«There she found Om Fathy, an old and seemingly very poor woman who was occupied with cleaning the place ..»
Behind every great success story there is an inspirational turning point. AYB, a dream and a vision of a better reality for this country, is no exception.
It all began with Raghda El Ebrashi, a 12 year old child, encountering a moment of enlightenment that would change her perception of the world forever.
On her first school trip outside Cairo, Raghda went to Bel-bayes, Sharkeya, to visit a home for the elderly. There she found Om Fathy, an old and seemingly very poor woman who was occupied with cleaning the place. Raghda, who was yet inexperienced, involved in her luxurious “Cairo” life and pretty much unaware of the real face of poverty, stood and wondered about this woman and the reasons why someone would be working with such worn out clothes on.
Om Fathy noticed Raghda. She approached her with a warm smile and gentle words saying that she – Raghda - is in the age of her children. She invited her over to her place to introduce her to her children. Did she know back then that by her invitation she would have such a magnificent impact on Raghda’s life? That’s a question that leaves us wondering about the human’s ability to give even in the hardest conditions.
«Raghda found herself crammed in an extremely small "room" that somehow "miraculously" managed to hold a total of seven children and their mother..»
Taken by the kind invitation and her spurred curiosity to know more about this woman, Raghda went along with Om Fathy only to be dazzled by the reality of a life she never imagined its existence. At Om Fathy’s place, Raghda found herself crammed in an extremely small “room” that somehow “miraculously” managed to hold a total of seven children and their mother, Om Fathy. Raghda searched with her eyes for any other space hidden. None was found. She felt her shoes drown in the mud beneath her and couldn’t help but feel uncomfortable in this “crowded” and very hot place where she wouldn’t find the conventional AC breeze and the granted freedom of movement.
The children – all wearing either the upper half or the under half of clothes - started exploring Raghda who was trying to figure out how someone could even have a seat in this place. Om Fathy furnished a part of her “jalabeya” for Raghda to sit on and asked her why she looked so uncomfortable. Raghda told her she missed the AC back home now since it’s too hot. Om Fathy then asked her to list the “things” she has at home. Raghda started telling them about all the “things” she has; the toys she plays with, her clothes, her school and all what she – at that moment – held of ultimate importance in her life. “Is that all you have?” asked Om Fathy. “Yeah, guess so!” was the answer by Raghda. “Well, then look up”, demanded Om Fathy. Raghda looked up to find and to partially understand what Om Fathy meant back then. She found – or better said – did not find…a ceiling.
At this young age, Raghda came out with a single question of wonder: “How can someone live without a ceiling above him/her?” As the years passed, Raghda kept recalling this incident with Om Fathy and her missing ceiling with an increasingly wider perspective. The question turned now to be: “How can people take everything for granted even this precious ceiling that provides them with all the shelter?” Everything is questionable in life and nothing is secure. She realized how much people needed to appreciate - above all - the real essential pillars of life. Those pillars form the dignity of a person and are the foundation stones upon which AYB was built.
«The dream of a better reality for Egypt starts with a passion spread out throughout the country; a passion holding no credit for anyone but is rather identified with ultimate commitment to the cause. AYB carries this dream and is inviting everyone to dream along.»
The next years following her visit to Om Fathy, Raghda started to volunteer with NGOs like Fathet Kheir and others and she worked on several campaigns for social development. She made a certain commitment that grew stronger as the time passed. She wanted to make the difference in Egypt – for Egypt and most certainly for the people in Egypt like Om Fathy who taught her the most valuable lesson of her life.
Raghda entered the university with high expectations of finding enough enthusiastic students like her. Unfortunately her hopes soon vanished as she discovered how students thought of and treated people of lower-income level. Stereotypes of the maid, the driver and the doorkeeper were a disappointment especially when coming from some people who represented the best education in the country. It was justifiable though; no one felt what she felt and the reason cleared itself; they didn’t see nor live what she saw and lived. Even the ones who tried reaching out for the people in need, they did it using the traditional ways of charity.
The vision that has been evolving ever since she was a child was finally translated into a plan and an outline; Raghda knew she had to link educated students with the real world that represented the majority of this country and which marked itself with poverty, ignorance and in many cases despair.
The belief was and still is; if every able citizen believed in his/her ability to help and started helping the ones in need then there would be no poverty in this country. This was the vision and the starting point with the university students at the AUC by transmitting the concept of civic engagement and social development to them rather than seasonal, pity-driven charity.
Development is the path and total reform is the ultimate goal. Offering more than financial help and making the idea itself the center of attention and cutting any dependency on a person identify the kind of development Raghda had on mind.
She started the AYB organization (later called franchise) in 2002 at the university where she invited volunteers from the students to join and instead of giving “money” to the poor they would actually dedicate their time and become active players and change agents in people’s lives.
Consider the following example and imagine the impact: an 18 year old AUC student would dedicate total two years of his life to educate children from a poor area in Cairo. AYB Hypothesis is: this young man will change and his perspective and evaluation of everything in his life will take a whole different weight. AYB, as Raghda imagined it, is a change engine of people; people of both sides of the equation.
The AYB club that started at the AUC had at first some resistance but then quickly found many supporters from the students who wanted to experience something different that would actually make them feel good about themselves and add more to their life meaning.
The success of AYB at the AUC led Raghda to start her NGO in 2005 after graduation. Holding on to the vision of AYB which promised to “break down the wall of separation” between the upper and lower segments of the society, the NGO kept its club at the AUC. It developed the idea and started other clubs at other universities in Cairo as well. The brilliant idea of the franchising system emerged where the “AYB manual” can be implemented anywhere under no obligation of exclusive AYB management or even copyrights. Again, it is the idea that matters and not the person nor AYB itself. The AYB clubs, though, get support from the NGO. They’re also connected to each other for mutual benefit. The network of university clubs act in harmony with the NGO. You can find more information on the AYB franchising system here!
Today, AYB for sustainable development, is one of the most successful and innovative youth NGOs in Egypt. The key here is always that at AYB; we are not trying to change a temporary reality but we are changing the perception and therefore the rules of the game for good. We believe in the inclusiveness and embracement of all the people in the society simply because every person does count. The dream of a better reality for Egypt starts with a passion spread out throughout the country; a passion holding no credit for anyone but is rather identified with ultimate commitment to the cause. AYB carries this dream and is inviting everyone to dream along.
