DUBAI, 20 February 2004 — The Dubai Shopping Festival 2004 has announced the winners of the Ideal Arab Mother and Family Awards. The Ideal Arab Mother is Ms. Malyam Ali Abdul Rahman Al-Sabbagh from Bahrain and the Ideal Arab Family for 2004 is the family of Mr. Abbas Ahmed Jassim Al-Khezae from Qatar.
The winners were honored at the DSF 2004 Closing Ceremony held last Sunday, and were given awards by Sheikh Mohammed ibn Rashid Al-Maktoum, crown prince of Dubai and UAE defense minister.
Dr. Nadia Buhannad, coordinator of the two competitions, said, “Malyam Al Sabbagh deserved the Ideal Arab Mother Award. The winner has shown extraordinary ability to manage her family and household and bring up her children, encourage them and support them. Even though she needed money, she gave of her time and energy freely to charitable causes.”
Malyam has four children — Samira, Younis, Salah and Elham — and her parents and husband are dead. “I am very proud of my children, that they have come back home after their studies in US, UK and Bahrain. I am very happy to accept this award, and I am honored”, she said.
The Ideal Arab Family of Abbas Ahmed Jassim Al-Khezae is unique because of the exemplary relationship among its members, according to Dr. Nadia Buhannad. “The atmosphere within the family is excellent, and the foundation for the children’s development have been laid very well. The relationship shared between the parents too is noteworthy, making them an ideal choice for the Ideal Arab Family Award. The parents have put in extra effort to deal with two of their children who have special needs. They have taught these children special skills like painting and using the computer.”
Abbas Al-Khazae said, “All the credit goes to my wife, who has put in the most effort in our family. We have been married for 21 years and we have five children - Rabab, Iman, Abdullah, Mohammed and Abdul Aziz.” Mrs. Al-Khazae said, “All of our children are extremely special to us and we are very happy that we have won this award. We have taught our children a lot of skills, values and principles to enable them to go through life independently.”
The Ideal Arab Mother and Family Award is being organized for the sixth consecutive year.