Dubai: A Dubai school has recognised an 11-year-old student for his bravery after he rescued another boy, for years younger, from drowning in a private swimming pool in Springs 11 last week.
Daniel Siliva, Year 6 co-ordinator at the Emirates International School Meadows, said Ibrahim Abidi, a Year 6 student, was awarded the “Certificate of Super Awesomeness” for his “selfless act of bravery and courage” on February 2.
According to Ibrahim’s family, he ran to rescue the boy after he heard screams for help from a neighbouring villa in Springs 11. The seven-year-old boy, also from the same community, was visiting the villa and accidentally fell into the deep end of the pool where he bumped his head and lay still on the floor.
Ibrahim, who rushed to the spot with his mother Darakshan, didn’t think twice before plunging into the pool and pulling out the drowning boy. “It didn’t matter to Ibrahim that he had broken his little finger earlier or that he had his regular clothes on. He just jumped in and brought the boy out,” said Siliva.
What followed was a quick succession of events, with a woman passing by administering CPR to resuscitate the boy and the ambulance, which had also been called for, arriving at the villa.
Chance conversation
Asked how he felt after saving someone from drowning, Ibrahim didn’t make much of it. He said, “Anyone else in my place would have done the same thing.”
Siliva said the school came to know of the act of bravery from a chance conversation with Ibrahim. “The day after the incident, Ibrahim was in class taking care of the computers. When I told him he was a responsible boy and that his parents would be proud of him, he happened to mention that he had done something the previous day that had made his mother really proud of him,” said Siliva. After Ibrahim spilled the beans, the co-ordinator ascertained the facts and decided to recognise the boy’s efforts. “We acknowledged what he did in the morning assembly and gave him a certificate in class.” The “Certificate of Super Awesomeness” lauds Ibrahim as a “real life super hero” and an “EISM Year 6 hero”.
Ibrahim’s father Inam Abidi said he was proud of his son. “My wife and son were at home when the incident happened. They heard a loud shout and ran out. When they saw the boy lying on the floor of the pool, my wife asked Ibrahim to waste no time and bring him out of the pool. By the grace of God, he is fine now.”
Siliva said, “Ibrahim is a brave and humble boy. I don’t think he knows what he did was such a big deal.”
