Follow the North Star

It's eight on a Friday morning and most children across the UAE are sleeping. But not these 50. They are climbing the tower at an adventure camp in Fujairah and then abseiling from it. Then, just because they want to, they are doing some raft-building and kayaking. All the time learning skills and building friendships.

These children are in the Adventure Centre of North Star Expeditions, "the ultimate adventure" company - the first to have set up a permanent structure in the UAE from which adventure activities are conducted. In this camp that can accommodate up to 90 students, the children learn things about themselves and their environment that they cannot possibly learn in city schools.

"We provide opportunities for children that are not readily available. I was an inner-city kid myself in Liverpool, England. I was taken out on trips by the British Army. The excursions definitely altered my course in life.

They allowed me a wider view and gave me an aim, a specific ambition. I could so easily have drifted along otherwise," says Paul Flaherty, ex-British Army, founder-director of the North Star Group.

North Star's adventure and eco-awareness excursions are obviously popular in the region. Clients include Latifa School for Girls, Rashid School for Boys, the American School of Dubai, Emirates International School, Horizon School, Al Ittihad Private School, Jumeirah College (all in Dubai), The British School - Al Khubairat (Abu Dhabi), Al Dhafra Private School (Al Ain), School of Research Science (Sharjah), The New English School (Kuwait) and Muscat Private School (Oman). Flaherty also runs a community service project for British Petroleum.

In this project young UAE nationals are put in touch with their cultural and environmental roots. "We've taken four excursions with North Star," says Adrian Macaulay of The British School - Al Khubairat. "They were excellent, very safe and very professionally managed. We did all kinds of things like mountain biking and kayaking."

The children especially enjoyed being with friends and classmates for a day or two. "We've found that a lot of children who don't excel in school do very well away from a school environment. A lot of individual targets were set at the camp. The children met the targets and also learnt so much about team-building. They learnt to trust and depend on each other, they learnt to be responsible," he points out.

Flaherty agrees. "A couple once said their child's whole attitude and direction in life have changed since he spent time with us. An introverted child has become outgoing."