Azza Kamel

Azza is bridging the social gap that children from underprivileged areas suffer by equipping them with a set of vital abilities and skills through her community education center. The center employs a comprehensive module that employs experiential learning and non-formal education, within a participatory and pedagogical framework, to overcome the root causes that keep children of marginalized areas locked in poverty cycles, namely: exclusion, inadequate education and limited skills.

Azza’s idea is to bridge the social gap that children from underprivileged areas suffer by equipping them with a vital set of skills to overcome the exclusion and isolation they live in. She is accomplishing this through her pioneering model for a community education center, Alwan wa Awtar or A&A (Arabic for Crayons and Strings), which offers kids knowledge, exposure and development. The center employs a comprehensive module that uses experiential learning and non-formal education to enhance children’s self development and learning within a participatory and empowering pedagogical framework. Further, Azza presents all activities under the banner of art. By building children's confidence, broadening their knowledge and sharpening their skills, Azza unlocks their potential and teaches them that they are full members of society. She equips them with the same tools that kids of more elite social classes have access to, thereby giving underprivileged youth the opportunity to carve their own niche in the labor market and ascend socially, culturally and economically. Azza’s center is located in El-Hadaba El-Wusta – Moqattam, an underserved area in Cairo. There, she started a pilot program and is currently replicating her model by transferring knowledge and providing on-the-job training for citizen organization (CO) staff. She is also documenting A&A experiences to create a manual and tool-kit that can be used by other organizations wishing to replicate her comprehensive social development strategy, as well as training public school teachers interested in using her techniques in their classes.

Countries in the Middle East face their largest youth cohort in modern history, however young people also boast the highest unemployment rates, high exposure to health risks, and a precarious educational system. Public schooling in Egypt has come under heavy fire as graduating students do not possess the skills needed in today’s competitive market nor the discipline of quality education. This is especially the case for the youth of the Egyptian middle-class, which is becoming rapidly impoverished.

Most of the underprivileged classes in Egypt are centered in the country’s slums. The 2006 population census found that almost 15.5 million people were living in slums; the worst of which are in Cairo. In these areas, it is common for ten family members to reside in a single small room, without furniture or running water. In recent years, Egyptians from across the nation have moved to the capital city in search of a better life, and ended up living in poor housing, work underpaid jobs as their children are crammed into inadequate classrooms.

Efforts aiming to develop slum areas generally do not focus on children, most of which are enrolled in local public schools where there may be up to 60 children in a classroom. Although UNICEF (2008) indicates that the enrollment for primary and secondary schools is relatively high for both boys and girls, at 96 percent and 92 percent respectively, net attendance rates are much lower, especially for girls.

A few programs have started to aim their services towards children in squatter areas in order to give them a second chance at life. For instance, the Canadian International Development Center has attempted to partner with the Ministry of Education in order to reform the national curricula, while other programs have concentrated on health-related issues with a focus on girls. The first of these programs is “New Visions,” implemented in 1994 and funded by USAID. It targets girls age 9 to 20 and aims to empower them using non-formal education, particularly through workshops and training sessions on basic life skills. The Center for Development and Population Activities (CEDPA) is now implementing this program as well as a complimentary program for boys, concentrating on the importance of gender equality.

While a few initiatives have tried to develop children and complement the current educational system, none of those have been concerned with educating disadvantaged children or with preparing them to become fully integrated citizens. While a few initiatives have implemented recreational art projects, those have been mostly of short duration and limited scope. Existing initiatives have instead focused on implementing in-school formal education programs or recreational activities in different neighborhoods and are mostly project-based.

Since 2001, Azza worked in the community of Moqattam with the women of Fat’het Kheir: a grassroots volunteer organization which focuses on development through empowerment as opposed to charity. Working with the community, Azza realized that many of the problems of exclusion and underdevelopment that youth of marginalized communities face could be prevented if one worked with children at an early age to help them develop basic values like responsibility, commitment, and respect.

Azza founded Alwan wa Awtar with 30 children from the families of Fat’het Kheir and based it’s model on experiential learning. Before assigning children to the different activities according to their preferences, Azza opens the doors of her center to kids wishing to spend time reading or painting, giving them a place to spend their free time, away from the violence that pervades the area.

Azza instills values of tolerance, respect, freedom of expression, and self confidence indirectly through program activities and by providing role models for the children through her staff. Alwan wa Awtar uses theatre and music to build the children's confidence and teach them teamwork as they hold performances for their neighborhoods. Children also learn about hygiene and nutrition through cooking classes.

Azza also works to promote positive development by fostering creativity, improving kids’ communication skills and sharpening their analytical thinking abilities. In the center, children are encouraged to conduct research and are introduced to debates, by participating in simulation models of international organizations like the League of Arab Nations to debate issues of interest to the region. The center also offers informal education programs, teaching foreign languages through painting and cooking, and physics through craft-making.

The center also overcomes children’s exclusion and confinement to their neighborhood by taking them on field trips to venues of culture and science to broaden their horizons and awaken their curiosity. Azza introduces the children to the world around them by working with foreign volunteers who come from different races and religions. Over the past two years Azza managed to attract over 200 volunteers from different countries, exposing youth to cultural diversity and instilling values of tolerance.

To spread the impact of Alwan wa Awtar, Azza works with other COs targeting children in marginalized areas. A&A team helps other COs replicate and adapt Azza's method by coaching staff members of other COs, either by directly giving classes at the organizations or by providing orientation sessions to visiting volunteers who come to observe the working of Alwan wa Awtar and to get familiar with the tools used. To date Azza, has transferred the Alwan wa Awtar model to five other COs (Nahdet El Mahrousa, Tawasol, Masr El Mahrousa, and Alashanek ya Baladi) and is replicating it through her staff through another CO in a marginalized area of Cairo (Stabl Antar).

Azza has also approached public by partnering with teachers interested in adopting her methodology in their classrooms. In the next three years, Azza plans to reach out to five public schools to use her methodology and program. Her experience with one school in the same area is currently being assessed, and based on the results she will develop and spread her plan among schools, customizing the methodology to their needs.

In the coming five years, in order to fully realize her vision, Azza plans to establish a full-fledged community center that offers artistic activities, sports activities, and comprehensive non-formal curriculum and have facilities and a public library at the visitor’s disposition. In the next ten years, she hopes all COs working in slum areas in Egypt will be acquainted with her model and to adapt it to their own needs.

Azza grew up outside of Egypt, but moved often between countries due to her father’s work as a diplomat. At the age of 12, she was sent to boarding school in England where she was the only foreign student. During that time, she started a volunteer program for students to visit the elderly, which gave her a sense of satisfaction and highlighted the rewards of volunteering.

Returning to Egypt to study business administration at the American University Cairo, Azza was struck by the few channels available for youth wishing to serve their community. Following graduation, she worked in the corporate sector, and then joined the development field, serving with the United Nations Development Program and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. Azza also worked with the The Institute of Cultural Affairs for the Middle East and North Africa where she initiated the “Volunteer Child” which aims at embedding the spirit of volunteerism in school children in Egypt.

After working in international organizations, Azza searched for a way to get more involved in the community. She joined Fathet Kheir, a community based CO offering micro-loans and training to empower women of Moqattam Hills, where she is now vice president. Working in the neighborhood for seven years, Azza gained the community women's confidence and trust, so this was the natural place for her to launch her own center.