He does this a couple of hours before dawn, so that people have time for their pre-sohour (dawn) meal during Ramadan.
But this year, there’s something new. Instead of waking people up with his traditional phrase, "Wake up sleepers, praise Allah," some mesaharatis will soon be saying instead, "Let's have a drug-free Ramadan”.
This initiative, launched by the Drug Control and Treatment of Addiction Fund (DCTAF), kicks off today.
The initiative will witness a DCTAF volunteer wearing a huge puppet costume representing a mesaharati, walking through streets talking to people and chanting the phrase, "Let's have a drug-free Ramadan.”
He will hand out leaflets, raising awareness of the dangers of addiction.
He and other volunteers will tour streets, shopping centres, clubs, youth centres and other places likely to be frequented by young people.
The initiative also targets children, organising games and small puppet theatre performances for them, to make it easy for them to understand the issue.
"Our aim is prevention. We want to raise the awareness of people of all ages of the dangers of addiction. Our new initiative will reach a lot of people.
“Every year, we have initiatives, but this year's is the best so far," says Ahmed Abbas, the organiser of the ‘Mesaharati’ initiative and the head of the DCTAF’s volunteering unit.
"We have also been to churches and mosques, asking the priests and sheikhs to warn of the dangers of addiction during their sermons," he adds.
The initiative is a result of some workshops held in the DCTAF volunteering unit, with young people aged between 15 and 30.
"We’ve been thinking hard about how to deliver our ideas. New, untraditional ways are the most effective.
"We have chosen the mesaharati, because he’s a lovely, modest folkloric character, very familiar to and much loved by people of all ages," he explains.
A recent study by the Egyptian Anti-Addiction Association reveals that around 6 million Egyptians are addicted, including about 2 million women, while the numbers keep on rising every year.
Another study by the Ministry of Health shows that around 8 million Egyptians have experimented with or been addicted to drugs at different stages of their lives.
The ministerial study says that 93.5 per cent of these people are addicted to hashish, 22 per cent to alcohol, 11.7 per cent to Tramadol and 7.2 per cent to heroin.
"We are well aware that more people are becoming addicts all the time. Our main focus is on the young, as they are the most vulnerable. By using new techniques, we are reaching them faster," Abbas explains.
The initiative will run during the holy fasting month of Ramadan in Cairo, Alexandria and the Upper Egyptian cities of Qena and Sohag.
Source: http://213.158.162.45/~egyptian/index.p ... s&id=27052
