Wednesday in Dubai: Humanitarian Center and Desert Safari

Wow! What an exciting and long day. We just returned from an excursion to a huge expanse of desert right on the border of Oman that included a wild ride over the sand dunes in land cruisers, a camel ride, belly dancers, excellent Arabian food, and more!

my shadow followed me to the desert

But first, our day started with a visit to the Sharjah City for Humanitarian Services, where comprehensive services are provided to individuals with all disabilities from zero to five or six; education services for a small number of elementary and middle- school children; and minimal vocational services are provided for adults in a workshop setting on the small campus.

The Sharjah City for Humanitarian Services is a non-profit organization founded in 1979. It was begun with funding from the Government of Sharjah (one of the seven united emirates) but the director said that most funding now comes from charity.

Although the services are segregated, we were able to tour the classrooms and talk to the professionals providing services and were impressed by the level of care being provided and we all agreed that the center and the services appeared comparable to many segregated centers in the U.S. One person asked me why it took so long for the U.S. to sign the U.N. Convention for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

Pottery workshop. We bought some final products which are beautiful

After returning from the Center tour at about 2:30 pm, we quickly ate lunch and jumped into the waiting land cruisers for our desert excursion. We drove for about an hour from Dubai to an area of the desert called Big Red for its reddish tint.  The natural beauty and solitude of the desert is breathtaking.

The land cruiser ride was SCARY – okay, for me anyway – as the cars went up and down the enormous sand dunes at high speeds and at times right on the edge of a dune. I was sure we were going to roll. The students were thrilled. I happily traded places with Ashley who offered to sit in the front with the driver after we had completed the first part of the ride. It felt a little like Hershey Park sidewinder (Alec, remember that one?!) without the track and in sand!

Me with one of our drivers...on top of the world

We also had fun climbing a huge sand dune (it was quite a workout) where we had a beautiful view of the mountains dividing UAE from Oman. We could also see several Bedouin villages below (those little white strips below).

Finally, we arrived at a Bedouin camp site where we each had the opportunity to ride a camel. This was a first for me! I love the way they get up on those long legs with people on their backs (it can’t be good for the knees). One grunted and groaned and the first set of students fell off before it even got up. I have some good video clips of this adventure to share at some point.

Following the camel ride, we went inside a little encampment where we ate lamb and chicken kabobs while we were entertained by a belly dancer and other Arabian dancers.  We also had the opportunity to dress up in a dishdasha (what the men wear here) or abaya (for women) and smoke a "shisha".  At the end, they turned off the lights so that we could see the stars in the clear desert night time sky.

One of our drivers in his dishdasha on the hill we climbed

The drivers were incredibly skilled... thank goodness!