As the mother of a teenage boy, I know first-hand how intensely worrying this stage of parenting can be. We carry so many fears at once – afraid something might happen to them, that they’re spending too much time online, or that they’ll fall in with the wrong crowd.
When they’re home, we worry they’re not active enough; when they go out, we worry about where they are and who they’re with. That tightness in the chest every time they step out of the door is something only a parent truly understands.
Every mother of a teenage boy fears that her son could become dependent on something, whether it be excessive gaming, smoking, substance use, or simply the adrenalin rush teenagers so often seek.
It is one of the many parts of motherhood no one warns you about. We know teenagers need to fill their time – what keeps us awake at night is how they fill it.
Al Mubarakah Foundation was established to ensure those hours are filled with purpose – and not by chance. It offers a place where boys are not only safe, but actively learning resilience, discipline and values.
For a parent, that is an immeasurable relief.
In this edition, we speak to Sheikha Shamma bint Khalifa bin Hamdan, granddaughter of the late Sheikh Mubarak bin Mohammed, the UAE’s first Minister of Interior – a man who believed that the role of the police was not to intimidate, but to stand alongside the community.
Today, she continues his legacy not through enforcement, but through empowerment.
It is a philosophy that mirrors her grandfather’s. Sheikh Mubarak helped build the foundation of the UAE’s security system on trust and community cohesion rather than intimidation – and that legacy lives on in the way Al Mubarakah works with adolescents today.
Al Mubarakah Foundation does not make a lot of noise. It works steadily and intentionally, which may be why it has endured.
The foundation was established in 2016 by Dr Sheikha Mouza bint Mubarak, daughter of Sheikh Mubarak.
Today, that legacy continues through Sheikha Shamma, who oversees programmes designed to keep young people anchored during the years when they are most likely to drift.
“We don’t work through authority. We work through identity, dignity and purpose,” Sheikha Shamma tells The National. Her approach stems from how she was raised.
“I am also a proud daughter of parents who shaped my outlook in very distinct ways. My father modelled integrity, discretion and an unwavering sense of duty. My mother instilled in me a love for community and learning. Their influence is present in every element of our work.”
Sheikha Shamma speaks quietly and with intention. She is not loud, not overly active and never forceful. There is a pensiveness to her, a way of taking in what is being said before she responds – thoughtful rather than animated.
Did you know?
The name “Al Mubarakah” is both a personal tribute and a public message. It honours the legacy of Sheikh Mubarak – whose life was rooted in service, wisdom and nation-building.
The name also draws from the Quranic image of “a blessed tree that gives its fruit in every season”.
New rules around fostering will widen opportunities for children in need of families. Getty Images
The UAE has rolled out significant reforms of its law on fostering to offer greater support to children in need of a loving home.
Non-Emirati couples and single women are now allowed to foster children in the UAE for the first time.
Fostering children was previously limited to Emirati Muslim married couples and Emirati Muslim women between the ages of 30 and 50.
The amendment to the law means any married couple who are both over the age of 25 can apply to foster a child, regardless of nationality or religion. Women over the age of 30 can also apply to become foster parents, with no upper age limit.
President Sheikh Mohamed with Dr Frauke Heard-Bey, who received an Abu Dhabi Award on behalf of her late husband, David Heard, at Qasr Al Hosn. Photo: UAE Presidential Court
The wife of David Heard, who received a posthumous Abu Dhabi Award on his behalf from President Sheikh Mohamed, paid tribute to her late husband for his lasting legacy.
It is 20 years since the launch of one of the UAE’s most meaningful national honours, the Abu Dhabi Awards, created to credit quiet heroes whose work has strengthened the country and its communities.
Over two decades, the programme has recognised 110 people whose service has left a measurable imprint on the nation. Some of them are no longer alive, yet their contributions continue to be felt.
This month, The National spoke to two families who accepted the award on behalf of loved ones, each of whose life's work still resonates long after their passing.
Dr Frauke Heard-Bey, who herself received the Abu Dhabi Award in 2007, accepted the honour on behalf of her late husband, David Heard, a respected historian, author and photographer whose work documented the country’s early development.
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What is Genes in Space?
Genes in Space is an annual competition first launched by the UAE Space Agency, The National and Boeing in 2015.
It challenges school pupils to design experiments to be conducted in space and it aims to encourage future talent for the UAE’s fledgling space industry. It is the first of its kind in the UAE and, as well as encouraging talent, it also aims to raise interest and awareness among the general population about space exploration.
Trump v Khan
2016: Feud begins after Khan criticised Trump’s proposed Muslim travel ban to US
2017: Trump criticises Khan’s ‘no reason to be alarmed’ response to London Bridge terror attacks
2019: Trump calls Khan a “stone cold loser” before first state visit
2019: Trump tweets about “Khan’s Londonistan”, calling him “a national disgrace”
2022: Khan’s office attributes rise in Islamophobic abuse against the major to hostility stoked during Trump’s presidency
July 2025 During a golfing trip to Scotland, Trump calls Khan “a nasty person”
Sept 2025 Trump blames Khan for London’s “stabbings and the dirt and the filth”.
Dec 2025 Trump suggests migrants got Khan elected, calls him a “horrible, vicious, disgusting mayor”
The President's Cake
Director: Hasan Hadi
Starring: Baneen Ahmad Nayyef, Waheed Thabet Khreibat, Sajad Mohamad Qasem
IF YOU GO The flights: FlyDubai offers direct flights to Catania Airport from Dubai International Terminal 2 daily with return fares starting from Dh1,895. The details: Access to the 2,900-metre elevation point at Mount Etna by cable car and 4x4 transport vehicle cost around €57.50 (Dh248) per adult. Entry into Teatro Greco costs €10 (Dh43). For more go to www.visitsicily.info
Where to stay:Hilton Giardini Naxos offers beachfront access and accessible to Taormina and Mount Etna. Rooms start from around €130 (Dh561) per night, including taxes.
Engine: 4.4-litre twin-turbo V-8 petrol enging with additional electric motor
Power: 727hp
Torque: 1,000Nm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 10.6L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh650,000
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
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.”
Visibility: Often dramatic with thick "walls" of sand
Duration: Short-lived, typically localised
Travel distance: Limited
Source: Open desert areas with strong winds
Dust storm
Particle size: Much finer, lightweight particles
Visibility: Hazy skies but less intense
Duration: Can linger for days
Travel distance: Long-range, up to thousands of kilometres
Source: Can be carried from distant regions
THE SPECS
Engine: 4.4-litre V8
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
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Price: Dh469,000
Essentials
The flights
Whether you trek after mountain gorillas in Rwanda, Uganda or the Congo, the most convenient international airport is in Rwanda’s capital city, Kigali. There are direct flights from Dubai a couple of days a week with RwandAir. Otherwise, an indirect route is available via Nairobi with Kenya Airways. Flydubai flies to Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo, via Entebbe in Uganda. Expect to pay from US$350 (Dh1,286) return, including taxes. The tours
Superb ape-watching tours that take in all three gorilla countries mentioned above are run by Natural World Safaris. In September, the company will be operating a unique Ugandan ape safari guided by well-known primatologist Ben Garrod.
In the Democratic Republic of Congo, local operator Kivu Travel can organise pretty much any kind of safari throughout the Virunga National Park and elsewhere in eastern Congo.
