Her voice was faint, yet clear and bright like the words she writes. Despite the face tumor affecting her features and the agony she suffers, young Israa has grand hopes for her future. "Throughout my childhood, writing short stories was my condolence. I was a permanent presence in my school's library, and I used to narrate my writings to my siblings and relatives. My dream is to see my writings published, and I hope to be a famous writer in the future," she told Ahram Online. Shortly afterwards, Israa's wish was realised when her stories was published by Ahram-affiliated magazine, Nisf El-Donia. ## Israa is a 15-year-old girl from the governorate of Beni Suef. Her first encounter with cancer was when she was only one year's old. Her agonising journey of successive treatment can hardly be put into words. Although now the tumor has attacked her face, her spirit remains undiminished. Ahram Online first came in contact with the story of Israa through Noha Sabry, a member of a group that uses social media as a platform to gather and share stories of their accomplishments. They name their group: "My Dream We Make Dreams Come True." "We primarily target children of the National Cancer Institute, as they usually get less attention in comparison with other high profile hospitals or institutions. We visit them, organise events that cheer them up, and ultimately grant the wishes of those who are in the terminal stages of their disease," Sabry says. ## Now, My Dream We make Dreams Come True is a Facebook platform of almost 5000 members, and increasing by the day. "We have this dialogue that we conduct with the younger ones, we ask them if they have heard about Aladdin's magic lantern, and they usually say that they know it's the lantern in the fairytale story that grants wishes when rubbing it. At that point we say: ok, imagine you have this lantern now, and ask whatever you wish for," explains Mohamed El-Koosy, founder of the group. El-Koosy who works in the fields of media and PR and divides his time between Cairo and Chicago, explains that he initiated the group in 2006 after he was impressed by the same idea manifested by many charities abroad, and was determined to realise the idea in his home country. "We usually marvel at the sheer simplicity and humbleness of most of their wishes," he adds. Mawada, a tiny girl, had an amazing voice. Her dream was to record some of her chanting. She was escorted to an equipped sound studio for some time, and she came out with her dream coming true: a CD with her own collection of songs. A boy's dream was to experience being a security guard. A major company empathised, and provided him with a specially tailored outfit that could fit his frail little figure. For a whole day he joined colleagues on his dream job! Another boy's passion was football. After he was bed ridden as a result of cancer treatment, his dream came true when he got a visit from a number of prominent Egyptian football stars, who presented him with a PlayStation and played some games with him. ## As for Mohamed, a photography-obsessed young boy, he wished to acquire a camera. Not only was he given one, but also taken to a professional photography studio, and taught all about the secrets of the craft. "Some teenagers would ask for gadgets, smart phones, and things of the sort, and the happiness they display is extremely touching. "But what it is really remarkable is how most of the kids have extremely simple dreams and wishes. Boys would ask for a toy car of a certain color, and girls would dream of a doll of certain size etc," says El Koosy. Most recently, young Aamena wished for new clothes for Eid (Feast after the month of Ramadan). In a few days she was treated to a whole new wardrobe. ## Cancer cases in Egypt, registered according to National Cancer Registry Programme (NCRP) indicate that the incidents are 166 for every 100,000. Liver cancer comes on top, with a percentage of 23.8 percent, followed by breast cancer 15.4 percent, then bladder cancer 6.9 percent. http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/135360.aspx
