2014-2015 Egyptian Seeds Newsletter

Newsletter 2014/2015

Seeds of Peace allowed me to discover my true potential through “challenging my comfort zones. I am blessed to be able pass on my experience in helping youth discover their own potential . ”

Foreword:

— Mostafa Ismail, Egyptian Programs Coordinator

Treaties are negotiated by governments; peace is made by people. Since 1993, Seeds of Peace has set the standard in international peace-building by providing exceptional young people and educators from regions of conflict with an otherwise impossible opportunity to meet their historic enemies face-to-face at the Seeds of Peace International Camp in Maine.

In Memory of Wil Smith The Seeds of Peace community mourns the passing of Wil Smith—counselor, camp director, mentor and friend to all of us—after a three year battle with cancer. Egyptian Seeds gathered in February to honor his memory. They spoke of his kindness and patience, and his eagerness to help all those around him. In the words of Leslie Lewlin, Executive Director at Seeds of Peace, “[Will] reminded us all—through his own courageous actions and his thoughtful words—what was truly important in life, and inspired us to be better people, to care for those around us and to believe in ourselves. Thousands of lives around the world are richer today because he was a part of them—thousands of Seeds, counselors, Educators, facilitators and more have been deeply influenced and inspired by their time with him”.

Car Wash for Peace:

Bridges to Peace:

Mere days after new campers returned from Seeds of Peace Camp in Maine, they gathered their materials and headed out to the first event of the Seeds year: Carwash Fundraiser 2014. Put together by Amr Hisham (1st 2013), the event spanned over two days and took place in the parking lot of a reputable sporting club in Cairo. 22 Seeds worked hard for a cumulative of nearly 20 hours, washing cars and collecting donations. One of the participants noted, “It was difficult to plan, and also difficult to execute. I didn’t expect it to require so much hard work and communication with everyone. Each of us had their own task (cleaning windows, talking to people about donations, checking for stains..etc), and we had to coordinate to make sure we had enough time to finish all the cars we needed to wash. But it was all worth it!” Money collected from the event was used to support further programming.

In October 2014, 30 Seeds walked Bridges to Peace, an annual walk raising money and support for the vital work of Seeds of Peace. The walk is one of many Seeds of Peace fundraising events worldwide that take place each autumn in the weeks surrounding International Peace Day. The global event takes place in countries such as India, United Kingdom, Afghanistan, America, Palestine and many more— Seeds and friends walk the world’s iconic bridges in support of Seeds who are building bridges across borders every day. When asked for a comment, one of the walkers stated that “Bridges to Peace has been around for a couple of years, but this year it’s the first time for Egyptians to participate—and that’s why it was so significant for all of us. I felt like we were connecting to Seeds on a global scale, not just hosting a gathering of Egyptian Seeds.”

Field Trip To Cairo Institute of Liberal Arts and Sciences: To learn more about alternatives to the conventional educational opportunities students are offered, twelve Seeds headed to the Cairo Institute for Liberal Arts and Sciences, in February. They met with Karim Yassin, the founder, and chatted about their views on modern-day education. Some attended a class discussing themes revolving around the history of education in Egypt and compared it to modern day paradigms of education, while others shared ideas regarding educational reform in their schools and universities. Seeds expressed great interest in CILAS, and asked for more information about programs and courses available.

Chalkboard at CILAS reads: “There is no smoke without burning”, “Be the change”, “Accept mistakes”, “non-belonging” and “love is all what we can share”…

Tabe’ya Farm, Ras Sedr

Egyptian Seeds Retreat 2015 Ras Sedr, Sinai

OBJECTIVES

To reconnect with nature, to tackle difficult subjects, and to establish a renewed sense of community, facilitators and senior Seeds put together a four-day long program for Egyptian Seeds. In January 2015, 20 Seeds boarded a minibus and were on their way. Songs and games, excitement and anticipation filled the air.

PROCESS&OUTREACH

Seeds filled out application forms on the website, and details were sent out shortly.

Participants included Seeds who attended Camp from 2010 to 2014.

SETT IN G

On the night before the Retreat participants met with Mostafa Ismail (Programs Coordinator) for a brief session. They were introduced to their facilitators and staff, and shared their expectations of the program. 24 hours later, they were on a bus on their way to the camp site. After settling in and reviewing schedules, participants had a brief meditation session and went back to their huts for sleep. The following day was composed of activities relating to active listening and self-development. The second day of the Retreat was largely centered around selfexploration, self-discovery, and identity. On the third and final day of the program, campers discussed the obstacles they face in regards to Egyptian Seeds programming, as well as what they would like to see their annual programming look like, towards themselves and the surrounding community. Through surveys they filled out a few days after the Retreat, participants expressed feeling a strong sense of community and connection towards each other, which gave them the opportunity to discover one another and lay in their views about transforming their ideas into action through programs in Egypt.

A rural, remote camp in Ras Sedr. Each 23 participants stay in one hut, where they sleep and keep their belongings. A main tent is used for activities and mealtime.

All meals are slow-cooked on a fire, and a saltwater lake is within walking distance.

Story Telling Workshop: To be able to tell a strong story and critically interact with the stories told to us gives us more agency in the world. Ten Egyptian Seeds attended a workshop conducted by a journalist and two authors, to learn more about storytelling and its importance. They discussed the significance of stories, which ranged from “exposing reality” and “recording history” to “character development” and “seeing/understanding other people’s psychologies”. Eric Reidy, an American counselor and staff member who currently works as a freelance journalist based in Tunisia, analyzed with participants the different parts of news articles, detecting biases and lack of credibility in some of them. He introduced the field of journalism, speaking briefly about the roles of writers, news agencies, publishing companies and the stories themselves. Participants were given two prompts and asked to write about one of them for twenty minutes, and then share their writings with one another.

Prepared by: Habeeba Hashem Edited by: Mostafa Ismail

CONTACT INFORMATION Mostafa Ismail, Programs Coordinator mi smail@seedsofpeace.org