On entering the classroom, I am almost rocked off my feet by the force-field of a humming babble. Young and tiny! children look at me with curiosity while mine is soon replaced with admiration for their quick intelligence and grasp of compassion. Addressing this group of children from Uptown School, Mirdif, is, initially, a somewhat intimidating exercise.
I am here to gather their views on their amazing resourcefulness that helped them raise Dh35,000 for school children of Fewa Model School in Nepal.
How did it feel? The answers come thick and fast.
"It was really rewarding being able to work hard for a good cause and not simply for ourselves," says Eva Cregan, 10.
"Usually, schools work to raise money for their own school. It felt good to raise funds for other kids who are less fortunate than we are," added nine-year-old Mohammad Shaheen. "It's important for all children to have the right to an education so that they too can have the means to learn, says Chenoa Bunts-Anderson, 9.
Matthew Rhodes, 7, says, "[They] no longer miss lessons and have more energy, which means that they won't fall asleep at their desks as much!" (The funds helped the school in Nepal buy a second-hand school bus, saving children a two-hour walk to school each day.
"We thought about car washes, cake sales, a crazy hair day and a swim day. But we ultimately chose the fair (one of the events held to raise money) because it would raise the most money quickly," explains nine-year-old Hannah Edmondson.
Apart from their individual views, what they said in unison is they would have a lot to say to fellow students in Nepal were they to get the opportunity to meet them. Yasmina Forsch, 8, understands compassion beyond it just being a word she needs to spell. "The most important aspect of learning is to be able to feel someone else's heart, no matter what country they come from."
Cassey Zeederberg, 8, added that she hopes they will continue to do similar fundraisers for the school in Nepal as it is still in need of computers and other equipment.
The idea to raise funds came about after teachers of the school were addressed by motivational speaker Peter Dalglish three years ago. A team of them from the Taleem schools decided to fly to Nepal to conduct a series of workshops at their own expense. "The response was phenomenal," says Penny McKay, a teacher who participated.
After this particular success, they thought: why not organise an event to raise money for another school?
As a result, a community fund-raising event was organised by the school's Global Inquiries Unit, which is an extra-curricular activity offered to students from grades one to five.
It's grounded on the principles of the International Baccalaureate (IB) philosophy which is driven at nurturing children's natural curiosity and their love for learning.
Teachers Althea Edmonson (Grade One), McKay (PE teacher), Fatima Khalif (Arabic/Islamic) and Maha Nasr (Arabic/Islamic) are very proud of the kids, so much so that they plan to make the main fundraiser the fair organised by the Global Inquiries Unit an annual event. "It was amazing to see how they are beginning to understand poverty. Their empathy was incredibly moving," says Uptown deputy Virginia Sutton.
