Teach to Fish Volunteer Testimonials: Michele & O

“Michelle and I agree that writing a summary of our two week Egypt experience doesn’t do it justice.

Our first time in Egypt, the kindness and hospitality received by the people, the orphans or other children placed there overwhelmed us. At first impression they seemed to have so little material things but it soon became apparent they were rich in character and abundant smiles. What compounded our amazement is that these children are shunned by society and have minimal local support systems to help with E.g., seeking employment, and yet their trust and love are not yet broken.

My favourite moments over the time was being able to get to spend it with the kids; playing games, helping, and socializing. While every country has challenges, the scale and consistency of issues in Luxor/Egypt overall is incomparable to North America in our opinion.

Even just having access to basic education for young people and especially girls is difficult. Often families taking measures to first survive with basic necessities before spending on their child’s education. Ever day is a constant negotiation of hard choices.

Their instinct becomes a more day to day survival rather than building towards a future. As a result of little access to education or other support these kids struggle with principles of money management, emotional and intellectual reasoning, and focusing on the bigger picture.

These kids were nothing but kind, respectful and so appreciative. However, from our first day of arrival Teach to Fish founder and her team with boots on the ground were addressing life changing moments; from working tirelessly to keep a young man from going to jail to negotiating with a mom to keep her daughter in school and ascertaining what incentive would achieve this guarantee. In the latter case, it turns out the price of a washer was the condition.

What became obvious to us is everything had a price, if it generated monetary value.

This is why the work that Teach to Fish leadership and donors team are doing is so important. Teach to Fish founder Esther helps these kids to see that education and long term goals will grow wealth but requires patience and hard choices now. This includes focusing on developing the means to learn and grow so they can build a life within their culture that is good for them.

The boys are continuously faced with being sexually taken advantage of including from foreigners who come with promise of beautiful things. The girls are married off to older men also losing their youth. As a result, it is easy to see why the perceived quickest route to achieve their goals and getting out is so enticing.

This in essence is the work of Teach to Fish charity, to be a compass to help navigate these challenges and teach better choices towards an improved path. As we all know with teenagers and young adults the temptations become harder to resist so building this knowledge from a young age is paramount.

While progress is incremental, the shifting of mindsets and celebration of wins will overtime make each life better, maybe even build generational wealth.

We can’t imagine where these kids would be without the interventions of Teach to Fish founder and her teams, and the various donors. The combination of hard work, compassion, drive, and financial support is life changing.

Finally, our observation of Teach to Fish founder Esther during this time:

I have known Esther for over 20 years. Just watching her was inspiring for me, and while I knew what she had always done, this experience has left a lasting impression on Michele and I witnessed the rapport she had with the kids and their families, her dedication to their welfare, her hard love, and her capacity to troubleshoot and find solutions, are all insurmountable.” - Michele & O (on-site volunteers Oct - Nov 2022)