The content is about rural photographer Karim Essam who stumbled upon a simple family eating breakfast before the sunset call to prayer. He asked permission from the head of the family to eat with them, took pictures of their moments, and shared them on various communication platforms. The pictures gained great attention, prompting people to reach out and offer help to the family. The head of the local unit in Menoufia called Karim to prepare the family to meet the governor, who provided financial aid, food, blankets, and rehabilitation services for their house. Karim was grateful for the experience and thanked everyone who helped the family.
09:02 PM
Friday 07 April 2023
I wrote – Rawan Sharif:
In the last hours before the Maghrib call to prayer, Karim Essam, the famous rural photographer, used to roam the streets of his village, Bajur in Menoufia, to take pictures of the Ramadan atmosphere in the streets, and to distribute Iftar meals and dates to passersby, as he believes that they are footage worthy of documentation.
During his tour, Karim stood in front of a simple house, made of mud and weak wooden doors, watching a simple family gather around a small dining table known as “the tabliyah”, waiting for the sunset call to start eating breakfast, so Karim saw that this scene was an appropriate angle to take as a photograph, according to him. He said it in his statements to “Masrawy”.
The rural photographer decided to enter the house and take permission from the head of the family to eat breakfast with them, justifying his position that he was from another village and would not be able to return to his village before the sunset call to prayer, so the head of the family hurried to agree and allow Karim to enter, and Karim explained: “It was not useful to say that I am coming In order to photograph you, I had to see a nicer way than this to enter and sit among a humble family without hurting them or making them feel like this.
And Karim Essam added, in his interview with “Masrawy”, that after entering, he asked the head of the family to document the moments with them through pictures, so he allowed him to photograph, and after taking the picture he wanted, he sat down to eat with them, so he was surprised by the presence of chicken, rice and vegetables on their table, despite from the appearance of their humble home.
He continued: “I decided to ask them indirectly about their lives, so I started by asking about the father’s work, and they answered me that he works for daily wages as a farmer for the owners of the lands in the village, and that on many days there is no work or money left, and also on days when people help them by eating like chicken and vegetables and in There are days when there is no food.”
Karim continued his speech, saying: “The family is satisfied with what God has ordained for it, and does not object to its condition, and when I offered them to publish the pictures on Facebook and explained to them the possibility of the pictures reaching a responsible person to help them educate their children and live a decent life, the mother agreed immediately.”
The rural photographer added: “Here I decided to make a complete coexistence for them with pictures and publish them on various means of communication so that people can really help them, enough of their generosity with me despite their distress.”
Karim indicated that after leaving the house and returning to his village, he started posting pictures on various communication platforms, and the pictures received great interaction from users of communication platforms, and people began to publish them on a larger scale, and many people contacted him to reach out to that family and help them.
Karim also said that on the second day, a call came to him from the head of the local unit in Menoufia, and he asked him to go to the family and prepare them for the governorate to send them a car in the morning and take them to the governor’s office, explaining: “I went to the family and I am happy that he will not suffer, and as soon as I entered I told them that you will meet the governor tomorrow, The ululation began, and the joy pervaded the whole house, and they put on their best clothes and prepared to meet the governor.”
And he continued: “In the morning in Arabic, we took the governor, and the family met him and began to ask them about their requests and what they need, so the mother said she wanted an education for my children and a decent life only, so the governor decided to disburse financial and food aid to the family and blankets, and rehabilitate their house, as he ordered the restoration of the house and the work of a bathroom in it and services like Water and electricity.
Karim concluded that those moments were the happiest moments of his life, and that the goal of publishing the photos had already been achieved by meeting the family with the governor, and he thanked everyone who cared about the matter and came forward to help that family.
In a world where kindness and generosity often get overlooked, Karim Essam’s story serves as a reminder that these simple acts can create a ripple effect of positivity. His decision to enter a humble family’s home, take pictures, and share their story led to an outpouring of support and aid from strangers. It’s heartwarming to see how a small act of kindness turned into a life-changing opportunity for this family. May we all be inspired by Karim’s actions and spread kindness in our own communities.