innovative practices to achieve social prosperity in partnership with various segments of society.”
Lissy Donald, managing director of Compass International, said: “I feel we need to make all our children space-ready. Residing outside Earth might be sooner than most of us anticipate,
Residing outside Earth might be sooner than most of us anticipate, and it’s extremely important for us to ensure that each of the students gets to follow their dreams.” Lissy Donald, managing director of Compass International
and we feel it’s extremely important for us to ensure that each of the students gets to follow their dreams. Money should not determine what one can or cannot do. We do hope that they make the best use of this great opportunity that is given to them in their own city,” Donald said.
“The day any of these two kids make a foray into space exploration, I would be the one with the biggest smile. We at Compass believe that every space enthusiast is entitled to a global standard of training in their area of interest and we intend to provide exactly that level of space and rocketry training at this camp. The social or economic condition of a student should not limit his aspirations and hopes, and that is our thought behind helping these children. For me, money is not everything, it’s what we do with the money that makes it valuable, and for this camp being able to help these two students is the most valuable outcome I could have asked for.”