An Island on the Banks of Poverty

When people hear the word “island”, they imagine the amazing natural scenery of exotic destinations. This may be quite true in most cases, except for the island of Koraimat, which people identify as an impoverished place, an island surrounded by the Nile water and extreme poverty.

I started my voluntary trip by a short stop on the road in the town of Korimat, to slaughter a sacrifice, which seemed to be happy as if it knew it is destined to feed those half-starved souls waiting impatiently for its tasty meat to fill their empty plates.

We transferred the food and meat to the trucks heading to this island. The driver moved very fast, persistently honking the horns, and made a loud noise that filled the streets of the town, to catch up with the ferry, which was heading to the island.

The ferry driver stopped waiting for him, as he knows the sound of this joyful horn, which always brings good to the islanders. There are two groups of passengers, first those simple islanders who leave the island looking for a way to earn their living and return to it when their quest ends. Then comes the island's women carrying clover over the backs of their donkeys to sell it in the town of Korimat. They shout at the ferry driver to put all the donkeys onboard without leaving a single one of them behind, even if the ferry was full.

Finally, I crossed to the island, looking for the guide who knows all about this island because he is one of its residents, but he is well-off. When I entered the first house on the island, I found them so much in need, but at the same time so much self-denying. When we gave them food supplies, they recommended another family because they assume that they deserve more food than they do.

When I entered other houses, I noticed the look of satisfaction on their smiling faces, as they called upon God to provide them with this food because they have not tasted any kind of meat for a long time and eventually their prayer were answered.

What astonished me about the people of this island is that although they do not even have beds to sleep on or a refrigerator to keep their food in, they have the pride and satisfaction with all the blessings that Allah gives them. Although they do not have access to water or even sanitation, they are thankful for the Nile water in which women wash their plates before the men of the island return home after a long day of working in the town of Koraimat for cheap wages. Men finally come home to a clean house and hot food on the table.

The scene that actually caught me by surprise, was that of an aged woman who could barely walk because she lived for a full century, but she went with her donkey to the farm to work because she does not want to sit idly in her house, waiting to be fed out of charity.

Here, on Koraimat Island, I learned that although they are plagued with poverty, they are blessed with a sense of satisfaction that helps them bear this poverty.