To keep kids on the safe side

A fourth grader dressed in a bright green safety vest watched in rapt attention as a mannequin came crashing down in a seat belt convincer.

“The impact of the crash looks much lesser while wearing a seat belt as compared to not wearing one. I will always tell my dad to wear the seat belt now,” she said.

The young girl was one among the thousands of children who participated in the Safety Education Week event organised by the Dubai Police from May 7-10 at the Zayed University Campus, Academic City. With participation from over 15 International Schools, the event played host to over 1,000 students per day.

“‘Tarbia Amniya’ or the Safety Education Campaign has been an ongoing drive in Arabic curriculum or national schools for the last nine years. Only recently has it been introduced to English and International Schools,” said Dr Ali Al Kandiri, Programme Head of the Safety Education Week. The last safety education event was held on April 4 at the Heritage Village.

Officials from various governmental organisations including the Dubai Health Authority, Red Crescent Authority, Dubai Investments and private organisations like Baker Hughes, Nissan, Siemens and recycling firm Sooper Dooper participated in the event. “The event gives lectures and demonstrations to students and educates them on the importance of things like wearing a seat belt, the importance of recycling, what to do in a medical emergency and nutrition among other things,” said Al Kandiri.

Meanwhile Sara Hassan, Valsa Michael and Sonu Mathew from the Dubai Health Authority gave classes on the importance of nutrition and the proportional value of nutrients in the food. Several workshops on how to pack a balanced diet and the importance of good hand hygiene was also discussed. The children were also told on the importance of not having fizzy drinks.

“We make the workshops interactive so that children remember what we teach them. We also give a lot of importance on hand hygiene and the importance of washing their hands,” added Michael.

The programme is entirely an event by the Dubai Police and was begun nine years ago. “The initial format was different as compared to the one we are following now. The school boys were given military training and the girls were taught a bit of karate as self-defence,” said Dr Al Kandiri. He added that there is another programme coming up in the near future.

dhanusha@khaleejtimes.com