Why I met Pope Tawadros II yesterday ?
I was standing on the steps of the GrEEK Campus, attending the last day of the RiseUp 2016 event — when it happened. I was surrounded by young Egyptian men and women all eager to create a better future for their generation, all eager to find ways to collaborate in order to provide something new that would ultimately benefit their country.
I was going over my speaking notes for my upcoming panel discussion on the “Sharing Economy” when my phone vibrated.
When everyone’s phone vibrated.
When every face around me gave way to a frown, a gaze of confusion and a sigh of despair.
When every smile that was filled with enthusiasm and hope just moments ago, was instantly traded for a look of sorrow and helplessness.
When someone didn’t care for the future of this country. When they committed an unspeakable atrocity that aimed at nothing more than to create a schism and spell horror for the country and its inhabitants.
When the explosion in the St. Peter church by the Coptic Orthodox Cathedral in Abbasiya took place, after another explosion that took the life of 6 innocent soldiers a few days before.
When the lives of 25 people ended within a split second, on a day of celebration — for Muslims and Christians alike.
I too, felt immediately helpless. It’s only natural that we feel that way in the face of events and adversities that shake our very core but I also know that we are not helpless and that together we can do better.
I talked to my colleagues and thought about what we could do. Donate blood? We’d go and do it
Would it be enough? Would a blood donation campaign act as a banner under which Egyptians of all beliefs and backgrounds could unite and come together in solidarity as one nation?
We felt we were in a position to do more. We felt like we had access to tools that would enable us to do more than just give our blood.
I headed to the Cathedral two days after the explosion had taken place.
Somehow, someway and for some unknown reason to me, thanks to Dr. Marian Azer (Member of the parliament and the Director of NTI) and a good friend of mine, whom I met coincidentally, I managed to secure a one-on-one meeting with Pope Tawadros II of Alexandria — the Patriarch of Coptic Orthodox Christianity.
I told him who I was and what I do. I humbly made a simple proposition to him.
We wanted to use the tool we had at our disposal — Careem — in order to provide an umbrella and a banner under which Egyptians could unite and come together as one nation to help out.
Pope Tawadros II blessed my proposition and told me that we had his full support to go forward with what I had proposed to him.
So by now, I am sure you are wondering exactly what it was I proposed.
It’s very simple, really. Starting today and until end of the year, every time anyone rides a Careem, one pound from this ride will be donated to a collective fund aimed at for the families of the victims and those injured by the attacks. This would add up to millions of Egyptian Pounds !!
I want every Egyptian to help us in this very simple way. Just ride a Careem between now and December 31st.
I want to collect as much as possible so that my proposition provides a value that we can all look back on with pride — knowing we made a difference at a time when few things did.
Do you take the car to work every day? Just park it for a day and take a Careem.
Do you take an alternative means to move around? Get a group of friends to split the cost amongst you and take a Careem.
Do you carpool with your colleagues? Just for one day, each of you take a Careem.
I want us to all come together as Egyptians and cast our differences aside for this brief period of time. I want us to all be part of something that we can all partake in equally. I want us to make a difference. I want us to use the namesake of Careem to be more than just a name — but a value which we apply in our lives.
Between now and December 31st , I am not Wael — I am Careem.
Between now and December 31st , you are not Salma — you are Careem.
Between now and December 31st , you are not Dina — you are Careem.
Between now and December 31st , you are not Michael — you are Careem.
Between now and December 31st, our ordering button on our app will not be “Yalla”. It will It will simply be “Yalla One Nation”.
Let’s come together for our nation.
