Day 7 - Welcome Taxes

Days like today remind me of the true meaning of Ramadan and the importance of being earnest. Me and my cousin spent the evening before sorting through mounds of clothes and goods donated by friends and family to distribute them into industry sized plastic bags for consignment along the Tour du Za’kah!

If I am to take away one thing and one thing only from my upbringing it would be the lesson learned about the importance of zak’ah. Donating to charity. I am eternally grateful to my parents for annually ensuring that this pillar is fulfilled in its entirety. The concept is simple and straightforward – you shall give 2.5% of your annual income to charity. How, when, what is entirely left up to your discretion. Again we return to the “up to your discretion”. For example, if you are a student you can still fulfill this condition by dedicating your time volunteering at a charity, fund-raising or even starting your own. If you are incapacitated you can entrust someone on your behalf. If you have a low income then you can also contribute in kind – time, goods, expertise, etc.  The options are as limitless as they are boundless. Simply put, do “good” to a relative proportion of your income and time vis-à-vis a charitable cause. This does not necessarily have to constitute a registered NGO or institute. You may find that one of your family members or friends is enduring hardship; helping them is also a means of zak’ah. One that in no way should be perceived by the recipient as sympathy; let’s be frank, zak’ah is as much for the recipient as it is for the benefactor. Philanthropy is what it has become on account of the dwindling number of people who follow up on this important duty.

The only family tradition I have ever really known is the one of giving za'kah. Tirelessly my parents would take on this responsibility every Ramadan to go round the different charitable institutions they knew or had heard of from friends and relatives to survey them and donate as they saw fit. In this way they built their own database of the different institutions across greater Cairo. Every year they would either add elements or vary them depending on the situation. For example, several times it was possible with the magnanimous help of a team of top cardio surgeons to provide heart surgeries pro bono to several cases they heard of that were rejected surgery by hospitals on account of cost. Over the years and with age, we (the offspring...) also became more and more involved and with every incoming independent pay check we grew more aware of our responsibilities and the importance of giving back. Call it a welcome taxation if you will. One where you are in full control of its disbursement.

List of  regular requirements

The first stop along our annual Tour du Za'kah began at Resala – one of the biggest and fastest growing charitable organisations in Egypt. It was started by university lecturer Dr Sherif Abdel Azim in 2003 (exact date not known) and now counts over 7 branches in Cairo and 32 in the whole of Egypt. The organisation is dependent on private donations and  the LE 10 monthly subscription from each one of its strong base of volunteers. The organisation is as traditional as it is innovative offering aid in the form of services, finance and educational training. It supports low-income families, orphanages, special needs centres and elderly homes. It does not donate goods but instead sells second-hand goods at much discounted prices at their branches and during organised markets. It does not merely support orphanages but links orphans with volunteer big brothers/sisters. It also works with medical students to provide free clinics, vaccinations and check-ups. If you may, Resala is the welfare state never realised by the government. For quite a few years now they have been on our za’kah route and rightfully so. They not only empower the marginalised but also the youth who dedicate their time and energy in ensuring a charity that started with one store in 2003 can become a network of charities by 2011. The youths of Egypt can be proud of this achievement.

 Most orphanages need a steady flow of rice, macaroni, oil, tomato sauce, milk, chicken, toiletpaper, etc. Exactly the items to be found at wholesale cash’n’carry markets of Cairo just in time for the next etappe. That is if you can navigate your way through the bends and find what you are looking for. Here’s how we fared:

Okay.. so we didn't buy ALL those boxes but we came close!

...and some more!

Gam'yet Hasanat el Ghayreya (permission to post granted)

The next etappe of the Tour du Za’kah took us to a local orphanage started by a couple who worked closely with social services (in the widest most unregulated sense of the word) and realised case after case the dire need for orphanages. Over the years they set-up three orphanages; a mixed house for children up to six years of age and two separate single-sex homes for children from six to twelve. We visited the mixed house that hosts 28 orphans comfortably and usually more given the cases they receive. The “social workers” have mapped the problem areas of Cairo and the surrounding strates and do monthly rounds. Some of those rounds entail collecting orphans from impoverished families, single mothers, relatives of deceased parents, etc. Every case is different and some stories belong to the annals of the macabre. The support provided by this orphanage is two-fold. Not only do the children receive shelter and education but they also receive timed therapy prepares the child and ensures they know their backgrounds.    

For every child a memoire is made of their time there

Round three was towards Sondos. An orphanage for special needs children. Such orphanages are rare in Cairo let alone Egypt. They often have special arrangements with the nearby hospitals for volunteer doctors to tend to the needs of the children. Especially to afford them with physiotherapy and prosthetics should the need arise. However, such orphanages are also the ones often neglected on account of the ever persistent stigma surrounding special needs children. Somehow only pretty children are worth feeding. A harsh statement maybe? We both know its true. The orphanage counts 68 children spread over 3 floors and 8 dorms. Each dorm counts 6 beds. The math never adds up when it comes to orphanages so it is important the donation is relative to the constraint. Here especially we donated items such as clothes, diapers and waterproof bedding. These items are expensive to come by in Eygpt and any such donations are always welcome.

The boys at Sondos - still smiling though I interrupted their favourite TV show!

In order to streamline the efforts of the 900 plus charitable organisations in Egypt and strategically link up volunteers, three IT-graduates started Kherna(our goodness/good will). An online platform for both NGOs and volunteers to find each other and even create working schedules. The students behind Kherna were frustrated at the lengths they had to go to find community outreach projects, institutions and charities to volunteer their time and energy. Kherna may be nothing new in the western hemisphere but a great advancement for Egypt where even the most advanced navigation system is likely to get lost if not breakdown out of equal frustration. Some of the worthiest charities are completely off the map and are often hidden in dire locations. So you can safely assume they would not have a facebook page. As the revolution has shown, the youth of Egypt are quite the avid fans of social networking so an online crowd-sourcing developmental platform such as Kherna is that final nudge to stimulate youth to take all that post-revolution hope and enthusiasm and put it back into their communities.

In between our etappes we still hand out envelopes of money to those along the way we find in need – be they traffic wardens, security guards, an elderly woman selling tissues and clearly not belonging to an organized mob…, a parking attendant, etc. Anyone who has yet to enjoy the newly instated minimum wage! I remember over ten years ago we used to hand out batik cloths for people to take to a local tailor and make clothes. The back of the car was stuffed to the brim with rolls of cloths in all colours and styles – it almost looked liked we had robbed Joseph of his techni-colour coat. Back then it was cheaper to make clothes then buy them. However, with the increasing gas and electra prices, dwindling interest in manual vocations and the mass imports from China, tailors are only visited in case of alterations and special occasions. Even your za’kah has to adapt to change and the new needs of your recipients. But no, smartphones are not next on the list.

But yes, at times it does feel like a conveyer belt , visiting so many charitable institutions you can no longer keep them apart and for a split-second they do blend into one massive pot of never-ending need. All you hear is the shortfall and all you feel is your own shortcoming in bridging their gaps. The trick here is to remember why you are giving za’kah. At the special needs orphanage Sondos, I went and visited the children in their dorms and had a small chat with as many of them as I could. I also spoke to the caregivers, the cooks, the guards, etc. I just wanted to know more of the children and more about those people who dedicate their time and effort so wieldy to those most in need. That simple sense of humanity is an instant reminder that there is nothing monotonous about za’kah and that every donation, every etappe, every envelope passed through the car window, every bag of rice carried over one’s shoulder has a rightful destination and we, as proponents of za’kah, are the worthy road for their journey. If you ask me, that’s reason enough to keep giving.