KDT Operation 7: HUBS

My host family's children go to Hayat Universal Bilingual School, a school for all ages from kindergarten on up to just before university. HUBS blends North American curriculum  and pedagogy with the Kuwaiti Ministry of Education curriculum for Arabic, Islamic Studies and Social Studies. One of their founders, Dr Ibrahim Al-Khulaifi, studied for his master's at Michigan State University!



















Thursday morning, I had the chance to meet Principal Kheireya Al Wadaani and Co-Founder Raja Al-Saleh. I presented each of them with a book and left additional copies for the school library and Dr Ibrahim. Yousif AlFadhel, the youngest diver ever licensed in Kuwait and Waleed's son, is in Year 11. I bragged about him a bit, pointing his principal to his interview in the book. Ms Al-Saleh, Yousif's mum, and I then paid a visit to his class as a surprise. After our visit, Yousif was apparently besieged with questions about his work with the Dive Team.

The timing of our visit was a happy one - it turns out the school held a Sports Day today to celebrate students' accomplishments and Liberation Day. Principal Al Wadaani mentioned that they were planning to do a beach clean-up as part of the morning's fesitivities. I quickly volunteered the Dive Team's mobile truck unit.

And so this morning found me at Kuwait's Marina Crescent, giving a lecture in English on the beach to 100+ Kuwaiti schoolboys about the need for marine conservation. They spent 20 minutes picking up waste and helped with the release of fish to help boost stocks.

It was great to get a glimpse into the Kuwaiti educational system, and a lot of fun to spend the morning with the AlFadhel boys and their friends.