photo credits : Hadeer Ghareeb
Arabic text below.
I am Hadeer, from Egypt, Currently, I am working as a field Officer for Health and Forensic Programs at the International Committee of the Red Cross in Cairo. I am also keeping myself busy doing several activities on the side.
It has been 4 years now since I started to make workshops to make toys out of trash. These workshops are mainly for kids, but sometimes for adults as well, and sometimes, in the end, we make a theatrical play with our toys or marionettes. ( after several trials I stopped doing the play and focused on making toys with kids as they can represent themselves doing whatever toy they want, besides this method requires less time )
I have done these workshops in several places, 3 in Cairo - one for adults-, one in New Delhi India, one in Bogota Colombia and one in Nabq protected area in Sinai Egypt. (this place is entirely closed due to security reasons )
(In Colombia I was working as in a pharmaceutical company and in weekends I was volunteering in an NGO with the purpose of democratizing art. In India, I was personally contacted an NGO that helped me with issuing the visa, and so on )
While I was studying at university, I was also volunteering in Kafr Ghatati development project, we were trying to build a model for community development there, we also believed in specializations so we tried to bring the experts in every field, there I didn’t do any workshops but I was responsible for the health and children program.
I started to learn about the world of making toys and marionettes while I was still studying at the faculty of pharmacy and I joined a workshop to learn how to make a marionette, this workshop was very long and expensive but I enjoyed it and learned a lot from it. Then I participated in an environmental conference in China, and there I saw a lot of recycling techniques. Started mixing both together and started giving upcycling workshops to make marionettes; It was for profit at first, then after seeing the passion in the children’s eyes decided to do it not for profit. ( I did only 2 for profit workshops). Even the one workshop I did in Colombia no money was used at all ( all the colors and sticking materials were self-made or we used old stuff that people donated or didn’t use )
The products that the children make are always different but somehow have something in common; comparing the results always surprises me. For example; the workshop I did in Sinai the children draw normal houses like the ones in cities or “Tv” which is not really suitable to their living environment and when asked if they see cartoons or movies they said they don’t watch tv; this makes me want to understand more why and gives me the motive to go to other remote communities and compare the results. ( I want to visit more Indigenous communities and explore more, there is one community in Colombia living in the desert having a mix between African and latin America, also want to visit some communities in Tanzania and Kongo )
One of the places I visited was this Nabq protected area in Sinai.
The place is on the borders, very near to the Tiran and Sanafir islands, it is an environmentally protected area and therefore The ministry of environment is responsible for the place, but it seems that an investor had bought the land - or whatever-, which makes it really hard to get into it and so the economy is based on fishing rather than tourism like most of the nearby places. The men get the fishes and go to sell it in Sharm El-Sheikh but the women and children don’t have any connection with the “outside world” they rarely go out of Nabq.
I was there camping, it was a camp with environmental goals like cleaning the beaches and so on, and entering was not easy even after having all the required permits from the Ministry of Environment. There we arranged with a nomadic community leader from the local community and discussed the idea of making a workshop for the kids, he was reluctant at first but then he accepted, without enthusiasm; even though he was watching the process and was enjoying it even by the end he let his wife to personally thank me and this was a big deal for me.
The workshops differ depending on the place and the number of children involved. Can span for 3 days or can only be one and a half hours( like the one in Sinai )
The workshops I do are always via other institutions or organizations ( in Egypt for example I was working under the umbrella of Alwan we Awtar, or even a tourism company whatever works ) and always with some volunteers from these organizations. The only one I had no volunteers was in India and we, the children and me, had no common language but it worked some how and had successful outputs.
I start the workshop by showing the children a picture or two for toys done by other children ( usually I don’t show them a lot of pictures in order to let them go wild and think themselves so as not to do the same as in the pictures ) even in Sinai I didn’t have any pictures I just talked with them about what they can do and let them go. Then I ask them to draw what they want to make, Next step is to analyze together these drawings and break them down to see how we can make them using whatever is there in their environment. Finally, we build them together.
Children are always more creative and more daring to try and fail more than adults and they come up with ideas better than the ones I have in mind. I always leave them to try and don’t force them to work with whatever methods and they even come up with ideas that at the beginning I think it won’t work but in the end they make it work and come up with creative solutions.
Currently, along with my day work, I am studying a lot Humanitarian medical logistics and learning Spanish. Moreover I am planning to study ( disaster management ), as I am aiming at changing my job and location, hoping with the experience I have from my work and my degree I can apply to volunteer in programs like the UN program which could allow me to travel more and then I can disseminate these workshops again on the side in different places.
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انا هدير غريب من القاهرة مصر.
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حاليا انا بشتغل مسئول ميداني لبرامج الصحة والطب الشرعي في اللجنة الدولية للصليب الاحمر - بعثة القاهرة… دايما بجانب شغلى بعمل حاجات على جمب. بقالى 4 سنين (من 2013) بعمل ورش فنيه بنعمل لعب وعرايس (ماريونت) من الزباله- الورش للاطفال وساعات للكبار برده وفى بعض الاحيان بنعمل عرض مسرحى فى الاخر.
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بعد تجارب مختلفة الورش بتركز على عمل لعب للأطفال - اللعب دى هم بيعبروا بها عن نفسهم زى العروض المسرحية وبكده الورش بتاخد وقت أقل.
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عملت الورش دى فى كذا مكان - فى القاهره 3 منهم واحده للكبار فى نيودلهى فى الهند وورشه فى كولومبيا وآخرهم فى محميه نبق فى سينا( المكان مقفول تمام على الناس لدواعى امنيه )
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( فى كولومبيا كنت بشتغل فى شركه ادويه فى اجازة اخر الاسبوع كنت بتطوع مع منظمة أهلية هدفها انها تخلى الفن اكثر ديمقراطية. فى الهند مع منظمة محلية ساعدتني في اجراءات الفيزا و هكذا …. )
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فى الكليه كنت متطوعة فى كفر غطاطى كنا بنحاول نعمل نموذج للتنمية المجتمعية فى المكان وكنت مسئوله عن برامج الصحة والاطفال ( فى كفر غطاطى كنا مؤمنين بالتخصص بنجيب أهل التخصص تشتغل فى مجالها معملتش ورش لعب مع الأطفال هناك )
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بدأت اتعرف على عالم صناعة الالعاب وعرايس الماريونت وانا فى الكلية ( صيدلة القاهرة) اشتركت فى ورشه لعمل العرايس الماريونت, كانت الورشة غاليه وطويله بس كانت ممتعه واتعلمت منها كتير. بعد كده روحت مؤتمر فى الصين للحفاظ على البيئة وشوفت طرق كثيرة لإعادة التدوير. وبدأت امزج الاتنين ببعض وابتديت اعمل ورش العمل لل up cycling لعمل العرايس . كان الهدف ربحي فى الاول. بعد كده لما شفت اهتمام الأطفال واندماجهم ابتديت اتجاهه انى اعمل الورش غير هادفة للربح.( عملت ورشتين بس هادفين للربح الباقى غير هادف للربح). ورشة زى اللى عملتها فى كولومبيا كانت من غير استخدام فلوس خالص ( الألوان والغرا كله صنعناه او استخدمنا حاجات قديمه )
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المنتجات اللى الأطفال بيعملوها بتبقى مختلفه بس فى حاجات مشتركة ومقارنة المنتجات يفاجئنى ساعات. فى اخر ورشه فى سيناء الأطفال رسموا بيوت عاديه زى اللى فى المدن او فى الافلام رغم انها مش مناسبه لبيئتهم ولما سألتهم لو بيتفرجوا على كرتون كتير بس طلعو مش بيتفرجوا على تلفزيون ده مخلينى عايزة افهم اكتر وعايزه اروح لمجتمعات اصليه بعيدة اكتر مجتمعات ليها هويه مختلفة واقارن النتائج.( عايزه اروح مجتمعات نائية كتير زى فى كولومبيا فى الصحرا فى مجتمع من فيه مزيج جميل من افريقيا وامريكا اللاتينه فى تنزانيا والكونغو …)
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من الاماكن اللى زرتها كانت محمية نبق :
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المكان على حدود سينا جمب تيران وصنافير - المكان محمية طبيعية عشان كده تابع لوزارة البيئة- بس تقريبا فى مستثمر سعودى اشتراه وده مخلي المحمية مش سهل الوصول اليها وده خلى الاقتصاد قائم على الصيد مش السياحة زى معظم الاماكن هناك. الرجاله بتاخد السمك وتروح تبيعه فى شرم الشيخ. الستات والأطفال ملهمش اى اتصال تقريبا مع المجتمعات اللى بره المحمية.
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انا كنت هناك اول مره فى مخيم _كامب) باهداف بيئيه زى تنظيف الشواطىء وكان الدخول ليها صعب حتى مع وجود تصريح من وزاره البيئه.هناك اتعرفت على واحد من اهل المحمية وعرضت عليه فكرة الورشة للاطفال, مكنش متحمس فى الاول بس فى الاخر وافق. بس هو كان متابع الورشة وكان مبسوط بيها حتى فى اخر الورشة خلى مراته تسلم على وتشكرني بنفسها وده كان شيء كبير بالنسبة لي.
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الورش تختلف باختلاف المكان فى عدد الاطفال المشاركين ومدتها ممكن تستمر 3 ايام وممكن تبقى ساعه ونص زى اللى فى النبق فى سينا
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الورش اللى بعملها دايما بتبقى عن طريق منظمات او جمعيات تانيه ( فى مصر زى الوان واوتار مثلا او حتى شركة سياحة زى اللى فى سينا) وبمشاركة متطوعين منهم.
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المره اللى مكنش فى حد من المتطوعين معايا كانت فى الهند ومكنش فى لغه مشتركه بيني وبين الاطفال بس الورشة نجحت برده وكانت تجربه كويسه.
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ببدأ الورشة بانى اورى الاطفال صوره او اتنين للعب اطفال تانيه عملوها ( مش صور كتيره عشان اسيبهم يفكروا هم ميعملوش اللى فى الصور) - حتى فى سينا مكنش فى صور اتكلمت معاهم بس وبعدها الأطفال بتنطلق. بعد كده بطلب منهم يرسموا اللعب اللى فى خيالهم. بعدها بنحلل الصور ونشوف ممكن نصنعها من ايه وهم بيدوروا على المواد اللى فى محيطهم من عصاية مقشة لاى نوع من انواع المواد الغير مستخدمة ونبدأ نعملها مع بعض.
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الاطفال دايما بيبقوا اكثر ابداعا و بيجربوا اكتر من الناس اللى سنها اكبر وبيطلعوا بأفكار بتبقى احسن من الافكار اللى فى دماغى. ( دايما بسيبهم يجربوا مبفرضش عليهم طريقه معينه واسيبهم يجربوا طرق انا ممكن اكون شايفها مش حتنفع بس فى الاخر هم بيوصلوا لحلول مبدعه )
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حاليا انا بدرس كتير جنب الشغل عشان مش عجبنى الشغل اللى بشتغله ولا الوضع فى مصر عموما بدرس disaster management اداره الكوارث ) بهدف انى مع الدراسه وخبره الشغل اقدر اشترك او اتطوع فى برنامج للامم المتحدة يتيح لي القدرة على السفر ومنها بجانب شغلى برده اقدر اعمل الورش فى كذا مكان.
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I was wondering if you can tell us more about what happened in Kafr Ghatati, what was the story behind it and how it ended ?
