I think the coolest thing I found though, was a series of small books all about different places in Egypt.  Each book gives a short history of why that area is important (in kids terms) and at the end of each book is a map of Egypt and where that area is located.  The books were crazy cheap, about the equivalent of $1.50, so I got all of them (12, I think)  Here is a quick look at the books, the Arabic even having the vowels and all!  (Like in Hebrew, Modern Arabic does not use any vowels.  Children learn to read in the beginning with the vowels, but then they are taken out as soon as the concept is mastered.)  I’m super excited!!!

Anyways, today at Food Distribution, our little translator came to help out so I was showing her my Arabic workbook and what I was learning.  It was then that I discovered she does not know how to read or write in Arabic, only Hebrew.

Arabic is her mother tongue… her first language…. the one she speaks with her family; YET, she does not know how to read or write.  She reads/writes only Hebrew. And this is true for many of the Sudanese we work with.

It made me think.

Therefore, I decided that a part of the after school program at the youth center will be dedicated to teach these kids how to read and write their own language.

Imagine a foreign American… teaching written Arabic to kids who speak it fluently… in a country that none of us belong to… in Hebrew.

Now if that isn’t just crazy awesome, then I don’t know what is!!!