Meet the 10-year-old girl in UAE who turns trash into gifts

Abu Dhabi - She turns used papers and plastic cans at home into crafts and gifts.

Meet 10-year-old Sarah Mariyam Firoz who has transformed discarded papers into treasured gifts. The Grade 5 student of GEMS United Indian School in Baniyas has made a lot of crafts and presented them to her siblings Amina Tasmeen and Mohammed Zahil, parents Firoz Sulaiman and Fathima as well as her grandma.
In little over a month, Sarah has used old papers, tissue rolls, popsicle sticks and cardboards to create more than 40 products. These include origamis, pen stand, pencil pouch, photo frame, envelopes, basket, cupboard, boxes, flower vases and flowers, jewellery box, bangles and rings for her seven-year-old sister. She has made a toy phone and binocular for her two-year-old brother, a shopping bag for her mother, card holder for father, and purses for both parents. Sarah has gifted a phone holder to help her grandmother watch YouTube videos and showered her with greeting cards too.
She has made pots out of used plastic cans and clay, a magnetic book, and an eraser from an empty lipstick bottle. The little girl has also done glass paintings on ketchup bottles.
"I understand that during this pandemic, TV is a bad influence on children. So, I made craft a fulltime hobby. I find this is the best way to reuse most of the things that we dump as trash," Sarah said.
Her parents have been encouraging Sarah's craft-making skill.
"From Grade 2, she started using old assignment papers to make different craft works. During this StayHome and vacation, she got fully involved in her passion. Sarah has also inspired her sister Amina to try her hand at craft," Fathima, her mother, pointed out.
Sarah is ready with plans for vertical farming at her school.
"I want to grow some real plants in real pots now," she said.
She also plans to pen a secret letter to the UAE leadership on their commendable response against the pandemic.

• UAE
• Abu Dhabi
• India