ABU DHABI // School pupils can continue to take part in the Enviro-Spellathon, an environmental education programme for Abu Dhabi schools, under a renewed partnership between Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi and Shell Abu Dhabi.
The programme was launched in 2000 and targets children aged between 4 and 13, encouraging them to develop environmentally friendly attitudes.
In order to make sure the message has gotten through, EAD distributes books to schools and pupils are tested on their knowledge at the end of the year. More than one million kids and young teens were involved last year, said EAD.
“The Enviro-Spellathon programme has attracted nearly 1.4 million students across 92 per cent of the schools in Abu Dhabi last year,” said Razan Al Mubarak, the agency’s secretary general.
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Volunteers offer workers a lifeline
Community volunteers have swung into action delivering food packages and toiletries to the men.
When provisions are distributed, the men line up in long queues for packets of rice, flour, sugar, salt, pulses, milk, biscuits, shaving kits, soap and telecom cards.
Volunteers from St Mary’s Catholic Church said some workers came to the church to pray for their families and ask for assistance.
Boxes packed with essential food items were distributed to workers in the Dubai Investments Park and Ras Al Khaimah camps last week. Workers at the Sonapur camp asked for Dh1,600 towards their gas bill.
“Especially in this year of tolerance we consider ourselves privileged to be able to lend a helping hand to our needy brothers in the Actco camp," Father Lennie Connully, parish priest of St Mary’s.
Workers spoke of their helplessness, seeing children’s marriages cancelled because of lack of money going home. Others told of their misery of being unable to return home when a parent died.
“More than daily food, they are worried about not sending money home for their family,” said Kusum Dutta, a volunteer who works with the Indian consulate.
