Making the Most of the Middle East

Making the Most of the

Middle East

Prior to moving to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia in 2010; nurse/author Dawn Leslie was working at a busy endoscopy unit in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. She is a member of the College & Association of Registered Nurses of Alberta (CARNA) and has a specialty certification in gastroenterology through the Canadian Society of Gastroenterology Nurses Association (CSGNA).

‘I had never worked overseas before, and moving to the Middle East had definitely not crossed my mind,’ she notes. ‘I simply wanted to make a life-change and within a few short months, found myself touching down in the King Khaled airport. I can’t help but think of it as serendipity.’

Her early experiences in this fascinating country are chronicled in the first of nine articles she has written for Wall Street International magazine.

https://wsimag.com/travel/8114-reflections-and-ruminations

Working at King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre (KFSHRC) provided her with some very unique opportunities in terms of writing. Three years ago, this highly regarded hospital endeavored to become one of a handful of institutions outside the U.S. to achieve a very prestigious American Nursing accreditation. With her strong background in creating educational health content, Dawn was seconded from her Endoscopy position and placed in the role of editor; a rather daunting task.

‘Although English is the working language of the hospital, many of the source of evidence submissions were drafted by staff for whom English is a second or third language and it was important that the massive document be consistent in its voice,’ she explains. ‘Gratifyingly, we were successful in our mission and King Faisal is now designated a Magnet hospital.’

While still working as a nurse in Alberta, she wrote a set of six books for children based on vision care and another on common childhood conditions. She self-published both and her Bright Eyes series was included in a pilot project called Eye See…Eye Learn, which was launched by the Alberta Association of Optometrists. The program encouraged every child entering the school system at age five to have a pro bono eye examination by an optometrist and then any required eye glasses were also provided free of charge. ‘It is well documented that at least 80% of learning is achieved through our eyes, and that up to 20% of children have some measure of a vison deficit. When it’s difficult to see properly it’s also difficult to concentrate and unfortunately, that lack of focus often translates to behavioural issues within the classroom. The Eye See… Eye Learn program was extremely successful in achieving its mandate and has now become a firmly entrenched, nation-wide program.’

Below is the link to an article she wrote describing the value in this project.

http://wsimag.com/wellness/16862-seeing-is-believing

Currently, Dawn has a total of 150,000 books present on the shelves of every elementary classroom, pediatrician and optometrist’s offices in two Canadian provinces. ‘Providing education, encouraging healthy choices and reinforcing positive behavior enables children to become good stewards of their own health.’

https://wsimag.com/wellness/16185-healthy-wellthy-and-wise

Shortly after moving to the Middle East, she became deeply committed to providing children in the region relevant health information that could make a quantifiable difference in the incidence of disease. Of particular concern were life-style related conditions such as type II diabetes, smoking and seat-belt safety to name a few. With five Gulf countries listed in the global top ten and KSA ranked third in diagnosed cases of type II diabetes; the situation was rapidly approaching a critical level.

‘One only has to witness the disproportionate volume of patients receiving kidney dialysis as a result of what is largely a preventable disease, to understand the gravity of the situation. The ramifications of this condition are terribly difficult for both patients and their families and from a purely fiscal level; the treatment of type II diabetes represents a phenomenal cost to the healthcare system. Surely, a solid investment in prevention as well as retroactive treatment makes sense from all perspectives.’

The same applies to seat-belt safety. Saudi Arabia has one of the highest rates of traffic fatalities per capita in the world; with nearly 7000 recorded in 2016. This accounts for almost one death per hour every single day and statistically, the lack of seat-belt usage is a powerful contributor. ‘Not only are very few adults wearing their seat-belts; what is truly distressing is the vast number of children who ride in cars unrestrained. In the case of an accident, the damages sustained by all occupants in the car are far more severe if not belted in and tragically, what might cause a fairly minor injury often results in an entirely avoidable fatality.’

Saudi smokers number second in the Gulf region only to Yemen, and with teenagers comprising a rapidly growing demographic, smoking-related illnesses are on an upward trajectory. Dawn firmly believes that, ‘It is far easier to successfully contain this issue prior to someone taking up the practice of smoking. The undisputed difficulty in quitting is well-documented and so it simply makes sense that a pro-active approach to prevention is key.’

Her Let’s Ask Allah series addresses all above concerns; as well as hand-washing, asthma and littering. With spirituality deeply entwined in every aspect of life in Saudi Arabia, Dawn felt it was essential to approach her stories in the most effective way possible; therefore each book includes a relevant quote from the holy Qur’an and is illustrated in a culturally sensitive style.

‘2014 was a very busy year for me,’ she laughs. ‘I was working fulltime in the Endoscopy unit and from door to door my days were 11 hours long; five per week. During that time I somehow managed write a six-book series on dental health called SmileyChild, a monthly article for Wall Street International and a full-length adult novel. A little bit crazy for sure, but full of fun.’

Since then, she’s been interviewed twice on Saudi television and been the subject of numerous magazine articles including a piece written by Nicolla Hewitt for ArabiaNow that has become the most widely read article in the magazine’s history.

During her first trip to the Frankfurt Book Fair in 2014, she met Canadian publisher, Howard Aster from Mosaic Press, who was impressed by her conviction in children’s preventive health education. ‘Using her nursing wages, Dawn had created a comprehensive health library of almost forty books. It was clear that she had tapped into an undeveloped area and I believed in the quality of her work.’

Together they approached the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation (MBRF) from the United Arab Emirates, which was taking a very active role in improving the rates of children’s literacy as well as their health status. ‘The Sheik Maktoum foundation does phenomenal work not only within their country, but philanthropically throughout the Middle East and Northern Africa,’ explained Dawn. ‘I’m very passionate about providing health education to refugee children, some of whom have not been in school for years, and I felt this could be a wonderful partnership.’

One year later, Dawn has finalized a contract with Qindeel, the publishing company owned by MBRF; giving them the foreign rights to all thirty-six books for twenty-one countries in both Arabic and English. ‘A deal of this magnitude is very unusual in the publishing world,’ notes Aster. ‘It adds a huge amount of credibility to Dawn’s portfolio and in fact, Harper Collins is now interested in twenty-four of her books for the entire Spanish Americas. Her dream of empowering kids in terms of their health is fast becoming reality.’

Dawn welcomes all comments, suggestions and queries.

She can be reached at dawnleslie@healthywellthywisebooks.com