Ways sport programs could positively impact youth, and how physical education could be used to provide youth with positive experiences of health education.

OBSERVATIONS IN DOHA

Upon my arrival in Qatar, the first thing I noticed stepping off the plane was the humidity of the weather. It is quite humid at night and during the day temperatures are 40C (104F).  It is difficult to walk around outside. I feel that the heat drains my energy.  It is much better to stay indoors because most buildings are air- conditioned but that doesn’t defeat the heat, just holds it off.

            Even though all the buildings are air—conditioned, I could still see construction workers on the road and moving slowly. There are very few people running outside, maybe the dust from construction and dry air made it difficult to exercise. I notice buildings on every street corner, skyscrapers on the horizon and more beige colored buildings than I’ve ever seen in one place. Road construction is an issue with the country changing roundabouts into intersections. It is not difficult for expats to obtain a driver license; they just trade in their old license for a new one. Driving through a roundabout is terrifying, people speed and cut each other off; during rush hour it’s even worse.

            There are no restrictions on driving; people drive fast, aggressive and there is a notion that Qataris don’t obey driving laws. If a Qatari were to get into an accident, they could simply replace the car with another sitting on their property. Driving slowly is not an option, as it allows locals to drive in front of you and slam on their breaks, which may cause an accident. Seatbelts are neglected here, and many drive with a cigarette in one hand, cell phone in the other. I’ve overheard rumors of Qatari men driving with their pet cheetah on their lap but have yet to see this for myself.

            Qatar is the fastest growing country in the Middle East. According to our driver, who arrived in the country 12 years ago, there were only three building then, and now there’s a skyline of them. There are so many fast food restaurants like MacDonald’s, Pizza Hut, KFC, etc. Restaurants deliver and most of the grocery stores carry food imported from other countries.

Running water is a problem, majority of the expats only drink bottled water and are advised not to drink water from the tap. Water is a very expensive commodity, Qatar is known as the world’s highest per capita for water use. It is imported from other countries and depends on seawater desalination.  To put it into perspective, gas is cheaper than water here. Recently our driver stopped at a gas station and paid thirty riyals (which is eight dollars) to fill out his tank.

Qatar is a wealthy country. The locals show their wealth by driving the most expensive cars. Going to the malls is a social thing; the malls involve shops, restaurants and even children’s amusement parks. I noticed that the shops sell clothing and accessories from very expensive brands. The local women are covered with a long black dress called an abayha.  The Qatari men wear a thobe, a long white shirt over loose pants. They also wear a loose headdress, called a gutra, in white or red and white cloth, held on with a black rope known as the agal.

The country is investing this wealth in education, research and sports. Qatar Foundation is a program in which the country has formed to navigate education, science and research across the country. The non-profit organization carries out Qatar’s vision by making the country a leader through three main pillars: Education, Science and Research, and Community Development.  Education City consists of educational houses, research facilities and branches of the world’s leading universities. It provides education for all-age students but universities only offer undergraduate and graduate courses and don’t offer postgraduate courses. Most institutions offer degrees related to the oil and gas industry similarly to make a fortune.

Science and research have been the foundation’s priority by encouraging companies around the world to invest their technology in Qatar. The foundation has medical training and biomedical research centers. These centers are built mainly to help entrepreneurs start-up technology businesses.

Qatar has a passion for sports and has been encouraging the world to acknowledge their sports development. The country has also been investing in building sports infrastructures. Aspire Academy and Qatar Olympic Committee are recognized programs in the world. Through the Qatar Olympic Committee the country was able to host the 2006 Asian Games, one of Tennis ‘WTA Championships, and hosted the 2011 Asian Cup football tournament as well as the 2010 World Indoor Athletics Championships.

Aspire academy is an elite program that trains athletes with the best technology and it employs first-rate coaches.  The Qatar royal family funds it and every year elite athletes gain trials at Aspire. Each year hundreds of thousands of athletes are put through trials with opportunities to earn a scholarship. Around the world, young people rarely get opportunities to showcase their skills to been seen by scouts. Aspire Academy is providing opportunities to youngsters to make a future in football and turn dreams into a reality.  I’m convinced this Academy has influenced Qatar’s bid to host the World Cup 2022. 

Regardless of Qatar’s fast growing economy and passion for sport, health is still an issue and has resulted in an increase of obesity and other health illnesses. I have been involved with Qatar Academy where my wife is currently teaching.  I have noticed that many of the students are overweight; none of them walk to school, and there are not as many kids involved in after-school sports programs. I have interviewed two physical education teachers who have informed me that obesity is a significant problem; children do not follow a healthy diet and parents lack the education for physical fitness.  

Qatar Academy hosted a cultural training for all their employees, so I joined my wife to learn more about the local way of life. The training made it easier to understand ways to adjust to the new culture. It introduced ways people do things differently compared to other cultures. One of the differences was that Qatari people are often late.  The culture is more focused on the present, so they live in the moment. People use the word “inshala” which means “God’s willing”. When making an appointment with a Qatari, should remember that they would use the word “inshala” which means they would arrive whenever they get there. I have learned to have patience and understand that nothing is ever finished on time. For example of my experience with this so far: we have been placed in a temporary housing and promised to be moving to a permanent housing. I applied for a permanent residency permit and have not received it. I have become aware that waiting is part of culture.

INTERVIEWS

# 1

Physical Education

My first interview was with an international physical education teacher from England, who has taught in Qatar for five years.  He is a primary school teacher, his student are predominately Qatari nationals. He is a kindergarten, junior secondary school teacher and an after school program coordinator at the Qatar Academy.

He stated that Qatar has a vision to promote health initiatives but does not see the value of physical activity as a preventative method to future health problems. He believes that what they should be looking at is increasing physical activity to prevent common illnesses like diabetes. He recommends that Qatar needs to tackle this issue by focusing on an earlier age and educating children about the importance of physical activity and long-term factors into adulthood. The PE teacher believes that people in Qatar don’t see the long-term benefits for physical activity; they view it as a short-term benefit.  They don’t realize the negative impact of it until they turn fifty years old. They need to be taught well to understand the importance of physical activity and that should be taught at an early age. He also mentioned that, “ our schools are starting to teach healthy habits at elementary school, it needs to be a consistent message and the message needs to be implemented throughout the year. Our school is considering hiring a full-time health specialist, who will deliver the message to children on a consistent basis”.

The PE teacher emphasized that parents needs to be on board and they need to have the level of education to know that if their child is eating donuts, pizza, everything else- how is it going to affect them in the future?  Every parent in Qatar needs to be aware of children’s eating habits rather than leaving it up to the Nannies to decide on what they can eat. The teacher expressed the misunderstanding of parents and kids. The problem was after he taught kids resistance training, they went home but the parents strictly inform kids to not do resistance training because it stunts their growth.  This teacher feels that parents need to be educated so they can pass the message onto their children, otherwise both teacher and parents are confusing the child. 

There is still more work to be done than just teaching physical education in school; more kids needs to be involved in an after-school physical activity program. The British PE teacher explained the pros and cons of being a physical education teacher in Qatar. He expressed things he likes about Qatari children: when they are taught something they take it into action. For example one of his students approached him and said “Sir, I have been eating healthy; eating fruits, doing physical activity and watching less television”.  The teacher believes students take his teaching seriously but he doesn’t know if it makes a difference. He is hopeful that if other teachers consistently repeat the message, eventually children will get it and take it to action.  On the other hand, it is a different culture for him to teach in and sometimes his message is misunderstood. For example when he is teaching, Qatari children are usually talking to each other rather than listening to instructions.  It has made difficult for him to teach but has trained himself to have patience.

This PE teacher believes that PE in Qatar is improving all the time and the level of education is improving as well.  The British teacher is very pleased with the fact the Qatar will be hosting the World Cup 2022, he is confident health message will get out there for the Qatari population. He’s certain that football will be the vehicle to deliver the message since that is most popular sport in Qatar.  The teacher believes that having role models will be another encouragement to educating kids about the health.

The PE teacher spoke about an after-school soccer program that was created by him and his best friend from England. The Evolution Soccer program has involved itself with local schools to teach health and has teamed up with Qatar Star League.  The Qatar Star League is a soccer professional league and has collaborated Evolution Soccer to teach and educate health through coaching soccer sessions.

The PE teacher talked about the difference between physical education in Qatar and the UK, where he is from. He indicated that physical activity is the same, what he finds is a different pace. In the UK if he asked children to participate in a physical activity, the skills are higher and they do things faster compared to Qatar. In England many children play football and it is not just playing at school but it is going to outside clubs to play on the weekends and after-school. In Qatar, kids are playing in school but they are not playing in outside clubs or organizations like in UK.

His final message was there are more expat kids doing more physical activity compared to the local Qatari kids. Aspire Academy and Evolution Soccer offer free sports sessions to all kids but the expat kids are the ones participating in the programs. Thousands of expat kids attend and few Qatari kids participate. One reason local kids don’t attend may be because their parents are so busy. They assign the Nannies to take the kids to the activities but the Nannies don’t necessarily see value of physical activity. Many Qatari kids end up staying home and playing video games. Clearly, physical activity is an issue among local Qatari culture. Physical education needs to be more effectively implemented in schools and at home, to improve the long-term health of Qatari people.