Egyptian alumni decided one of the best ways to celebrate the YES program’s 20^th anniversary was by giving back to their communities. After discovering that not much attention is given to the disability community, they decided to conduct a workshop for children with disabilities. On June 21, fourteen YES alumni from different governorates across Egypt came together in El Fayoum to implement a one-day, interactive workshop for 38 youth with disabilities. 

Prior to the workshop, alumni received training from professionals on best practices for working with youth with disabilities. The workshop they developed included teambuilding activities, lessons on the concept of culture and self-awareness, and arts and crafts. The sessions were delivered over the course of 6 hours, starting with a very interactive icebreaker activity, to help students get to know the alumni and each other.

To end the day, students learned how to make puppets out of paper and markers. This session brought out their love of colours and their creative side. Alumni also used this session to introduce the concept of different perspectives.

At the end of the day, the alumni felt a sense of accomplishment after hearing the feedback from the students and their supervisors about how amazing and beneficial this day was for the students. All the hard work paid off when they witnessed the smiles and laughter on the faces around them. All the attendees, the staff and members of the sporting club where the workshop took place were extremely impressed. When outsiders asked about those people wearing blue shirts, the alumni were proud to say that they are YES alumni.

The alumni gained experience working with and designing training for children with disabilities, which they hope will enable them to develop an even better one in the future. The alumni are aiming to start a series of workshops for the disability community under the title of “You Are Able!” to empower and energize both the participants and the alumni.

The alumni organizers: Houda Mahmoud ’20, Nader Hanna ’13, Radwa Alashkar ’15, Moheb Hanna ’22, Mohammad Nouh ’22, Mariam Shohdy ’19, Bishoy Shehata ALEX, Mazen Abualainin ’18, Nadeen Abdel Ghany ’19, Yousef Barakat ’22, Mahmoud Ahmed ’22, Yousef Farghaly ’18, Rawan Kotb ‘20 Mennatallah Abouzeid ‘13