El-Afadra is a small village in upper Egypt where I first saw dirt roads, a part-time medical clinic, an optional grammar school, and houses built of mud bricks with palm leaf roofs. Several years later, I decided to start a project that would reduce the number of scorpion bites among children in my father's native village, El-Afadra. To do this, I collected over 500 pairs of gently-used shoes from schools here in Sacramento, and then brought them with me on my summer trip to Egypt. Scorpion stings are second only to snakebites as causes of toxin-related deaths in North Africa, making it a significant health issue in this area of the world. For my finished product, I decided I to make a documentary about life in the village, to expose others to this place that is hidden from the rest of the world, and to share the amazing experience I had.

I felt shoes would be the most effective method of prevention, since most bites occur when a child accidentally steps on a scorpion. I collected shoes from three of my old schools: Brookfield School, Sutterville Preschool, and Salam School. After a month of collecting and organizing the shoes by size, which I did in my living room, I realized that I had an incredible amount of shoes. I decided to give the dilapidated, worn-out shoes to Good Will Industries, a charity distribution center. This decreased the number of shoes from close to 800 pairs to about 500 pairs.

Once I realized how many shoes I had collected, it occurred to me that shipping the shoes to Egypt might be a problem. Since it would be impossible to bring over all the shoes simply in our luggage, I began to look into policies for excess shipping. A family friend advised me to seek help from government agencies such as the American Egyptian Cooperation Foundation, the American Egyptian Chamber of Commerce in New York, and others. The last agency I chose to look into for help with financing excess shipping was the Egyptian Consulate General’s office, whose position is held by Mr. Abderahman Salaheldin. I eventually met the Consulate General, and two days before my departure, his office transferred $150 into my mom’s bank account, enough to send two extra suitcases to Egypt. I was very thankful and promised to send them a copy of my documentary after my trip. With the Consulate General’s help, I was able to bring over 500 pairs of shoes to Egypt. After a few days in Cairo we took the train-ride to Assyuit, a large city near Al-Afadra. We drove out to El-Afadra the next morning, the whole time passing along the Nile. Most of the shoes had already been brought to the village with one of my Egyptian relatives. This way I would not have to cram all the suitcases of shoes into the small car. When I arrived at the mandara, the community center, the suitcases were brought in and the shoes were arranged in piles by size. Finally, I was ready to open the doors. A line quickly formed and the children were very happy to get their pair of shoes. One thing that fascinated me was the children’s large feet! Apparently, because they never wear real shoes, their feet naturally grow larger than American children’s feet. Some of the children were not able to help me put on their shoes when I would help them try on a pair, probably because they had never worn a pair of closed-toe shoes before. All children and almost all adults in El-Afadra wear plastic flip-flops, which are paid for by the government and easy to slip on. Unfortunately, they do no sufficiently protect the feet. After an hour or two of distribution, I looked outside and saw a sea of people waiting to get shoes. Both parents and children wanted more than anything to get their hands on a pair of shoes. When I returned from my exciting but stressful trip to Egypt, the only remaining part of my actual project was the making of my documentary. It was to be a short film that focused on exposing the beautiful culture of El-Afadra to others and to show how one small act of charity can be a worthy step towards helping these happy children lead safer lives. I used footage that I had taken while in El-Afadra to put together an informational piece that briefly explained different aspects of everyday life, that starkly contrast with American culture and customs. I made about fifteen copies of my finished documentary, most of which were given to people that helped me along the way, such as principals of the three schools, helpful neighbors, and Amin Elmallah, the family friend who told me about the American Egyptian Consulate General. This was my way of thanking them for contributing to my efforts. Now when I watch and show others my documentary, I feel rewarded. My project was inspired by the experience of a friend of my father’s. Fatthaya and her two sons now live in Cairo, but they formerly resided in El-Afadra. Before she had children, she used to take care of me when I was a baby during family vacations in Egypt. Her youngest son was killed when a scorpion bit him, compelling me to focus my project on the prevention of scorpion envenomations. My project left an impact on several different groups. The people of El-Afadra were extremely grateful for the shoes, and even now they ask my Egyptian relatives when the “shoe boy” will return. Hopefully, the children will take up a new habit of wearing their shoes indoors and out. I am sure these shoes will be passed down to younger siblings for as long as the shoes will last. I felt the impact of my project on another group when I recently attended a meeting of the EAS, the Egyptian American Society of Northern California in Santa Clara. Before the event, I was asked by the Consulate General of Egypt, Mr. Salaheldin, to give a short presentation about my project, and then to show my movie. After the nerve-wracking experience was over, I received heartfelt support and congratulations from many people in the audience, including a big hug from the head of the Egyptian Coptic Church of Northern California. I hope I am able to continue my project in the future.