Ruler of Dubai Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum honored an Emirati teacher on Sunday for embodying the spirit of positivity with her school students. Sheikha Al Nuaimi along with her mother were invited to a UAE cabinet meeting where Al Nuaimi was granted the Prime Minister's Medal. She was also awarded an immediate exceptional promotion.
"The social worker at one of Al Ain schools is a great example of how a school could be a warm embrace, a source of positive energy and an educational incubator in which our children are raised. We all saw how she starts the school day with our pupils," Al Maktoum wrote, announcing the news on Twitter.
The leader hailed the teacher's tenderness with her students and added that she not only sets a good example for local schools but also for all other local government entities.
Last week, the ruler came across a video of the educator welcoming her students to Al Aailya School with positive words of encouragement. Moved by her approach, he took to Twitter asking his 10 million followers to help identify her.
The Dubai ruler made sure to also honor the teacher's mother with a medal of her own during the ceremony.
"I will give you the medal first because you are the one who raised her," he told Al Nuaimi's mother while handing her an award. Both the educator and her mother thanked the leader for his gesture.
Speaking to The National, Al Nuaimi said she doesn't have children of her own and treats her students as if they were her kids, adding that they all call her "Mama Sheikha."
"The greatest honor was seeing Sheikh Mohammed and meeting him in person," she explained.
"I'm very grateful and thankful for this recognition, it is a moment that I will remember forever," she added.
Happiness is a core value in the UAE
Al Maktoum has always been outspoken about his belief in the idea that positivity and happiness are integral to building nations, so it's no surprise he left no stone unturned to find Al Nuaimi.
Under his guidance, the UAE launched a Ministry of Happiness and appointed its first-ever minister of happiness, Ohood Bint Khalfan Al Roumi, back in 2016.
The ministry's responsibilities include promoting and sustaining happiness throughout the UAE. Since its launch, the emirate has unveiled several initiatives aimed at helping people lead more positive lives. The work being done to make people happy in the country is showing its effects as the UAE constantly ranks one of the happiest nations both regionally and globally.