DHA, Dubai Education Zone and Nestle conduct field trip in school to gauge impact of healthy nutrition project

"We were delighted to witness the high level of interest among children during a classroom session entitled "Color your food with Fruits and Vegetables, the colors of the Rainbow," which emphasized the importance of eating five fruits and vegetables," said Dr Fathia Hatim Al-Maazmi, Head of the Health Promotion Section at the Dubai Health Authority.

"Ajyal Salima" - a collaboration between the Dubai Health Authority; the Dubai Education Zone; the Princess Haya Initiative for the Development of Health, Physical Education & School Sports; and Nestlé - aims to raise nutrition, health and wellness awareness of school children aged 9 to 11.

"The teachers illustrated the message beautifully through rainbow comparisons, and the children were all too eager to demonstrate their new knowledge by creating fun characters using fruits and vegetables of various colors representing different vitamins and minerals in each," said Mr. Ahmad Abdul-Rahman, representing the Dubai Educational Zone.

"It was also touching and impressive to hear kids tell us that they're sharing all they learn in these sessions with their families, and give us concrete examples of changes in behavior among themselves and their loved ones," added. Mr. Ahmad Abdul-Rahman.

"The Program involves 12 educational sessions per round, including interactive learning and hands-on activities on nutrition, healthy eating and physical activity; as well as questionnaires developed to track improvement of children from pre to post interventions," explained Karine Antoniades Turk, Program Manager, Nestlé Healthy Kids Middle East.

In Dubai, the first "train the trainer" workshop was held in January, bringing experts from the American University of Beirut to the Emirate to present the various elements of the "Ajyal Salima" curriculum program to teachers from local schools. Implementation in classrooms has since been launched, with the first phase of the Program slated for completion in June 2013.

The two-year first phase Program will cover all 29 public schools of Dubai, and includes roadshows, health carnivals, teachers training, classroom implementation and assessment of children knowledge and behavior.