AFS Egypt Alumni Changemakers Celebrating 20 Years of KL-YES

In the light of celebrating the Kennedy-Lugar YES 20th anniversary, the Egyptian alumni were very eager to give back to their community and help the children develop their skills. They decided to conduct a workshop for the children with disabilities as they found out that not much attention is given to the disability community. The workshop was held in the city of El Fayoum on the 21st of June, at a sporting club. The workshop aimed to provide the children with different disabilities the skills they need for a brighter future. 38 children with different disabilities; mental, visual and hearing disorders, along with 7 of their supervisors, came from across the governorate to enjoy and benefit from the activities delivered by the alumni. 14 alumni from different KL-YES batches and different governorates from across Egypt, came together and designed a one day interactive and engaging fun workshop, that covered teambuilding activities, culture and self-awareness, artistic session and different perspectives. Alumni searched for tips and tricks for working with children with disabilities, they even asked for help from professionals that closely work alongside of disabilities. The professionals provided a detailed training for the alumni on how to deal with children with disabilities, how to grab their attention and best practices. The process of designing a workshop was very challenging as it is the first time the alumni design and deliver such a workshop. The sessions were delivered over the course of 6 hours, starting with a very interactive icebreaker activity, to help students get to be familiar with the alumni. The flow of the activities was very seamless and easy for them to understand, the alumni first started with the teambuilding activities which helped the students to get to know one another and build a bond. Students then went on a hunt for animal pictures in the garden, and then the students were classified into 3 groups according to the animal they picked up. This activity was used to introduce the concept of culture and to suspend judgments upon meeting new people. To end the day, students learned how to make puppets out of paper and markers, this session brought out their love of colours and creative side. Alumni used this session to introduce the concept of different perspectives, which was easily understood by the students due to the elaborate connection between the debriefing and the activity. At the end of the day, the alumni felt a sense of accomplishment as they heard the feedback from the students and their supervisors about how amazing and beneficial this day was to the students. All the hard work they put in the preparation of the event paid off when they witnessed the smiles and laughter on the faces around them. All the attendees, the staff of the club and the members of the club were extremely impressed by efforts exerted with the students, the organisation of the workshop and the uplifting spirit the alumni brought with them. When outsiders asked who are the blue shirt wearers, the alumni were proud to say that they are KL-YES alumni. The alumni gained great experience in the field of training people with disabilities, which will allow them to further develop the workshop and create an even better one for the future. The alumni are aiming to start a series of workshops for the disability community under the title of “You Are Able!”, which will empower both the participants and the alumni participating in the workshops.