Master Foods Presents Al Haraka Baraka Award to Al Abraq School in Umm Al Quwain

Master Foods, the leading regional manufacturer of food products in the Middle East, has presented an award to Al Abraq School in Umm Al Quwain for the best practice and implementation of the physical activities programme, Al Haraka Baraka, in UAE. The ceremony was conducted at Master Foods' headquarters in Jebel Ali.
Mr. Khaled Al Kaff, the External Affairs Director at Master Foods presented certificates of Appreciation to officials who included Wafaa Khaled from Al Abraq School, Wafaa Hilal from Umm Al Quwain educational zone and Ahmad Hmoud, head of Sports Programmes in the Ministry of Education. As well as presenting the award, Master Foods pledged to pay 10,000 Dhs towards purchasing some physical activity equipment for the school.
The programme, called Al Haraka Baraka, which when translated into English means ‘movement is a blessing’, is a web-based Arabic and English language teaching resource which has been developed especially for the Gulf area by Master Foods Middle East, part of one of the world’s largest manufacturers of grocery products.
Al Haraka Baraka is the product of two years research and development undertaken into identifying appropriate issues, activities and language. The company worked in close co-operation with the UAE Ministry of Education, the Arab Centre for Nutrition (ACN) as well as other specialist groups to produce an easy to use programme that addressed the local need to promote healthier lifestyles.
The programme introduces children to the three main types of activity, which are needed to improve and maintain ones health. These include aerobic exercises such as running and swimming, flexibility exercises such as stretching and gymnastics, and strength building exercises such as lifting weights. All have been adapted to every day activities such as climbing the stairs rather than using a lift.
The UAE Ministry of Education implemented the programme into 30 primary schools across 10 educational zones throughout the academic year 2005/2006.
The programme was designed to be inter-active with schools developing their own interpretation of it. The final part of the programme involves the children demonstrating to their peer groups what they have learned to encourage group activities such as sponsored walks and activity days.
Alabraq Girls School is a public primary school located in Umm Al Quwain. It has 375 students. The school has won many awards and prizes and is considered one of the best schools in its zone in Arts, Music, and Arabic.
Alabraq School is unique in the academic field as they have incorporated the component of physical education into every classroom and subject in a very creative way.
School Supervisor Wafaa Hilal Commented: "The school is already strong in Arabic, music, and arts and is on its way to becoming a pioneer in the implementation of physical activities."
According to Christine Greaves, Master Foods External Affairs Manager, "we are very pleased with the result of this academic year as schools showed their creativity in implementing the Al Haraka Baraka programme.  Master Foods strives to serve the communities that it operates in."