Journals

Journal #1: 20/11/2012

Today was the first day we spent with these poor individuals at the orphanage. First, however, we realized that we needed to provide them with some supplies, as a kind gesture of our kind-hearted intentions to help these poor people with surviving in the harsh communities of Cairo. Thus, we went to Metro to buy some basic necessities. To be specific, we actually bought 2 chicken, 10 kilos of rice, 2 1.5 bottles of oil, some candy, some juice, some butter, and sugar. Thus, after having obtained these vital objects, we decided to take what we had just bought and deliver it to the orphanage. After arriving at the orphanage, we went straight to the office of the head of it, a former military general, Ahmed El-Bashir. He thanked us very much for this kind gesture and kindly accepted our offer. Then, he talked to us about education in Egypt, and what his primary motives were for the establishment and development of this orphanage. He claimed that he simply wanted to offer these children, who lack any parents to supply them with the necessary educations and funding for them to get a proper education. He also revealed to us how education in Egypt is different from our international education. He claims that we receive a type of education that allows us to broaden our horizons and allows us to eventually make a living outside Egypt and be successful. Egyptian education, on the other hand, is rather pathetic and simply teaches them material that will rarely benefit them in their future careers. With that having been discussed, we agreed upon an appointment every week, 2 o’clock Saturday, to come and actually start working.

Journal #2: 21/1/2012

Today, we again went and visited the orphanage. As I revealed in my previous journal, we had agreed with the head of the orphanage to pay the kids a visit once every Saturday at about 2 o’clock. As we have been actually working with the children, they have actually come to consider us their friends and display rather trustful sentiments towards us. When we enter the orphanage, they all come running towards us, greeting us very warmly. It is also funny how they always insist on shaking our hands before we start our lesson for the day. Also, usually after we finish our lesson, at about 3:30-4 o’clock, they often invite us to stay with them and have lunch. Today, I was working with a kid named Waheed. He is 8. English was certainly not his strongest side. He was behind all of his other colleagues, who were practicing spelling words, while he was still learning the alphabet. So, I decided to dedicate the day to aiding him in learning the alphabet. I began by attempting to have him memorize the song, however, that seemed too hard for him. Thus, I simply decided to write out the letters for him and have him pronounce them and write them after me. This method actually seemed to display greater progress, for after the end of our day’s stay, he was able to recite the alphabet properly from A-J, which may not seem like progress, but it really was. For next time, I simply told him to review what we had done today and make sure he doesn’t forget it. Then, we treated all of the kids to some candy, and departed the orphanage. I felt really happy that I was able to help someone in need.

Journal #3: 24/3/2012 Today, we also headed to the orphanage to continue our endeavors in assisting these poor and unfortunate children in learning proper English. As I state in my previous journal, the kids immediately ran towards us when we entered, again insisting to either shake our hands or give us all a high-5. After that great welcome, they invited us into their room, where we would be able to commence our studies. Again, I was working with Waheed, as I had been for the past two months, for he could not do the same as his peers as he was not yet as advanced as they were. Unfortunately, however, I had just had a session of lifeguard training and was extraordinarily tired today. I arrived to see that Waheed’s memory had become a bit unfamiliar with the alphabet, which we had successfully taught him. Thus, I decided to, again, help him memorize it, for without knowing the basic alphabet, he would have never been able to do the same as his peers. After having reintroduced him to the alphabet, my exhaustion had reached its limits, so I asked my fellow student, Seif Said to take over Waheed, while I aided my colleagues Youssef El-Sheikh and Timmy Khalifa in teaching the rest of the group. Basically, we continued the day by giving the kids words to spell, or by drawing something on the board and having them tell us what it is and how to spell it. Despite being tired, I felt happy that I was still able to be of any service to these children. I become more and more aware of their condition. They are merely kids, who do not yet understand the truth behind their situations and why they are in an orphanage. That got me thinking of how hard it will be for the head of the orphanage to tell them the truth when the time comes for them to ask questions.

Journal #4: 5/5/2012

Today marks our final day with the children at the orphanage for this academic year of 2011-2012. Again, we entered the orphanage only to find a flood of children wanting to shake our hands and greet us warmly. As was routine, we headed into their room to immediately commence our studies. As this was our final day, we were having a sort of test to see whether our attempts at aiding them in their English had been in fact successful or a failure. Thus, we quickly reviewed the alphabet and some terms, such as plants, plates, Egypt, health and so on (the things we had studied throughout the year). Then we decided to put two of the children together and have them conduct a conversation in English. As we observed how each student performed, we were surprised to see that most of them actually did quite well (Even Waheed showed great improvement). They also seemed to be enjoying this a lot. We finished our session for the day, and sat there with the children for 10 minutes talking to them and enjoying our time. When the time came for our departure, we distributed some more candy to each of the students to show our good-bye, and we told them that we would continue to see them next year. Throughout the year, I really do believe that I learned quite a lot. Only today did I realize that, not regarding the academic benefit of my actions (passing the Service Learning Class), I felt very satisfied and content that I was able to use my good fortune and share with someone not as lucky. I was truly happy that I was actually able to make a difference in someone’s life, and potentially have improved his or her future life.