McDonald’s is taking the smile off of their happy meal box and placing it on a little Egyptian’s face. In cooperation with “Peace & Plenty” their loyal customers have managed to raise over 5 million Egyptian Pounds to make our country just a little bit brighter. The 25 piasters that each customer has paid for every time they’ve purchased a happy meal could promise a little boy or girl a better education and overall future. Additionally, the donation boxes that have been spread out across McDonald’s branches across the republic have been filled with generosity and kindness will promise a child an education and hence a steady job in the future.
Starting 2009, McDdonald’s began giving back with an initiative that focuses on reforming education in poverty-stricken areas. Ezbet Kherallah is the largest unplanned area in all of Egypt. It is situated on a hilltop between Old Cairo and Dar El Salam with around 650,000 people that are in dire need of basic necessities and service. They had a common belief that every child had a right to continue their life successfully. This didn’t mean giving them financial support solely, but instead giving them an education that will ensure a successful stable job in their future in which they can support themselves and their future families.
McDonald’s begins working with the child’s nursery education and continues up to their secondary education in which by that time they’ll be ready for their reserved spot to work in one of the many McDonald’s branches.
What stands out about the McDonald’s initiative is that the child is given something intangible. The organization offers education to the child, something that cannot carry a price tag. By working on a child’s base this will undoubtedly have a domino effect on the whole society. Aristotle once said, “The educated differ from the uneducated as much as the living differ from the dead.” Customers at McDonalds have managed to bring a whole small city back to life, and without their help and generosity this would not be possible.
There is still a long way to go and a tonne of education to be given. Ezbet Khairallah is only one of the many places that needs the McDonald’s customer support, but its initiative like these that really have become the stepping-stones in building a more solid society.