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In 2005, Umm Abdul Latif joined Al Asalah Club, affiliated with the Sharjah Social Services Department (SSSD). This club includes dozens of mothers over the age of 60. It aims to provide diverse social, recreational, and educational services to the elderly, with the aim of integrating them socially and enhancing their skills and abilities. It also seeks to document heritage and pass it on to younger generations.
Umm Abdul Latif's journey began after she completed her duties of raising her children, ensuring their well-being, and completing her studies. She began a new phase, which she described as the end of the beginning—the end of raising and caring for her children, and the beginning of realising her dream of introducing today's generation to their rich heritage and practicing her hobby of making traditional models.
The opportunity came when the school asked one of her grandchildren to create a special model of the UAE, crafted by their parents. She designed the model, which won an award, and after that, her journey began. Umm Abdul Latif added that she designed this museum, which contains many details from her childhood, and she hosted important foreign and Arab figures.
Umm Abdul Latif made sure to visit the museum after her experience developed not only in the UAE but also regionally, and she won numerous awards, including the "Fariha Al Sabah Award for Ideal Mother" in Kuwait and the "Influential Figure Award" in Bahrain. She received an honorary doctorate from the American University of Technology, where her sculptures were greatly admired for their lifelike quality. She also received more than 300 certificates of appreciation from various institutions.
Umm Abdul Latif continued that many people around her want to buy her sculptures, but she refuses to sell them and prefer to give them as gifts, simply because they represent history... and history cannot be sold. She added that she is very happy when she is invited to participate in a heritage event, and she feels proud when she sees the admiring looks of others for the sculptures. This means that she has achieved her goal: to touch the depths of her being, to go back in time, and to discover these beautiful images filled with love, harmony, and affection between individuals in society.
Umm Abdul Latif confirmed that this is often missed in people’s lives today. She lived through both the eras before and after the oil era, and she loved both eras, regardless of their differences. Today, she hosts visitors in her museum, which she has renovated in every visual aspect, from lighting to attractive display of models on shelves. She also organises craft workshops in cooperation with Al Asalah Club, affiliated with SSSD, and encourages today's generation to learn about the UAE beautiful heritage. The museum's collections are models of real places, crafted in a lively, artisanal way, explaining the meaning of the material. Natural materials are used as they are.
Umm Abdul Latif stated that she does not copy or rely on available images, but rather are engraved in her imagination. she bring them to life as they appear: the alleys, summer houses, winter houses, the barjeel, Sarah Haussmann Hospital, the neighbourhood tailor, the kuttab house, the fabric shop, Umm Abdul Latif Sculpting Heritage Through Clay, the Abu Dhabi Fountain, and many more.
With this passionate spirit and strong will, Umm Abdul Latif continues her exceptional story, shouldering a noble mission to preserve heritage and pass it on to future generations. The sculptures she created were not merely works of art, but a living pulse of the memory of place and time, telling the details of life with honesty and warmth.
Umm Abdul Latif is not only a lover of heritage, but has become a living symbol of it, embodying through her story how passion can transform into a message, and memories can become a vibrant museum.
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