By: Shahd Hassan

What is the first thing that comes to your mind when you hear the word “Travelling”?

Probably you are going to say difference, shopping, snow, etc. On the other hand, there is an agency in Egypt that gives traveling a different meaning. Have a Dream was founded in 2014 and at the time it was one of the first travel agencies that was doing this business for an actual purpose not only for fun. This purpose can be volunteering, cultural exchange, or working on projects in various fields. All these purposes can make the person change positively.

The message that Have a Dream is trying to deliver is different from any other organization that is doing the same activities. As the Social Media Specialist in Have a Dream, Aya Qandil, said: Have a Dream wants to show people the effect of traveling on people’s lives. What can happen to a person who travels for a purpose? All the opportunities Have a Dream provides let the person explore the place he’s heading to and see the world. Additionally, they let him gain skills he can’t gain in his comfort zone. For example, communication skills, but with people from different backgrounds, cultures, and religions. The most important thing is that the person will get to know himself and understand what he can do in this big world that we are still getting to know.

One of the things that we should take into consideration is that if anyone is trying to deliver a special message, all the team working on that should have the same goal and the same passion. That’s what we can understand from Aya’s words after asking her what value Have a Dream has given to her. She said that working in this community taught her to believe in what she is doing no matter how different it is from anything she has done before. Each one of the team is working on himself to explore and make the world a better place through his job by influencing others. Also, all the team are travelers.

In the beginning, she was fascinated with what Have a Dream is making especially after the African Ambassadors program. She started following them until she traveled with them many times. After the community she has joined and the relationships she has built, she managed to work with them as a Social Media Specialist.

Most of us, Egyptians or non-Egyptians, when we travel to a new country, we will be fascinated by all the best places and facilities that we experience in this country. Probably, we will think about how we can have all of that in our hometown which is, in fact, something positive. Have a Dream lets its adventurers see this opinion from a different perspective. If you travel with Have a Dream as a volunteer, for example, without having the idea that being an Arab person or Egyptian is something you should be proud of, you will not be needed there. You travel with the identity that you believe in to develop and explore it, not to abandon who you really are. You should remember that the world is waiting for you.