ABU DHABI // Dr Jane Goodall is sitting on a bench, engaged in conversation, when suddenly a swarm of children line up, stretching papers and pencils in her direction.
“Hi, can I have an autograph?” a boy of about 10 asks. “‘To Sameer, with an e – two ‘e’s. And can I get one for my sister?”
“You know, I’m just doing an interview,” Dr Goodall says in her gentle, soft-spoken voice, as she signs her name on a blank piece of lined paper. “What’s her name?”
“Faryal,” the boy answers with delight. “F-a-r-y-a-l.”
Dr Goodall was in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday to meet about 100 children who are members of Roots & Shoots, an international programme of the Jane Goodall Institute that encourages youngsters to take on community projects that protect the environment and animals, strengthens social ties and promotes conservationism.
A pilot version of the programme began a year ago in the capital with five schools. Since then, more schools in Dubai and Al Ain have joined, expanding the number to 14.
Dr Goodall has been a household name since the 1960s when, as a young British woman, she moved to Tanzania to live among chimpanzees. Her decades-long work led to breakthrough discoveries, but she didn’t initially set out to be a scientist, she says.
“No, I wanted to write. I didn’t want to do science,” says Dr Goodall, who will be 82 in April and is the mother of one son and grandmother of three. “When I got out into the field, it was just my love of animals.”
The strong bonds she shares with animals go back to when she was a child.
“All my toys were animals of one sort of another. It was animals, animals, animals from the time I was born.”
As a child, she once took worms to bed with her to observe them.
Another time, she spent four hours hiding in a hen house for a chance to learn how hens lay eggs. She was also an avid reader.
“There was no TV growing up. I had no other options, I loved books.”
After reading The Voyages of Dr Dolittle when she was eight, she pretended with her friends that she could talk to the animals.
“But the real spark was when I was 10. I had saved up just enough money to buy Tarzan of the Apes. I fell in love with Tarzan and decided I would grow up, go to Africa, live with animals and write books about them.”
While others may have scoffed at her idea, Dr Goodall says she didn’t waver from her goals, thanks in part to the support she received from her mother.
Today, she tells children: “Push yourself towards what you love and hope other people encourage you.”
“That’s what my mum once told me, if you really want something – like I wanted to go to Africa and everybody else laughed at me, everybody except my mother, who said, ‘well then, you’re going to have to work really hard, take advantage of the opportunity and never give up.’ That’s what I did.” Julia Grifferty, 17, a pupil at the American Community School, says Dr Goodall’s message inspired her to launch a campaign to ban the sale of bottled water at her school.
The initiative, called Boot the Bottle, is expanding to more schools in the emirate.
“Our vision is we won’t stop, and like Jane Goodall says, you should never give up. You should have courage of your own conviction,” says Julia.
Debra Bufton, a service learning coordinator for the American School of Dubai, says Dr Goodall is “very inspiring” to the young children.
“I think this opportunity, they will go back and take this excitement and excite other students and other kids. I have no doubt that this will live in their memory for a lifetime.”rpennington@thenational.ae
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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.
The stats
Ship name: MSC Bellissima
Ship class: Meraviglia Class
Delivery date: February 27, 2019
Gross tonnage: 171,598 GT
Passenger capacity: 5,686
Crew members: 1,536
Number of cabins: 2,217
Length: 315.3 metres
Maximum speed: 22.7 knots (42kph)
The specs: 2018 Chevrolet Equinox
Price, base / as tested: Dh76,900 / Dh110,900
Engine: 2.0L, turbocharged in-line four-cylinder
Gearbox: Nine-speed automatic
Power: 252hp @ 5,500rpm
Torque: Torque: 352Nm @ 2,500rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 8.5L / 100km
Jigra
Starring: Alia Bhatt, Vedang Raina, Manoj Pahwa, Harsh Singh
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Sarfira
Director: Sudha Kongara Prasad
Starring: Akshay Kumar, Radhika Madan, Paresh Rawal
Rating: 2/5
Company profile
Company name: Suraasa
Started: 2018
Founders: Rishabh Khanna, Ankit Khanna and Sahil Makker
Based: India, UAE and the UK
Industry: EdTech
Initial investment: More than $200,000 in seed funding
THE BIO
Bio Box
Role Model: Sheikh Zayed, God bless his soul
Favorite book: Zayed Biography of the leader
Favorite quote: To be or not to be, that is the question, from William Shakespeare's Hamlet
Favorite food: seafood
Favorite place to travel: Lebanon
Favorite movie: Braveheart
PROFILE OF HALAN
Started: November 2017
Founders: Mounir Nakhla, Ahmed Mohsen and Mohamed Aboulnaga
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Sector: transport and logistics
Size: 150 employees
Investment: approximately $8 million
Investors include: Singapore’s Battery Road Digital Holdings, Egypt’s Algebra Ventures, Uber co-founder and former CTO Oscar Salazar
How to help
Send “thenational” to the following numbers or call the hotline on: 0502955999
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