The Sally Mussetter HS Grant- How CAC Pays it Forward Outside Its Walls Before & After Leaving CAC:

A couple of years ago, our former CAC student, Dr. Sally Mussetter, came to visit CAC after years of not being back since the 1950s.  She shared what it was like at CAC when she was a student and how even back then, they reflected upon CAC core values and gave back to the community outside CAC walls to make a difference in so many ways.

Sally attended CAC on its first campus (not it's second, nor our current Degla location) and told us some wonderful stories. She remembers being in classrooms so cold that the ink in the inkwells would freeze! And a teacher keeping an open flame in the classroom to warm up the ink! She also fondly remembers studying geometry with a Greek math teacher. At the time she was in Cairo due to her father's work for Point 4, which later developed into USAID. Sally later on attended Ohio State University, where she studied Literature and went on to become a professor of Medieval Literature at Oklahoma State University and then the University of Washington, where she ended her career. 

In discussions with Sally, we discovered that she has continued to volunteer her time and funds over the years individually and through non-profit organizations to impact her community, helping those in need of shelter, food, education,...etc.

During Sally’s visit back at CAC, she was extremely thrilled to see how CAC has evolved and continues to provide unique learning opportunities, even beyond the classroom. Deciding to continue what she learned growing up, she generously set up an annual grant at our High School, The Sally Mussetter HS Grant for students and teachers to have the opportunity to access unique learning opportunities that required unavailable funds. What an amazing role model for our students on how our students continue to pay it forward even after they leave CAC!

Our grant recipient students this school year did not disappoint in making Sally and CAC proud of their ideas, learning experiences, and achievements. They even learned how to write a proposal from start to finish ( a life skill that they will continue to use), understood the value of team work, and made a difference in the world along the way .

The grant this year was divided among four project recipients that made an impact inside CAC and beyond CAC walls.

Project 1:
Help Two Causes For The Price Of One:

A group of students from the GISC Club ( Global Issues Services Club) came up with the idea to help 2 different causes for the price of 1, as evident by the name. With the money received from the grant, they  purchased products from non-profit organizations Tawasol and Neya and sold them at CAC. Tawasol’s products are all produced by low-income families around Egypt and 100% of the money earned is either used as wages for the artisans, or go into sustaining community development projects. Neya focuses on helping small artisans all around Egypt acquire a larger outreach. It is used as a place for people to display their products and to encourage people to buy locally and from small businesses, as this could truly improve the lives of people all around Egypt. As a result of purchasing a variety of products, the students were able to aid their local establishments. Furthermore, the money that they received from selling their products at CAC was donated to Educate Me. As a non-profit organization, Educate Me endeavours to enrich education in Egypt. They have a school in the district of Talbeya; the price of one student’s education is around 7,000 LE. 

While this was the main aim, however, they hoped to achieve the funds to enable the full education of more than one child. The students even had donation boxes at the tables while selling so that people could help the cause without purchasing anything! The overall goal was to create and implement a project that truly benefits all parties involved and make a meaningful difference to so many.

This project is unique compared to any other as it truly benefits everyone involved. The CAC community got to help out around Egypt while purchasing desirable, sustainable items. With the money received from the grant, the students aimed to double it. That way, the money from the grant went towards Tawasol/Neya, and the money gained went to Educate Me. In reality, there are four causes rather than two: the CAC community, Tawasol, Neya, and Educate Me. It is quite literally, a win-win situation. Moreover, receipt of the grant amount did not mean it was spent and suddenly gone. It is an investment in a child’s education, something that can truly change the world we live in. By choosing Help 2 Causes for the Price of 1, you are providing an education for a child, donating money to small, local businesses and low-income families, teaching the CAC community how to be better global citizens, helping High School students participate in service opportunities, and allowing the CAC community a chance to buy trendy, sustainable items. Hence, it’s really more than 2 causes. That is why this project is unique. You aren’t choosing one cause for the money, you’re choosing a whole list - for the price of one.

The students exceeded their original goals! They raised 3,495 EGP for the organization Tawasol, and 14,801 EGP for Educate Me. The funds for Tawasol came from selling products that Tawasol sent them to sell on their behalf, and the funds for Educate Me are the proceeds from what they bought with the grant amount and sold. The students managed to double their original goal by raising 14 thousand EGP instead of 7 thousand EGP, thus now being able to sponsor the education of not 1 but 2 children, in addition to the money for Tawasol.

How did this project benefit CAC students?—-In the words of our student grant recipients:

“Help 2 Causes for the Price of 1 benefited CAC students in a variety of ways. First, it served as our CAS project and service requirements. It also served as a service opportunity for many students, especially students a part of GISC (Global Issues Services Club), as there was a lot of work that needed to be done. Sign-up sheets were sent out so students could volunteer and help sell the products. It also allowed students, parents, and faculty/staff the chance to purchase the products while also supporting not one cause, but two. This gave CAC students an event to look forward to during lunch and after school by purchasing these sustainable products. Not only did they purchase products, they also learned more about people’s lives outside of school. Every time somebody visited one of our tables, we told them about where these products came from and why we were doing this. We want the students of CAC to truly fathom the struggle that people go through just for an education, a thing we all take for granted. We also informed them about the benefits of buying locally, and the true impact it can have on people’s lives. In addition to this, we had  flyers on the tables that we handed out to provide more details on the two causes. We wanted to educate the students of CAC and show them that people outside of the school have a completely different life. We wanted them to truly grasp how blessed we are in comparison to the majority of residents in our host country. So not only did students get to purchase products, they also became better global citizens by being more aware of the environment around them, and learned easy ways they can help” .
ADD HERE THE PHOTOS/VIDEOS OF THE STUDENTS IN ACTION….AS WELL AS PHOTOS OF THE TWO NGOS RECEIVING THE DONATIONS FROM THE STUDENTS.

Project 2:
Preparing a local public school through the implementation of the CAC mission statement (To learn, explore, and have fun):

Two of our High school Seniors came up with a truly meaningful and impactful idea. To prepare a local public school through the implementation of the CAC mission statement- To learn, explore, and have fun while providing the school students with STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) classes and labs.

“This project is truly unique and the first of its kind”, mentioned the High School grant recipients.  “It uses the skills that we have both learned over the years in science, as well as our interests in engineering to help these students in an unorthodox way. Rather than just donating school supplies or money to help them fix their classrooms, we wanted to use what we have learned to help these less fortunate students to learn through the school supplies and skills we have provided”.  

The two High school students met with the local school leaders and assessed the needs of the school children, as well as developed the curriculum for their project. They conducted basic labs to help students in public schools to think in a non-traditional way.

The student grant recipients explained- “Usually all classes up until High School in the Egyptian public school system are Arabic, English, religion, and history. Our labs and presentations helped the students think ahead about the path they want to take when they go into High School. It also gave Middle Schoolers a unique perspective to everyday objects that we as CAC students were fortunate enough to have the opportunity to do. We conducted basic electricity labs such as, explaining how lightbulbs function and the history behind it, discussing the function of a battery and why it is important, and the final lab that we planned on conducting was an explorational one where students used what we have taught them to either make a battery or lightbulb work. The initial learning phase was only part of the project as we still needed to incorporate fun, and that was done through organized football tournaments where children got a chance to showcase their abilities. We provided school equipment such as notebooks, pens, paper, binders, and sports equipment such as footballs and bibs. 

How did this project benefit CAC students?—-In the words of our student grant recipients
“We extended our learning outside of the classroom by taking what we have learned at CAC and used it to help the local community. By immersing ourselves outside of the bubble we live in, we not only benefited from re-learning these labs and teaching them ourselves, but also  interacted and learned from a whole community we do not encounter regularly. This project is meant to inspire other CAC students to continue and help those in their community”.

ADD HERE THE PHOTOS/VIDEOS OF THE STUDENTS IN ACTION,  AS WELL AS ANY FINAL ACHIEVEMENTS THEY REPORT

Project 3:
Education and Support For Young Women:

With a firm belief in empowering women, a group our High School girls came up with a project idea to purchase, donate and distribute female sanitary products to disadvantaged young women, beginning with Awlady Orphanage, hoping to extend beyond our neighborhood while also providing education resources and information about the menstrual cycle and how to use sanitary products safely and efficiently inside and outside CAC.

“This is an extension of Noor Nahro’s CAS project (educating pre-teens/teens at Awlady about puberty and sexual/reproductive health) and a directional shift from Sarah and Chloe’s project last year to provide female sanitary products to CAC students at no cost”, explained the students. “We are drawing inspiration and guidance from the organization “The Pad Project” which was created in conjunction with the release of the 2019 Oscar-winning short documentary, Period. End of Sentence.

“The primary goal of this project was to supply disadvantaged young women with educational resources and information about the menstrual cycle and how to use sanitary products safely and efficiently. The reason this is important to us is because of the potentially lethal health risks associated with makeshift pads and lack of knowledge and understanding about the dangers of mismanaged periods (ie: toxic shock syndrome, yeast infections, increased risk for UTIs). Both privileged and underprivileged societies struggle to maturely, honestly and openly address issues of menstruation and we hope to break down the walls of stigma and misinformation associated with periods within our own community (CAC) and beyond (Awlady orphanage)”.


The students explained that this project is unique - “This project is unique due to the lack of discussion surrounding women’s healthcare in Egypt. Though things have been improving in the past 15 years due to UN involvement in the development of Egyptian healthcare, standards remain subpar. FGM remains a popular practice despite its criminalization, demonstrating critical mistreatment of the female body. Additionally, we hosted a free film viewing of Period. End of Sentence on CAC’s campus in order to better spread the message that this isn’t just a female issue. Women’s rights are human rights. We all can make a difference by contributing our time, money, support, and most importantly: our collective open-mindedness to eradicate menstruation shame and misinformation.



How did this project benefit CAC students?—-In the words of our student grant recipients
“It is our hope that because of this project, CAC students will no longer need to pay the nurses in order to access pads or tampons. We aspire to create a shift in mindset resulting in the understanding that the female student body no longer experiences their basic needs as a “luxury”, but rather as an essential necessity. Additionally, CAS projects focused around female health such as Noor’s can be augmented through visits to orphanages and physical donations on top of education campaigns”. 

ADD HERE THE PHOTOS/VIDEOS OF THE STUDENTS IN ACTION,  AS WELL AS ANY FINAL ACHIEVEMENTS THEY REPORT

Project 4:
Creating a Science Magazine Written By CAC Students

One of our grade ten High School students' passion for science, Elly,  gave her the idea to establish and distribute a science magazine at CAC led, created, and written by students that share a passion for science as well.  She managed to gather ten students that love science and they teamed up to form the Sci-Up Club and create a first ever science magazine at CAC, with the aim of publishing two editions a year. 

In Elly’s words,  “I am a huge fan of science, and I like to explore various topics regarding science. I thought one of the great opportunities to share my desire was through a magazine. I wanted to plan a science magazine for a lot of students to have the chance to share their desire for science as well”.

The science magazine encouraged the students to discover the topics that they were interested in. The content of the magazine is not only limited to a specific field of science. It includes many fields of sciences that the students have always wanted to explore.

“A great thing about the magazine is that a student who is excited to know more about pollution for example, can conduct his or her research related to environmental science and the earth's atmosphere. Another student who is greatly excited about astronomy would be able to explore more about the startling factors of other planets.

The ultimate goal of the science magazine is to give opportunities for the students to share their findings with others. The students would not only be able to explore their interests, but also get to know what other students are interested in. Students would be able to share their interests with others through the magazine, and their range of knowledge will grow”.

The science magazine not only allowed CAC students to learn more about their interests, it also helped the students to relate their knowledge to their future dream careers and learn various skills. As Elly explained, “As high schoolers, students are paving our path for the future. There are a lot of students who like science and want to find jobs in science. To decide how we will shape our futures, I believe we need to research before actually deciding. It is similar to how students research different universities and then choose the universities they want to go to. The science magazine will help the students to learn more about the field they want to work in. Furthermore, as students who have the same interests come together to make a complete product, the magazine, we were able to get more connected to each other, helping and encouraging each other as we cooperated to make the magazine as a team”.

When asked how this project was unique, Elly replied, “this project is unique in a way that helps students to cooperate and explore their interests together. A magazine is an interesting way that needs both creativity and knowledge. Students are interested in a lot of things, and they learn a lot of things at school. They want to show that they learned through a result, and the science magazine will support their thoughts. As it is a science “magazine”, the students were also able to take roles as graphic editors, designing the templates of the magazine, using their creativity. The science magazine is also a students-leading program, in which students proactively decide the topics, research, and write articles”.

ADD HERE THE PHOTOS/VIDEOS OF THE STUDENTS IN ACTION,  AS WELL AS ANY FINAL ACHIEVEMENTS THEY REPORT, AS WELL AS A LINK TO THE MAGAZINE