08/24/2021 Washington D.C. (International Christian Concern) – 11-year-old Hana is perhaps one of the brightest students in his grade at Hope House in Egypt. He was one of two students with a perfect score during his summer school cumulative testing and consistently scores well on Arabic, English, and Math. Hana told ICC staff that he loves these subjects and feels smart answering questions in class when the teacher asks. With his educational aptitude, Hana and his parents both have big dreams for his future. His father commented that his “desire is for Hana to attend college”.  And yet as the oldest male child in the family, Hana’s future career may be in question.

His mother said, “I have two daughters, Rania and Amira. Rania has vision problems and is hearing-impaired. Amira also has vision problems”.  In addition to Hana’s two older sisters, he also has a brother who is several years younger than him. Hana’s father works as a carpenter and as such, it is normally expected that Hana would learn alongside his father and eventually join him in his career.

Hana expressed interest in carpentry saying, “I want to help my father work in the craft, learn carpentry and be a big carpenter.” And yet, in the same meeting with ICC, Hana also said “I want to be a lawyer to defend the poor people.” It was an echo of the same sentiment Hana told ICC three years ago. While many children change their career goals time and time again, for Hana to say two different paths at one time indicates that he is likely not trusting he could achieve his goals, even though he has held them for many years. This ultimately stems from the mindset pushed upon Egyptian Christians that they have less value and are less incorporated to the broader community.