3alraseef Organizes Annual Children’s Fun Day, Encourages Children to Dream Big

3alRaseef student club encouraged 70 children from an unprivileged area named El Zelzal to explore their passions in their annual Children’s Fun Day last weekend. Club members set up six different stations throughout the AUC gardens, each featuring a booth where children could experience a new activity that would trigger a specific passion. They were given materials to experience the lives of painters, news anchors, scientists, filmmakers, debaters and chefs. Club members even arranged a screening of the videos produced by the children at the filmmaking station and awarded Oscars for the best actress, actor, director and scriptwriter.

“We hope that they’ll remember this event and the things they were able to experience,” said Farah Kandil, president of 3alRaseef and business administration senior. “If they ever start to think about leaving school or begin to feel negative about their lives, we wish this will give them a little hope or dream that they can be what they want.”

Founded in 2012, 3alRaseef is a community service club on campus that concentrates on serving the growing community of street children in Egypt. “We have two main goals: to help street children, dealing with different NGOs, and to reduce the number of children on the streets,” explained Kandil. “We mainly try to reach those between the ages of 9 and 13. This is the ideal age range in which we would be able to affect them and shape their way of thinking.”

3alRaseef club members have been working particularly in El Zelzal, delivering weekly sessions, which include academic tutoring – specifically in math, English and Arabic – as well as developmental activities, such as teamwork, ethics, debate and leadership skills. “But these activities aren’t enough,” noted Kandil. “We can’t achieve change only by visiting their area. To optimize the output of our developmental program, we support the sessions with cultural trips and our annual Children’s Day.”

In addition to the booths dedicated to exploring goals and interests, 3alRaseef offered the children a chance to enjoy the AUC gardens, preparing fun games for the children to play throughout the day. “We wanted to take them out of their bubble for a day,” explained Kandil. “This large green area and fresh air are things they don’t normally have, so we wanted to make sure we used the day fully.”

Outside of their services in El Zelzal, 3alRaseef club members also offer micro-projects in different underserved areas. The small projects are organized as an alternative to bring families some income, on the condition that the families keep their children in schools. The club continuously works in collaboration with different NGOs to reach different communities throughout Egypt. They are currently working on a partnership to expand their activities to cover additional areas.