Supporter: Tara Noronha

Feelings of joy, shared by all ages, in Cairo's Tahrir Square — but many are still feeling the uncertainty of what comes after Egypt's revolution. Photo: Tara Noronha/Mercy Corps

While post-revolution euphoria and optimism linger on the streets of Cairo, one particular question hangs thick: what comes after a revolution? As Egyptians celebrate new opportunities for political and economic reform, they also fear the uncertainty of what comes next. This sentiment is particularly palpable among Egypt’s youth.

When discussing the recent constitutional referendum and the way forward for the new Egypt, I hear these words —

• Dangerous
• Uncertain
• Nervous

Just as often as I hear these —

• Proud
• Hopeful
• Free

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Since arriving in Cairo three weeks ago as a member of Mercy Corps' Egypt assessment team, I have had the opportunity to meet and befriend many of those who participated in Egypt’s recent revolution. In order to fully understand the needs of young people in the “new Egypt,” Mercy Corps is studying the factors that motivated youth across the country to unite in quest of political and economic reform.

Farida and Amal. Photo: Tara Noronha/Mercy Corps

But how would one prepare for a meeting with one of those behind Egypt’s stunning movement? And who would you imagine to be one of the driving forces that toppled an oppressive 30-year-old regime, with the entire world watching?

In a buzzing café in downtown Cairo, the answer arrives to meet me in an unlikely package.

Amal Sharaf is a pint-sized 36-year-old with soft, gentle eyes and a thoughtful smile. She greets me warmly, as if we are old friends, and introduces me to her sidekick, daughter Farida. As we get settled in to steaming cups of Arabic coffee and chai koshry, I look across the table and wonder…was this tiny lady really one of the initial drivers of one of the most powerful movements in the region's history?

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Sohag, nestled on the Nile, is one of Egypt's poorest governorates. Photo: Tara Noronha/Mercy Corps

Egypt’s Sohag governorate sits approximately 475 kilometers south of bustling Cairo. The quiet region offers a stunning blend of just about everything — desert, mountains and lush greenery, all while perched on the magnificent Nile. However, the Upper Egypt governorate is also one of the country’s most vulnerable. According to the Egypt Human Development Report, 59 of the country’s 100 poorest villages belong to Sohag. Youth face unique challenges in Sohag and surrounding Upper Egypt, as opportunities for employment and economic engagement are few.

As part of Mercy Corps’ Egypt youth assessment, I recently held a focus group discussion with 15 female youth from Sohag’s Bardis village. The young women were eager to begin the discussion by talking about Egypt’s January 25 revolution. Sohagian youth are hopeful that the “new Egypt” will continue to bring positive change.

“We weren’t actually in Cairo or Alex during the protests,” shares one young woman. “But we all felt like we were there and participating. And are very happy and proud.”

Says another youth, smiling widely, “After January 25, we all feel free.”

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Members of the Dugpaco ("Come Home") women's group tend their large garden plot, which is supported by Mercy Corps. Photo: Aleka Badawasou Jacques/Mercy Corps

Under an unrelenting Ugandan sun, I watched as women tended to their community garden in Wol, a parish in northern Uganda’s Pader District. With bowed backs, each woman carefully attended to fledgling onions, cabbages and eggplants, plunging their hands into the moist earth in order to aerate the soil and remove weeds.

I admired the women’s ability to do such physical work with grace and humor. They gossiped and giggled in brightly-colored skirts, as tiny beads of sweat began to aggregate on their noses and lips, eventually sliding down their faces in steady streams.

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A few weeks ago, I was honored to serve as the Chief Judge at an interschool debate on HIV/AIDS prevention. Under a perfect blue Ugandan sky, youth from two neighboring schools prepared to deliver remarks on the importance of abstinence, safe sex, delayed marriage and healthy life choices.

A young woman delivers her part of the debate. Photo: Tara Noronha/Mercy Corps

I expected some of the young debaters — Peer Educators in Mercy Corps’ Youth Empowerment Program (YEP) — to display at least some signs of anxiety and nervousness over the event. These youth were orating not only before a panel of judges, but also an audience comprised of more than 150 peers and key members of the community. Even though the Peer Educators had organized the event as part of YEP’s life skills program, I anticipated seeing some beads of sweat, perhaps a little stuttering and maybe even a few tears. After all, public speaking terrifies most adults I know!

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