There is a way to choose life. You can go for the things you want, or you wait until it will come to you.

We, as an organisation, see a lot of movement in the world in different places, on different continents. A movement that slows down people and makes them wait for solutions.
Not just in the first world countries you see dependence on the economy of the country and the jobs it offers. In countries where the economy isn’t offering the same jobs, as it maybe once used to, you see people waiting for new jobs. Instead of actively live their lives and try to provide the best they can, you see a hold up where they are waiting around until someone brings them jobs and money. It is sad that the energy people once had, back in the day, to provide and fight for a good life, now transformed in a waiting game. Of course there are still people who are trying. But the big shift is pretty concerning, especially with the growing amount of people on this planet.

In Egypt you can see a lot of pollution, therefore there are some people picking up different kinds of trash. Some hold a bag for plastics, others for cans and so on. This way it ends up on a dump or at a recycling plant when one is nearby. We all know this is not a solution, but shifting the problem of pollution, but at least these men are working for their money and try to get by. We have a lot of respect for that.

A lot of teenagers earn their money with driving tuktuks, which they are very skilled in compared to the driving situation in Egypt.

Next to that you see some people working in tourism. That doesn’t mean just selling products, it also means being in the temples for example or tourist attractions. People who went to Egypt recently know how some people are really trying their best to show you their piece of history and others are just practically robbing you. Telling you normally the tip is much higher or even taking money out of your hand. Well people, that is not working for your money and please only tip ‘guides’ when you feel this person needs it. Because the people that need it, will appreciate every penny you give. We see people working with animals as well, to make a business, but we will talk about that in another article. One sneak peek: some are good to their animals but most of them just use these living creatures for money, no matter how many wounds they have or how thirsty and hungry it is.
We also see people having businesses. Yes, sometimes more than one. Because of the deflation of the amount of tourists visiting Egypt (from around 14 million in 2010 to 9 million in 2011 and 4.5 million last year) , the hotel business is down as well. Even on the coasts, when you drive one-and-a-half-hour, you just see one long line of ghost resorts. And they aren’t even accessable anymore, due to the road construction in front of them. No beach day for us, but a scary sight with a beautiful sea in the distance.
In the cities like Cairo, Alexandria, Luxor or Aswan are a lot of hotels, some of them semi-closed down due to the lack of guests. Some of these owners do have other businesses next to the hotel,  which we find very smart. When the tourists came in like bees fly to honey, the hotel business was a booming one. So with the savings some had, they built a back–up plan and started rental car businesses, selling food and even icecream shops!

Although the last years have been rough for Egypt, the amount of tourists visiting Egypt is significantly growing again. After a lot of influence of the media and a bit of reality, Egypt sounded unsafe for most people. Nowadays, people know better and the country is more stable than it was years ago. And if we are honest, even places like Paris and London are ‘unsafe’ these days. Always trust your gut and see for yourself. The choice is all yours.

We shed some tears, for the people struggling. We had laughs with the friends we made. We felt robbed by the people who were greedy. We received love from the people who embrace life.
Learn to know the people. The people that work very hard for very little to make your stay so much easier. And the people who are willing to learn from you, like you can learn from them.

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