Summer 2009

The Water Table!

Some of the younger kids enjoying the water table.

Everyone Can Be a Hero!

Finding Yohannes

Finding a small boy in the crowded Cairo is not easy. Yohannes Gabriel, a 9 year old Sudanese boy, is the inspiration for this project. His humor, attitude, and smile first touched me while I was teaching 2^nd grade at the Gugu Learning Center. However, it is not easy to stay in touch with a child while you are away for a year. I was nervous that we would not be able to find Yohannes and allow him to experience the center that he inspired. I had a vague idea of where he lived, two streets from the metro station at Hadayek el Maadi. I had no idea which apartment, which building, or any other details. I did, however, remember that his mother was blind in one eye. After speaking to several people involved at the center, including Yohannes’ teacher at his new school (coincidently one of my former adult students), we were able to contact his mother whose name I learned is Rhoda. A mother of a child at the center knew of Yohannes and put us in contact with the family. Finally we had found Yohannes! The little boy, who had now grown tall but maintained that inspirational smile, showed up at the center wearing a pink dress shirt and gray pants. He seemed a little overwhelmed by the center. Unfortunately he showed up at 6 when the center was closing, but he showed up the next day ready to play! I am thankful that the Sudanese community is so well connected to each other that they are able to find one small boy in one of the most crowded cities in the world. Welcome Yohannes and thank you for what you have started!

A Peek into the Yard!

120 kids and counting!

Cairo is full of suprises. Something extremely well planned can completely flop in seconds and the most disorganized event can be a success. We could have 10 children come to the center or 100 children. Fortunately, we have had the overwhelming surprise of currently having 120 children registered for “A Yard for Yohannes.” I must admit that we were only planning on 60 kids, 30 for each day, but the response has exceeded my expectations. We are now at the point where we have to have a waiting list in case spots open up. Some parents have really been upset, asking us to register just their children. However, the size of the center and the wear of the toys prevents us from having an open number of registrants. As it is now, the amount of children makes the center very crowded. We are fortunate that they play well together and that they use the toys nicely, but when you look at the room, it can be exhausting even for the bystander. We can only hope that one day we will be able to open up more centers to serve the needs of these children.

Our Opening Celebration

To celebrate the opening of our new center we had a party with the children and their parents on Sunday, June 7th. Approximately 60 kids plus adults were at the party. Not all of these children were registered, so registration also occurred during the party. We played “Simon Says” and “Hot Potato” as party games and the winning children were ecstatic with their prizes. The eleven year old boy, Sabri, was so excited with his Frisbee. We even wrote his name on it so that no one else would take it. We bought 3 cakes and bottles of soda as well because no party is complete without the half fruit/ half chocolate ugly cakes that they have here in Egypt. It was so hot as we served the food that the cake began to melt as we put it on the plates. The great thing about children is that they don’t care what the cake looks like as long as they can eat it. We also used this time to introduce those involved with the center and tell everyone about our inspiration, Yohannes. We also explained the rules and expectations of the center while we had a majority of kids there. It was great to see everyone there for our opening celebration and see the kids’ anxious faces. After all, even thought this was an opening celebration, they would not be able to play with the toys until the next day…