Abu Dhabi nursery offers free education to orphans

Four children in difficult economic circumstances will get a chance to receive early-years education for free, thanks to one school leader’s new initiative in Abu Dhabi.

Zeina Musbah Moughrabi, early childhood education specialist and head principal of Giggles English Nurseries in Abu Dhabi, noticed how some people she knew, who lost a parent or both parents at a young age, were unable to pursue their education because of financial constraints.

“These are people who are dear to my heart. As children, when they wanted to get educated, they could not find someone who would give them an opportunity,” Moughrabi told Gulf News.

“Every child deserves an education and if financial constraints are the main reason stopping them from getting it, we want to help,” she added.

The UAE already has several initiatives for orphans, with many more being launched during the Year of Zayed. Education has been a big focus in the new projects that were launched. However, Moughrabi noted that most efforts were related to public schools.

“I know there are charities and organisations that really help and support children, but it often comes under public schools. We wanted to encourage the private sector to do the same,” she said.

The fund, she hoped, would encourage other early years centres and schools to do the same. The children will be selected by a committee of teachers and management staff and will join classes this month. Parents or guardians of children who are two or three years old can apply for the fund and will receive nursery education till age four. Moughrabi hoped that the fund would inspire other private schools to create similar initiatives that would enable those children to continue studying.

“Next year, we plan to do the same. As long as we can afford to do it, we would like to do so.”

Single parents or guardians of children who have lost both their parents can submit applications for the education fund by emailing zeina@gigglesenglishnursery.com.