Saudi Arabia’s new schools
Daycare services are becoming more popular
Photography: © Corbis
Could the crèche be Saudi’s answer to the crunch? Certainly, commercial daycare services are increasingly in demand in the Kingdom. Not only are more Saudi women joining the workforce, but a greater number of expatriate mothers are also demanding safe and enjoyable venues for their offspring to meet, play with other like-minded children and participate in educational activities.
Saudi entrepreneur Maha al-Ameel has serviced this need by turning her love for caring and teaching children into a marketable commodity. Al-Ameel’s Little Scholars Nursery and Activity Center in Riyadh has an international, highly skilled staff of professionals, an American curriculum and innovative programs which accept children from the ages of one to six.
In addition, Little Scholars (in the Sulaimaniya district, two doors down from the Jazeera Compound) accommodates working mothers with its after-school programme which runs from noon until 7pm Saturday through Wednesday in accordance with the Saudi work week.
“I’m so passionate about this daycare,” says AlAmeel, “and love every single one of my munchkins as if they were my own.”
While Al-Ameel is simply following her vocation and responding to local demand, she is also opening up new educational possibilities for the Kingdom’s kids. Certainly, in a conservative state like Saudi Arabia, many believe that daycare offers more opportunities for a child’s growth and development than a solitary housemaid or family member could provide.
Carol Fleming Email Maha at xlittlescholarsx@gmail.com. Monthly fees start at around 700 riyals (£116)
TRAVEL SPY
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