Name:Maitha Salem AlMaamari Grade 11 Student ENS ADC Girls Campus

What good deeds did this person do?

Maitha is an outstanding role model to other young female Emiratis in the UAE. As well as being an outstanding academic student who does well in all her subjects, she tirelessly works to support those who are less fortunate than her. She is also passionate about the environment and plays an active role in raising awareness of environmental issues within the school, the community and the country at large. General Leadership: 2012-2013: Student Council Representative- Maitha represents her Grade (11) on the Student Council and is an active member trying to implement positive change in the school community. 2013-2014: Elected to be Prefect for Emirates National School Abu Dhabi City Girls Campus Community Service Issues: Maitha started the Operation Smile UAE Club at ENS (school) in 2012 and runs monthly fundraising and awareness activities in school to support this charity. She has organized Sundaes on Sunday, Imitate your Teacher Day and plans to run a Movie afternoon. Maitha also regularly participates in outside events that Operation Smile organizes e.g. ran a stall at Operation Smiles 5th Birthday Celebration in February 2013. In October 2012, Maitha coordinated school support for the Box Appeal 2012 in conjunction with Red Crescent and managed to collect 110 boxes from a student body of 250 to donate to labourers in the UAE. Maitha is the Head of the Community and Service Committee at ENS ADC Girls Campus and she takes her responsibilities very seriously. April 2013: Maitha hosted the School Talent Show to celebrate the diverse talents of the students in the school and promote positive self-esteem among young girls. Environmental Issues: January 2013: Maitha is part of Plant for the Planet (European organization) that encourages a project to plant 1 million trees in every country to offset the carbon emissions created by industry. January 2013: Maitha was selected from many UAE students to represent the UAE as the National Coordinator for Youtharia Session 3, an international youth organisation that promotes responsible citizenship and promotes environmental issues. This responsibility involves raising awareness of environmental issues within the community in the UAE and taking part in a Build A Green Building competition. February 2013: Maitha participated in the National Musahamati Competition entry in the Environmental Category for a proposal to plant 1 million trees in the UAE. March 2012 - Maitha organized and presented an awareness campaign to support Earth Hour in the UAE. She challenged all students to accept a challenge to recognize the importance of conserving energy in the UAE to preserve the future of the country. May 2013: Greenification project to plant more trees within the school grounds to promote the production of oxygen and limit the carbon dioxide emitted by the school community.

April 2012 - Maitha developed and carried out a research experiment for the ENS Science Fair where she cultivated indigenous mint cuttings to observe and record the effect of fertilizers on growth and ability to thrive. She specifically chose a plan indigenous to the UAE in the hope of providing meaningful research statistics for her future career as a Chemical Engineer. March-April 2013 served as a mentor for Grade 9 Science Fair participation April 2013 helped Science teacher, Ms Heather, to organize and run the First Annual Science Fair at ENS. Cultural Identity July 2012 participated in Skills4Life event to encourage the importance of education and training for Emirati citizens March 2012 created a public awareness film to promote the idea of The Emirati Dream, an initiative to encourage Emiratis to take advantage of opportunities for education within the UAE to ensure the prosperity of the country in the future. April 2012 served as a mentor for a Grade 5 International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme exhibition entitled: Ways to express yourself

What community issue did this persons good deeds solve?

Maithas efforts have helped to raise awareness of children born with cleft palates/ cleft lips or mouth deformities to enable them to receive the necessary operations to live a healthy life. Maithas efforts have also helped to raise awareness of those communities who are less fortunate e.g. the underprivileged who work for very little money to support their families either in the UAE or in their country of origin.

How did this person demonstrate commitment and dedication in performing these good deeds?
Maitha decided to focus her attention on raising her profile at school at the start of Grade 11 and her focused approach to everything she has done has shown great results. She has been responsible for single-handedly rallying the school community to make a difference literally in hundreds of peoples lives in a short space of time and she shows no sign of stopping. In fact, shes only just getting started. Its easy to have enthusiasm when you first start an idea but to have longevity is what makes her stand out. Maitha does not do it for the glory or honour but rather because she gains enormous satisfaction from knowing her efforts have made a difference in someone elses life and her dazzling smile is all the thanks anyone needs to sup port one of her causes. She is always grateful for support and her well-mannered and approachable personality make her so easy to work with.

What makes this persons good deeds more significant than others?
The sheer number of hours Maitha dedicates to causes. She balances work commitments and family time with all the issues she wants to support but she definitely has less sleep than most people I know in order to accomplish all her tasks. She is always positive and she finds it very difficult to say no t o a person in need. She is a leader for the rest of her generation to follow and the UAE needs to recognize leaders for the next generation to ensure the legacy of Sheikh Zayed continues for decades to come.

Did this person make sacrifices to accomplish these good deeds? If yes, please describe them?

Maitha sacrifices time to relax and to socialize with her peers during breaks, lunch and after school, however she remains a popular and well-liked student in the school community and in her own Grade 11 class. She balances her academic work, community work and family time very well but this costs her precious time to do the things most teenagers her age do and she is often up until very late at night working on her various projects and proposals. She is selfish in her dedication and for this she is worthy of recognition.

Additional comments
Maitha is an exceptional student in anyones country or school but I believe she is even more exceptional because she has appointed herself an ambassador for the next generation of Emiratis. Maitha believes strongly in education as a means to succeed in life and she uses every opportunity presented to her to improve her leadership experience so she can make a difference in the UAE and beyond its borders.