The spirit of sharing and caring is encouraged and developed among children from a very early age. Once kids embrace these qualities, they tend to nurture and carry these qualities in them throughout their lives.
The uncertain times caused by Covid-19 pandemic and the resultant lockdown has made many people realise the importance of sharing and caring more than ever. If support, in any form, comes from children, it is more laudable as it strengthens hope for a more prosperous future of the society.
Rawda Mansour al-Qassabi is a young talented girl, who herself prepared food for labourers living in Industrial Area. She is also a promising chess player hoping to make her mark at the international scenes soon. Community recently talked to her about her interest in chess and social work.
Sharing her interests and hobbies and how she has been spending her time at home, Rawda said: “I am 10 years old and I am in the 5th Grade in Qatar Academy Doha. My hobbies are cooking, reading, swimming, watching movies and playing chess. I like playing chess because it is a game of concentration and strategy and it helps me think and plan before taking action.
“I spend my time at home playing online chess tournaments, training with my coach – Adina Hamdouchi, reading, watching movies and playing games with my family.”
When asked how and when she started playing chess and what have been some of her best achievements, she said: “I started learning how to play chess in August 2017 when I was only 8 year old. I learnt chess from my father who used to play for Qatar national team and had an international rating. He taught me how to move the pieces and the basic roles at the beginning. When he noticed my interest in chess was increasing, he got me registered with Qatar Chess Federation.
“I have participated in many tournaments in Qatar and abroad in the past three years. Some of international tournaments I participated are; World Tournament under 11 in Antalya (Turkey), Asian Tournament under 16 in Oman and Arab Tournament under 10 in Jordan in addition to many international tournaments organised by Qatar Chess Federation such as AAB (Abdulla Abdul Ghani and Bros) tournaments – which have been organised regularly twice a year, Al Mannai tournament, Qatargas tournament, Huawei tournament, Ramadan tournament, school tournaments, etc. my best achievements are wining best Qatari female player under 12 many times.”
In response to a question about what are some of the tournaments or events that she desires to win as a chess player, Rawda said: “At the moment, I want to improve my skills and reach a higher level and compete with top players in the world in my age. In the future, I would like to win big tournaments in all area (Arab, Asian and world) and acquire all the chess titles, international master and then grand master and represent my country in top tournaments.”
Regarding her interest in social work and preparing meals for labourers during Ramadan, she said: “Ramadan is the month of generosity. We fast for long hours to feel that way the poor people feel every day. I saw my parents donate money for the poor. During Ramadan, I asked them why don’t we cook food and give it to the labourers and make them happy besides gaining rewards from Allah. They welcomed the idea and fully supported me. I decided to prepare the meals by myself and distributed the food to the labourers.”
The young girl is resolute to carry on the social work and helping others. “The happiness I saw in their eyes will make me do the same again and again. And I will be happy to prepare the food by myself and give it to the needy people. Also, the food I have is a gift from Allah and He has taught us to share it especially with the needy people. So, I would take the opportunity to share what I have and gain rewards from Allah.”
FOOD DISTRIBUTION: From right, Rawda seen with her sister and house staff while loading food to be distributed in the Industrial Area.
