CAIRO – It was an extremely hot day, but this did nothing to stop a 23-year-old volunteer called Asmaa Roq from putting a smile on the faces of a needy family in a poor Cairo district, spreading the spirit of charity in the holy fasting month of Ramadan. Asmaa's mission is part of a big campaign launched by a local charitable organisation to help poor families in the African northern country, where poverty has reached a new high, according to World Bank statistics. In Ramadan, Muslims fast from dawn until dusk. Helping the poor, making needy people happy and spreading the principle of takaful (social interdependence) are among its main features. The Prophet Mohamed taught that those who break the fast of a needy person get the same thawab (reward) as if they fasted like them. Local charitable organisations attempt to feed needy people, not only in Cairo, but all over the country, particularly in Upper Egypt's poor villages, where lack of humanitarian services and infrastructure has a big impact on people's daily lives. "The donations this year have been affected by the political unrest after the revolution. Businessmen are donating less than in previous years," another volunteer called el-Shimaa Sayyed (also 23), told the Egyptian Mail. She works for the Mujadedun charitable organisation and is responsible for their Ramadan Bag campaign. The ‘Shantet Ramadan' (Ramadan Bag) project is being spearheaded by Mujadedun and another charitable organisation, Nahdet Misr, in co-operation with the Oasis volunteering team in Ain Shams University. “Our target is to help 10,000 poor people who are in dire need of help and suffering from harsh conditions,” added el-Shimaa. Before distributing the bags, they scanned the poorest districts of the Egyptian capital, places like Baten el-Baqara, el-Madabegh, Torob el-Yahud, Torob el-Ghafeer, Akeshak Abul Saoud and el-Doweiqa. According to the World Food Programme (WFP), a series of shocks have affected Egypt in 2011, including internal civil disturbances, yet more rises in food prices and a massive return of migrants from Libya. A recent WFP video shows how hard it is to live on $1 per day. The video was taken in Egypt, where 19.6 per cent of the population – almost 14.2 million people – living below the poverty line, on less than a dollar a day. "These are not the only districts that will receive the bags, but they are our priority and, if we get more donations, we will distribute bags in other poor districts too," she added. After making a scan of the most needy families, Hajja Malaka family was deemed to be deserving of help during Ramadan. Hajja Malka, who has no income, has seven children to feed. Her late husband was a makwagi (ironing man). The organisation has already paid for two of her children to go back to school, while helping their mother open a small kiosk for washing products. "We started collecting donations a month before Ramadan and looked for the best food prices," el-Shimaa added during her interview, noting that donations are welcome throughout the holy fasting month. "We don't just want to give food to the needy, as we also want to improve their living conditions by means of a campaign called ‘Insan' [Human]," stresses Asmaa. Insan's main aim is to curb poverty and ignorance and help people whose children are deprived of education by sending them to school. Volunteers help these families for six months to a year with many issues such as health, social problems and education, until a satisfactory outcome is reached. Moreover, about ten projects, one of them in el-Madabegh, will be launched, to help poor families take the initiative themselves. The consequences of the revolution have had a noticeable impact on campaigns instigated by charitable organisations. One such campaign is using the month of Ramadan to spread a spirit of unity between Muslims and Copts. Social networking sites are a great tool for volunteer groups to promote their campaigns and aims. Most charitable organisations announce their projects on Facebook, since this will attract many people's attention. The latest campaign this Ramadan is ‘Shenatet Meen?' (Whose Bag is This?), launched by the Khatwat (Steps) charity. "In previous years, Ramadan bags were only given to Muslims, but now we want to help poor people affected by the sectarian conflicts between Muslims and Copts in Cairo and other towns," said Mohamed Sobahi, 23, a social development volunteer. "The idea that a Muslim gives a bag to a Copt or vice versa impresses the recipient, particularly since the aim of the campaign is to help the poor, end sectarian conflicts and boost national unity. “The name of the campaign, ‘Shenatet Meen?', is derived from a Muslim name ‘Ameen' and a Coptic name, ‘Meena',” he told this paper. “The word meen is symbolic, we're helping both Copts and Muslims.”
