For the first time since the 25 January Revolution, Egyptian children have been able to express their wishes for a future Egypt. Nesmahar Sayed shared their dreams "What I love most about Egypt is its history. On the other hand, I hate people's bad manners when they are dealing with each other," said eight-year-old Malak Sherif, a participant in a survey asking the country's children how to make a better Egypt. Sherif wishes all Egyptians would love each other and take care of Egypt. She joins the 43 per cent of children who said that Egypt's history was one of the main reasons they loved Egypt. According to seven-year-old Judy Ahmed, the Corniche in Cairo is the best part of Egypt, while the crowds are the worst. "The idea of the survey goes back to April after the revolution," said Tarek Zidan, CEO of Edrak for Edutainment Projects, the company which organised it. Zidan told Al-Ahram Weekly that the results of the survey were good tools for addressing children's dreams for the future. The survey aimed to measure the awareness of children aged between six and 14 years old about their country and the January Revolution. "This was in addition to giving them a chance to express themselves and finding out their opinions of current events," Zidan said at a press conference where the results of the survey were revealed. The survey consisted of 20 questions starting with, "Why do you love Egypt?" and ending with "What do you say to the Egyptians?" The results showed real environmental awareness and patriotism among the children. The results were gathered from 1,105 of the 1,200 questionnaires distributed among pupils from different schools in Cairo and Alexandria. "The rest of Egypt's 28 governorates are planned to be surveyed next year," Zidan said. Among the schools participating in the poll were the Misr Language Schools. "We thought the survey a very good opportunity for the pupils to express themselves and to make up their minds to decide what to do," said Weam Shabana, kindergarten and elementary head at the Misr Language Schools. "The revolution was a vital event that deeply affected the children, and we agreed that they should participate in the survey in order to benefit from it," Shabana said. The issue of national unity was a major concern of children from various schools, shown in drawings of the cross beside the crescent high above the Pyramids. The results of the survey indicated that the country's children are optimistic about the future and are very proud of the revolution. They are also fully aware of the importance of their role in building Egypt's future. The children's answers to the survey questions also indicated that they were ready to assist in building the new Egypt, Zidan said, pointing to the 96 per cent of children who said "yes" in answer to the question, "Would you like to help Egypt and make it better?" Perhaps because the survey took place during school time, 52 per cent of the participants said that the way to make a better Egypt was for the country's pupils to study. Some 65 per cent of those taking part also said that they had helped clean the streets after the revolution, indicating the environmental awareness they feel. The children's drawings and the words written on them reflected their feelings towards Egypt, the inscriptions including the words, "Make Egypt a better place," "This is Egypt, the land of everything, clean, safe and democratic," and "Clean it and take care of it." While many adults believe that they control their children's thoughts, one child was keeping his thoughts about the future to himself. In answer to a question about who might be the country's next president, he wrote "secret". Take care, dear parents: your children are very much aware of their political rights. After all, aren't they all members of the post-revolution generation? Some 50 per cent of the children also replied, "help the poor" when asked, "What would you like to tell the new president?" While the children's words and drawings touch hearts as well as minds, they are also deep and to the point. "My words, my wishes and myself are allways loyal to you, Egypt," was one child's response to the question of "How do you express your love for Egypt?"
