On the 27th of August 2010, Omar Attia, Kareem Abdel Lateef & I visited an orphanage for mentally disabled children to fulfill Ramadan’s zakat. After spending couple hours with those kids, we realized that it wasn’t the clothes, the chocolate or the toys that put a smile on their faces; it was our efforts playing with them and pampering them that made us hear them giggle.
We left the orphanage with the decision that this won’t be a one time visit, but a method of life. Taking the lead, Omar started an initiative that aims to support & put a smile on the faces of the less fortunate ones by planning weekly visits (every Friday/ Saturday) to random centers of disabled orphans, cancer institutes and elderly homes.
The idea was to retrieve humanity by actively interacting with the less fortunate in our society, dedicating time and effort, more importantly than monetary donations, to create drastic change in their lives and hence reflect that change gradually on the entire country. That became our Mission.
Because We Don’t Walk This Earth Alone was created and weekly visits every Friday and Saturday were organized. And today, we have 1,770 volunteers on the page, donating their times & efforts & joining us in our weekly activities.
WDWEA’s movement is currently created as a model on a span of 5 years (2010-2015) to achieve the below objectives, and if succeeds, it will be replicated across other provinces in future years. Model is currently applied on 5 centers on a weekly (every Friday) basis for 2-4 hours. These are:
1-Dar Sondos (orphanage for disabled children)
2-Dar El Walaa w El Wafaa (orphanage for disabled children)
3-Dar El Safa (elderly institute)
4-Dar Gedo (elderly institute)
5-National Cancer Institute (not 57357)
As WDWEA got older and bigger, we realized that we need to define our objectives within 5 years (2010-2015):
1-Breaking the psychological barrier between the members and the residents of the 5 centers, until they feel very comfortable around us and accept us in their lives.
*This has already started in 2010 and 2011 and will continue till 2015.
2-Creating wish-lists on the individual basis (at least 5 wishes for 5 residents to be fulfilled each week; ex: clothes, accessories, medications, games.. etc) and for the entire group (enhancing their homes, building a library, taking them out on trips, funding their therapies.. etc). This creates a more profound level of trust and intimacy.
*This has started in 2012 and will continue till 2015.
3-Providing basic education (alphabet, numerical, simple mathematics & finally reading books and newspapers) to eradicate illiteracy plus providing minor social, religious and political awareness sessions.
*This will start by beginning of 2013 and will continue till 2015
4-Creating case sponsorships where each member of the movement will be allowed to sponsor a resident of the 5 centers for the remaining of his/her life through all his/her stages (Securing food, shelter, clothes, education.. etc).
*This will take place at the end of our model at the end of 2014
It’s almost WDWEA’s 3rd anniversary! 3 years had passed and many more to come. For more information on this initiative, join our Facebook page (where you can see photos of all our previous visits & events) or follow us on Twitter
“Love heals people — both the ones who give it and the ones who receive it.”