ABU DHABI // By organising five Terry Fox Runs expected to draw more than 20,000 participants, volunteers continue to support the legacy of a young Canadian who dreamed of finding a cure for cancer.
The events kick off this morning in Al Ain and wrap up in Ras al Khaimah on March 4. New this year is a run in Fujairah, which will take place on February 26.
Terry Fox runs are held every September in thousands of cities around the world, but the UAE holds its events during the coolerwinter months.
The first run was held in Dubai in 1992, and organisers estimate that since 1995 about 65,000 people have participated in UAE-based Terry Fox events, raising more than C$1.4 million. The Emirates has become one of the top supporters of the cause outside Canada.
Although the Terry Fox Foundation no longer ranks countries by listing separate figures for fund-raising and participation, in 2007 the UAE raised more money than any nation outside Canada, topping a list of 29 countries. In addition, the runs in Dubai and Abu Dhabi attracted the largest number of participants - 12,000 and 10,000, respectively - outside of Canadian events. Abu Dhabi hosted its first run in 1995.
The far-flung runs are inspired by Fox, who after losing his leg to a rare form of bone cancer attempted to run across Canada by completing the equivalent of a full marathon each day for 143 days, about 5,373km. His "Marathon of Hope" ended after five months when doctors discovered that cancer had spread to his lungs. He died in June 1981, at 21. By that September, the first runs in his honour launched a worldwide movement that has raised more than Dh1.8 billion for cancer research.
In the UAE, the Dh7.8 million raised over the years has funded 35 cancer-related research projects at UAE University.
"No matter how much money is raised or how many participate, the dream is kept alive," said Nafisa Taha, a founding member of the Abu Dhabi Terry Fox run and chairwoman of this year's event. "What's important is each dirham contributed will be used to find a cure for cancer. The beauty about it is the money stays in the country where it is raised."
More than 12,000 people are expected to participate in The 16th Abu Dhabi Terry Fox Run next Friday, and organisers are hoping to top last year's tally of Dh650,000. Sheikh Sultan bin Hamdan, advisor to Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed, President of the UAE and Ruler of Abu Dhabi, is scheduled to present a grant of Dh300,000 to the UAE University's Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences. Organisers for the Dubai Terry Fox Run are expecting more than 8,000 people, while the second run in RAK could top last year's turnout of 700 participants. Participants can walk or run on courses that max out at8.5km.
Donna Wilson said she and her colleagues at the Higher Colleges of Technology beganorganising a Terry Fox Run in Fujairah in September of last year.
"There are about 50 volunteers in the run day itself," Ms Wilson said. "And we're really hoping for a good turnout."
One of the organisers of Al Ain's event, Walter Cramerstetter, is looking forward toparticipating in his fourth event here.
"In our runs in the past, I've seen many, many nationalities - Emiratis, different Arab countries, Western expats, Asians and people from the subcontinent," he said. "It's like cancer: it affects all walks of life. There's nobody who is not affected by it, no matter what level of society they belong to."
All money raised, including donations and T-shirt sales, goes to cancer research. Dubai has implemented an online donation process at http://www.premiermarathons.com/rating/Dubai_Terry_Fox_Run
rruiz@thenational.ae
Dubai Bling season three
Cast: Loujain Adada, Zeina Khoury, Farhana Bodi, Ebraheem Al Samadi, Mona Kattan, and couples Safa & Fahad Siddiqui and DJ Bliss & Danya Mohammed
Rating: 1/5
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.
A timeline of the Historical Dictionary of the Arabic Language
- 2018: Formal work begins
- November 2021: First 17 volumes launched
- November 2022: Additional 19 volumes released
- October 2023: Another 31 volumes released
- November 2024: All 127 volumes completed
What can you do?
Document everything immediately; including dates, times, locations and witnesses
Seek professional advice from a legal expert
You can report an incident to HR or an immediate supervisor
You can use the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation’s dedicated hotline
In criminal cases, you can contact the police for additional support
'Worse than a prison sentence'
Marie Byrne, a counsellor who volunteers at the UAE government's mental health crisis helpline, said the ordeal the crew had been through would take time to overcome.
“It was worse than a prison sentence, where at least someone can deal with a set amount of time incarcerated," she said.
“They were living in perpetual mystery as to how their futures would pan out, and what that would be.
“Because of coronavirus, the world is very different now to the one they left, that will also have an impact.
“It will not fully register until they are on dry land. Some have not seen their young children grow up while others will have to rebuild relationships.
“It will be a challenge mentally, and to find other work to support their families as they have been out of circulation for so long. Hopefully they will get the care they need when they get home.”
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The Energy Research Centre
Founded 50 years ago as a nuclear research institute, scientists at the centre believed nuclear would be the “solution for everything”.
Although they still do, they discovered in 1955 that the Netherlands had a lot of natural gas. “We still had the idea that, by 2000, it would all be nuclear,” said Harm Jeeninga, director of business and programme development at the centre.
"In the 1990s, we found out about global warming so we focused on energy savings and tackling the greenhouse gas effect.”
The energy centre’s research focuses on biomass, energy efficiency, the environment, wind and solar, as well as energy engineering and socio-economic research.
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
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Education reform in Abu Dhabi
The emirate’s public education system has been in a constant state of change since the New School Model was launched in 2010 by the Abu Dhabi Education Council. The NSM, which is also known as the Abu Dhabi School Model, transformed the public school curriculum by introducing bilingual education starting with students from grades one to five. Under this new curriculum, the children spend half the day learning in Arabic and half in English – being taught maths, science and English language by mostly Western educated, native English speakers. The NSM curriculum also moved away from rote learning and required teachers to develop a “child-centered learning environment” that promoted critical thinking and independent learning. The NSM expanded by one grade each year and by the 2017-2018 academic year, it will have reached the high school level. Major reforms to the high school curriculum were announced in 2015. The two-stream curriculum, which allowed pupils to elect to follow a science or humanities course of study, was eliminated. In its place was a singular curriculum in which stem -- science, technology, engineering and maths – accounted for at least 50 per cent of all subjects. In 2016, Adec announced additional changes, including the introduction of two levels of maths and physics – advanced or general – to pupils in Grade 10, and a new core subject, career guidance, for grades 10 to 12; and a digital technology and innovation course for Grade 9. Next year, the focus will be on launching a new moral education subject to teach pupils from grades 1 to 9 character and morality, civic studies, cultural studies and the individual and the community.
