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One of the UAE’s oldest nurseries reopens in new building

by Eddie Rayner

One of Abu Dhabi’s oldest nurseries has reopened in a new location, 18 months since it was forced to close due to Covid-19.

My Nursery opened 30 years ago in a small villa in the Karamah area with just seven children. It quickly grew and was soon looking after 500 children in four connected buildings.

My Nursery is one of Abu Dhabi’s oldest nurseries, that operated for 30 years, opening in 1991, before it closed permanently during the pandemic when all nurseries closed for seven months. It’s now reopened in a new location. Victor Besa/The National.

Initially catering up to KG2, or Year One in the British system, it downsized in the early 2000s after the rules changed, permitting nurseries to only enroll children below the age of four.

It was already planning to move location due to a lack of outdoor space when the pandemic struck, forcing nurseries to close in March 2020. But its new facility, in the new Sheikha Fatima Park, was not yet ready when nurseries were permitted to restart last October. Almost a year later, it has now reopened in its new building.

“I wanted a location that was a little bit special and wasn’t a typical villa,” said Tala Salloum, who is the managing director of My Nursery and founder of Yellow Submarine Nurseries in Abu Dhabi.

“So the fact it was in this park, had a 400sqm outdoor area, was all on one level instead of stairs for little children, it was perfect.”


My Nursery initially opened in Abu Dhabi’s Karamah area in 1991 with just seven children