At an orphanage during Ramadan, Serene Assir discovers the less visible face of Muslim piety Throughout the holy month, Egyptians are more than usually preoccupied with the unfortunate and the disinherited among them. Zakat (alms) being one of the five pillars of faith, the good Muslim will keep a steadfast record of them all year round, making sure he has provided at least the amount required by Sharia (Muslim law). In Ramadan, though -- and seemingly for an even greater number of Muslims -- the process of giving and helping takes on a more urgent tenor, and willingness to engage with it seems to intensify. It is in this light that both staff and children's lives at the Orman Centre for Disabled Children in the upper middle-class district of Mohandessin take on more business at this time of the lunar year. The reception area is almost continuously filled with people who come to make financial contributions to one or more of the charity's projects; and mothers will bring over their own children so they can meet and spend time with the orphans. The popularity of the Orman Association -- this encompasses a large complex of orphanages and schools in Cairo and 13 other governorates -- is in part due to the effectiveness of its promotional campaigns. In Ramadan, according to Afaf Youssef, director of the centre, "we widen our perspective; although for the most part our work continues to focus on orphaned children, we also set up projects that provide families living in financially deprived areas with relief". This year, with the aim of shifting the focus out of Cairo, the association relocated its media campaign to Upper Egypt -- the poorest governorates in the country, too often forgotten by local and international non-governmental organisations and charities. Indeed, the press, the radio and the streets of Cairo are now filled with advertisements calling for donations in goods and cash, uncharacteristically of a country in which charity organisations do little media outreach. "We decided to focus on Upper Egypt," Youssef explained, "starting with Fayoum and Beni Sweif, and extending our activities through Al-Minya and Assiut as far south as Sohag. Ongoing is the initiative whereby we provide single mothers with a buffalo each to enable them to feed their families, and so is our project of providing disabled young people with a kiosk with which to start their business." Anticipating Ramadan, she went on, this time round survey teams were sent out to determine target areas -- the neediest. Accompanied by student volunteers from the University of Cairo and the American University in Cairo, the surveyors "carried out extensive work in the most marginalised areas of the southern governorates -- going into the depths rather than staying in cities and working from there. This is why we feel the research has been truly independent and meaningful". Ramadan is especially significant for charity work in the sense that "everyone is fasting, then eating and celebrating. We devised a system whereby we send boxes of 33 different kinds of food to deprived families"; these include rice, oil, ghee, honey, dates and other storable goods; each feeds a family of five for two weeks. "To date, we have raised the money for, brought together and distributed around 17,000 boxes in Upper Egypt" -- food enough for 85,000 of the neediest in the provinces. "Another focus project this year consists of collecting over one million woollen bedcovers for the winter and sending them to the poorest families -- also in Upper Egypt, where it can be very cold at night. The added benefit of this project is that these covers continue to be useful for long periods. And it is people who see our advertisements in the media and on the streets who bring them in -- very often in person." Aid, as she explains, takes many forms: "Throughout the year, we have regular donors who contribute on a monthly or quarterly basis, according to their capacity. In addition, you mustn't forget that by virtue of coming to visit the centre, by sitting with the children, talking to them, telling them a story or singing them a song, you have already done them much good." Given the dire conditions in which many orphans end up in Egypt, "donations help us clothe, feed, teach and treat children who reside with us. There are, thank God, plenty of Egyptians who are always willing to help those who are most in need." The orphans themselves say they've had a good time during Ramadan. "This is a special time for us," Heba, 12, told Al-Ahram Weekly, "partly because we are fasting and praying, and partly because each day is filled with interesting activities." She and Nesma, 11, went on to describe how they have so far enjoyed a day trip to a different spot for Iftar each day: "We've been invited for meals at the Sheraton and Marriott." They were also very pleased with visits from Egyptian pop stars Khaled Selim, Tamer Hosni and Hamada Hilal. "They came to the centre to film the videoclip they'll release on Orphan Day on 1 April 2006," Nesma said with a smile. "It was great fun because they also sang for us. To tell you the truth, though we were very happy, we still felt a little shy." Activities intensify during Ramadan, Youssef reiterated: "The greater the donations, the richer our outreach programmes. I hope and pray that one day Egypt and the whole of the Arab world will free itself of poverty. For now, we will work on, resting content with fulfilment from the happiness emitted by those we work with."
