Education is the holy grail for thousands of displaced Palestinian families. For the parents of Maysa Jalbout, their efforts to secure their daughter's future yielded big returns.
DUBAI // The daughter of Palestinian refugees, Beirut-born Maysa Jalbout was 16 years old when her parents moved the family to Canada in search of better education opportunities for their children.
“My parents are very, very committed to education and were interested in seeing us get a quality education,” said Mrs Jalbout, 43. “Having lived during the war in Lebanon, there were lots of school closures and so much uncertainty about the future, so they felt that Canada would be a much better place for us.”
They settled in Burlington, Ontario, and Mrs Jalbout went on to earn a bachelors degree in sociology and a masters in education, focusing her studies on how technology could be used to spread education in developing countries.
Her education led Mrs Jalbout to a career of lifelong learning devoted to promoting education opportunities for young people.
She worked as an education policy adviser and analyst with the government of Canada.
In Jordan, she spent five years working for Queen Rania, first as director of research and strategy, and then as founding chief executive of the Queen Rania Foundation for Education and Development.
In this country, Mrs Jalbout works as a non-resident fellow at the Brookings Institution Centre for Universal Education and was appointed last year as the chief executive of the Abdulla Al Ghurair Foundation for Education.
“I feel very fortunate,” Mrs Jalbout said of the sacrifices her parents made to ensure their children had access to a good education. “I got a second chance.”
Last week, Mrs Jalbout’s life came full circle when she helped to unveil the Abdulla Al Ghurair Foundation for Education’s Open Learning Scholars Programme in partnership with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
The programme gives Arab students a chance to earn professional credentials by enrolling in free, tailor-made MIT courses. The programme is one of several education initiatives Mrs Jalbout is overseeing as the chief executive of the foundation. The privately funded foundation was announced last year by Emirati billionaire businessman and philanthropist Abdulla Al Ghurair, who pledged one third of his personal wealth to support programming that provides education opportunities for high-achieving Arab and Emirati students who come from economically disadvantaged families.
“Education was a very, very strong part of my upbringing. My grandparents made it very clear to their children that education was their best chance at having a good future, particularly with their background, having been Palestinian refugees,” said Mrs Jalbout, who is a married mother of two young daughters.
“Education is a tool to fight poverty. Education is a way to build economic and social development. Education improves health prospects. Education empowers young people. Education brings communities together.”
Mrs Jalbout says she feels very fortunate at being able to work with the Al Ghurair family on such a noble cause.
“I’m incredibly grateful to the Al Ghurair family,” Mrs Jalbout said. “This is a unique chance to work with people who are completely committed to this cause and for me, having worked at this for such a long time, to have an opportunity to make some of the things that I’ve been advocating a reality.
“I hope that the foundation will be able to reach as many young, talented, deserving Arab youth as possible and that those young people will go on to become the future leaders of the region who will give back.”
rpennington@thenational.ae
US households add $601bn of debt in 2019
American households borrowed another $601 billion (Dh2.2bn) in 2019, the largest yearly gain since 2007, just before the global financial crisis, according to February data from the New York Federal Reserve Bank.
Fuelled by rising mortgage debt as homebuyers continued to take advantage of low interest rates, the increase last year brought total household debt to a record high, surpassing the previous peak reached in 2008 just before the market crash, according to the report.
Following the 22nd straight quarter of growth, American household debt swelled to $14.15 trillion by the end of 2019, the New York Fed said in its quarterly report.
In the final three months of the year, new home loans jumped to their highest volume since the fourth quarter of 2005, while credit cards and auto loans also added to the increase.
The bad debt load is taking its toll on some households, and the New York Fed warned that more and more credit card borrowers — particularly young people — were falling behind on their payments.
"Younger borrowers, who are disproportionately likely to have credit cards and student loans as their primary form of debt, struggle more than others with on-time repayment," New York Fed researchers said.
How has net migration to UK changed?
The figure was broadly flat immediately before the Covid-19 pandemic, standing at 216,000 in the year to June 2018 and 224,000 in the year to June 2019.
It then dropped to an estimated 111,000 in the year to June 2020 when restrictions introduced during the pandemic limited travel and movement.
The total rose to 254,000 in the year to June 2021, followed by steep jumps to 634,000 in the year to June 2022 and 906,000 in the year to June 2023.
The latest available figure of 728,000 for the 12 months to June 2024 suggests levels are starting to decrease.
The more serious side of specialty coffee
While the taste of beans and freshness of roast is paramount to the specialty coffee scene, so is sustainability and workers’ rights.
The bulk of genuine specialty coffee companies aim to improve on these elements in every stage of production via direct relationships with farmers. For instance, Mokha 1450 on Al Wasl Road strives to work predominantly with women-owned and -operated coffee organisations, including female farmers in the Sabree mountains of Yemen.
Because, as the boutique’s owner, Garfield Kerr, points out: “women represent over 90 per cent of the coffee value chain, but are woefully underrepresented in less than 10 per cent of ownership and management throughout the global coffee industry.”
One of the UAE’s largest suppliers of green (meaning not-yet-roasted) beans, Raw Coffee, is a founding member of the Partnership of Gender Equity, which aims to empower female coffee farmers and harvesters.
Also, globally, many companies have found the perfect way to recycle old coffee grounds: they create the perfect fertile soil in which to grow mushrooms.
In numbers: China in Dubai
The number of Chinese people living in Dubai: An estimated 200,000
Number of Chinese people in International City: Almost 50,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2018/19: 120,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2010: 20,000
Percentage increase in visitors in eight years: 500 per cent
Why seagrass matters
- Carbon sink: Seagrass sequesters carbon up to 35X faster than tropical rainforests
- Marine nursery: Crucial habitat for juvenile fish, crustations, and invertebrates
- Biodiversity: Support species like sea turtles, dugongs, and seabirds
- Coastal protection: Reduce erosion and improve water quality
Dust and sand storms compared
Sand storm
- Particle size: Larger, heavier sand grains
- 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 Settlers
Director: Louis Theroux
Starring: Daniella Weiss, Ari Abramowitz
Rating: 5/5
Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
Naga
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The specs
Engine: four-litre V6 and 3.5-litre V6 twin-turbo
Transmission: six-speed and 10-speed
Power: 271 and 409 horsepower
Torque: 385 and 650Nm
Price: from Dh229,900 to Dh355,000
ICC Women's T20 World Cup Asia Qualifier 2025, Thailand
UAE fixtures
May 9, v Malaysia
May 10, v Qatar
May 13, v Malaysia
May 15, v Qatar
May 18 and 19, semi-finals
May 20, final
Company profile
Name: Fruitful Day
Founders: Marie-Christine Luijckx, Lyla Dalal AlRawi, Lindsey Fournie
Based: Dubai, UAE
Founded: 2015
Number of employees: 30
Sector: F&B
Funding so far: Dh3 million
Future funding plans: None at present
Future markets: Saudi Arabia, potentially Kuwait and other GCC countries
