Inspired students help jobless dad
dubai — When Shakeer, an unemployed father of three, made the gut-wrenching decision to withdraw his kids from their school because he could no longer afford the tuition fees, he thought all hope was lost.
But after Khaleej Times brought the story of his plight to the masses, the UAE community has done what it does best by stepping in and giving new hope to the distressed family.
Since the initial report was published on February 4, Shakeer has been offered a new job by a local company, and many well-wishers have assured assistance in getting school admission for his three chil- dren — Nirad (10), Lalesha (13) and Akshad (4). Among those offering help to the family was a group of students from GEMS New Millennium School, Al Khail, who raised Dh10,000 to be handed over to Shakeer.
And when told about the goodwill gesture, the tearful father told Khaleej Times it was a “magnanimous move”.
“Those students and school will always be in our prayers. It is such institutions that help keep our faith and hope alive. They understood our pain.”
abu dhabi — A Dubai school has stepped in to spread the light of education into the lives of three children from Abu Dhabi who have missed schooling as their father couldn’t afford it.
Nirad (10 years), Lalesha (13) and Akshad (4) have missed out on years of education as their father Shakeer was jobless.
It was following a Khaleej Times report titled “These 3 kids want to go to school, but can’t” that GEMS New Millennium School in Al Khail decided to make contributions.
A student, Benny Jacob, summed up nicely the ethos of the school. “When we get hi-tech education in our school, there are children deprived of education and other luxuries of life, denying education to anyone is a crime to the society. So we decided to act on it.”
The school said the gift of education from the privileged who ‘enjoy technology savvy learning environments’ to fund the schooling of three children was the inspiration behind the initiative to help the children.
On the International Mother Language Day on February 21, the school marked the Mufti Day with students wearing their traditional attire ready for some fun and helping the Abu Dhabi family. At the end, students from kindergarten to Grade 9 and the staff contributed a total of Dh10,000.
Also, 2017 being declared the ‘Year of Giving’ was an added impetus for the school’s initiative.
Student council Member Ananya Suresh said that ‘giving’ is defined to make all cherish with positivity and goodness at every step of life. “Giving is always not related to donations; rather it reflects the difference in a person, in you, in a society or in a nation like ‘ours’. Our goal for 2017 is to make a difference in the lives of ourselves and those who we care. The year 2017 should be a legacy. We celebrated International Mother Language Day with a twist by reaching out to the community to embark the ‘Year of Giving’. Principal Fatima Martin is the soul of inspiration for us.”
The wellbeing champions and the environment ambassadors, under the guidance of community outreach programme coordinator Jobi Phillip, led the fund-raising drive. The programme is the intrinsic DNA of the school system through which many activities are held intended to develop the social skill, empathy and social responsibilities in learners.
Nirad, Lalesha and Akshad are soon expected to meet their new ‘friends’ in Abu Dhabi.