Making a Difference in Cairo

July 27, 2008

"Wow." That is basically the majority of the reactions received from delegates after today’s sequence of events. The humanitarian aspects of the GYFHC have truly been brought forward today with two extremely moving activities.
Starting with the Right to Live Association, we eagerly approached this school for mentally disabled students in Cairo where multiple powerful interactions immediately came into play. We spent the morning doing arts and crafts and playing basketball with the students, not only breaking the barriers of language or culture, but we also found multiple ways to communicate despite the different levels of thinking that occurred in the room.
It was incredible. The feelings and expressions shared between all individual in the building, the students, teachers, leaders, and delegates. Our time there was based around art and games, but it went much deeper than that, accepting the uniqueness of each individual and really achieving our goal of impacting their lives and leaving a lasting handprint on their--and our-- hearts. After our discussion later tonight, it’s easy to say that each and every one of us was affected by the people and experiences we encountered today.
Something as simple as a touch, eye contact, or making someone laugh, forms a smile that will undoubtedly spark another smile and that cycle will never end. It is the most amazing feeling to be able to share some part of what makes you glow from inside out and direct it towards others. That train of giving love never ends and always comes back in return. As a delegation, we all encountered a “wow” moment of the day, if not more than one. Having the priviledge to work with these students and make a difference in their lives was only the beginning through our journey of life changing events.
These powerful moments could have rooted from the Right to Live Association or from working at the Egyptian Food Bank, which we visited after lunch. We were determined, and that’s an understatement, to pack as many boxes as we could to send off to families throughout Egypt. In helping this NGO reach their goal of combating all hunger and starvation in Egypt by the year of 2025, we did what we could to help them in their mission of fighting “Together against Hunger.”
After some dedicated hard work, a lot of love, and devotion, we broke any previous records this food bank held by packing around 850 boxes in only an hour. This food is enough to feed over 4000 people in Egypt for an entire month. It’s pretty amazing to think that the power of one, all joined together in a delegation of under 40, can accomplish something this affective for thousands of individuals, sending the message of peace across the world.
Whether it was from working with the mentally disabled students, admiring their teachers and the way they dedicated sharing their lives with the students, or helping to provide food to thousands of people, it’s safe to say that we all were touched today, and that includes everyone on the receiving end as well. Today was a day filled with humanitarian activities, which is the base of our trip through Egypt. It doesn’t stop here, definitely not with this group!
- written by Alexa Varano, New Jersey Delegate