Sunday, Dec 20, 2009
Gulf News
Middlesex University Dubai student Jalal Majid Bin Thaneya will walk to the UAE edge of Rubh Al Khali (the Empty Quarter) to display his solidarity with children with physical and cognitive disabilities. The final year human resources and business student will set off on his 550-kilometre journey at 8am on December 26, from the Senses Centre in Jumeirah, Dubai. His mission is dedicated to the centre's children.
"For people with special needs, life can be like walking a long, lonely road," said Bin Thaneya, 23. "And walking at 12 midnight in the desert all alone, I will feel a bit of that."
The challenge
What may seem to some as a mammoth expedition is merely a 2009 project for Bin Thaneya as he is not new to such journeys. In 2008 he climbed 90,000 steps in 100 Dubai towers and in 2007 he walked 600 kilometres around the entire UAE as a project dedicated to the Dubai Autism Centre.
So why does he do it? Is there an underlying personal affiliation towards children with disabilities? Bin Thaneya said you don't have to have special needs in order to represent those affected by them.
The journey
The trip is estimated to take from 14 to 20 days with Bin Thaneya walking along Shaikh Zayed Road to Abu Dhabi. He will walk through the city to the towns of Nisab, Bu Sahan, Al Janai and then Liwa, until he reaches his final destination in the town of Um Hisn — the Empty Quarter.
Bin Thaneya's equipment, medical and food supplies will follow in a vehicle that will meet him every 40 kilometres. Bin Thaneya is looking for a volunteer driver.
He will either sleep in the vehicle or pitch a tent or he may seek refuge in mosques or rely on the kindness of strangers. But this hasn't always worked. Bin Thaneya recounted an encounter with a hotel owner in Fujairah.
"I'd been walking for three days. I stopped at a hotel," he said. "I asked the owner if I could have a quick shower and he refused and asked me to pay Dh500 instead."
The preparation for survival
DP World donated Dh10,000 to Bin Thaneya's project. With it he bought supplies and a vehicle and "made it livable".
So what will he eat? "I have to live off water, canned food, grains and dates. I can't eat meat," he said, "because the municipality won't really trek out to the middle of nowhere if I get poisoned, will it?"
Bin Thaneya will be using tracking equipment. "I use technology extensively on my projects."
The physical preparation is not hard. "I am fit, I've been going to the gym every day for five years," he said.
"But mentally you must be prepared. You must train yourself mentally to leave everything."
Reflection
Bin Thaneya said leaving behind city life will take him back to his roots, but it will not be easy.
"Mentally I need to reflect on the design of life before I go to be able to appreciate nature and the simplistic ways of people I may encounter."
To support Bin Thaneya visit binthaneya.com or email enquiries@sensescarehomes.com
What is
the Empty Quarter?
Rubh Al Khali, also known as the Empty Quarter, is the southern third of the Arabian Peninsula.
It extends through areas of Saudi Arabia, Oman, the UAE and Yemen. The desert covers some 650,000 square km. The area is larger than the Netherlands, Belgium and France combined. It is 1,000km long, 500km wide and uninhabited.
By Rania Moussly
Gulf News 2009. All rights reserved.
