First person: Asim*

*Editor's note: pseudonyms used for security reasons.

As a psychosocial caseworker for St. Andrew’s Refugee Services in Cairo, Egypt, I basically follow clients socially, medically and psychologically.

I screen clients every day, and I conduct phone calls to follow up. Even when the clients live far away, I call them to know what’s going on and ask them about the situation. I also work with young children. I go to the community school, and I see all the kids who have troubles dealing with other kids and sit with them, and I create activities for them and help them interact with their fellow students in a better way.

I come from a generation of refugees. My grandpa fled his home in Sudan when he was persecuted because of his religion, and we settled down in Darfur in 2003.

Darfur then had a war, and then we were forced to go to Khartoum, and then Khartoum had a war, and then I had to bring my family here to Egypt.

So this refugee life is my life. It’s what I live for. It’s literally the most important thing to me, helping these people and seeing them happy, laughing, smiling and thanking you. There’s no better satisfaction in life than this. I see the most vulnerable people cry every day —  in interviews, in screenings, during coffee ceremony —  everywhere I see them crying.

If I am able to be part of the smile that comes to their faces after that moment, that’s all I need in life. Nothing more, nothing less. Those smiles, they are my bread and butter.

I have been lucky to create a couple of new programs in our community. One is a cinema program for children from ages 5 to 18. We share videos of movies using a projector. We provide transportation and popcorn and refreshments.

After the movie, there is a social or psychological awareness session and then a session of games and activities. During the sessions, we talk to the children about what’s going on in their lives, if they are talking to their parents, and if they are interacting with them.

Most refugee children nowadays don’t have someone at home asking them things.

Parents are working in the factories for 12 hours a day. They come home tired, and they don’t keep track of the children very well. They don’t ask them: What do you take in school? How do you enjoy your life?

So having someone who does this instead of their parents is very important for their self-esteem.

During these movie days, we tell the kids that we are here for you today, that the whole community organization has come to you to show you that you are great, and that your life has meaning.

The other program that I started was a book club. We collect books from the community. I think we now have more than 180 books collected from the community. Why do I insist that the books have to come from people in the community? Because contributing gives meaning to their lives.

We give the clients books for 14 days. In seven days, we will call and ask how they are doing with the book.

Also, we have book club sessions where everyone can participate. We discuss what they got from the book, what was difficult, what they agreed with, what they did not agree with.

We also have coffee ceremony sessions for a group of women, often single women. They are usually the most vulnerable.

We first conduct awareness sessions and psychological support planning. We chat and share our common problems, and we share the solutions that work for us, since we all face common trauma. Perhaps this inspires others to better deal with their situations.