Taha Hussein,
Om Kalthoum,
and Reda Salama

A hero! Who is a hero? Why is he or she a hero? How can I be a hero? All these questions come to anyone's mind when one thinks of heroes. They also came to our minds when we chose this project. We looked up the word in the dictionary and found that a hero is "a person who is admired for having done something very brave or having achieved something very great.”

After close study, we found three examples of people who shared traits in common, which made them heroes. They all had strong characters, a belief in life, faith, self-confidence and perseverance to struggle against all the obstacles they faced. They never gave up and all of them wanted to help others. Our heroes set an example of how they can make their names be remembered and live forever.

Taha Hussein Photo from www.sis.gov.eg

Our first hero is Taha Hussein and we thought that he was a hero because he lost his eye sight when he was a child. He lived in a poor village and yet struggled and fought, and never gave up. He became one of the most important writers of Arabic literature. Not only that, but he became the minister of education.

Om Kalthoum (Image from: http://digiboek.50megs.com)

Our second example is Om Kalthoum, the Egyptian girl who came from one of the poorest villages in Egypt and was able to become a widely known singer. She became a lady respected by all of the Arab world and she was always welcomed by the Arab leaders. So, she is a heroine for having unlimited hopes and perseverance. Till now, she is still remembered and considered an idol for all singers.

Our third hero was one of our school principals, Mrs. Reda Salama. We thought of her as a heroine because her name is still echoing in the school, though many others have come after her. She is a heroine because she is considered a phenomenon. Because of her beliefs and her hard work, she attached the school name to her name. She believed that girls should have roles in life and that a girl’s character should be well developed because her duties towards society are not only to be a good mother, but also a useful citizen. Mrs. Salama's principles are still followed and remembered.

Ramses College for Girls Photo from www.ob1.com/iae/Schools/Ramses/CollegeForGirls.htm

Furthermore, we found that we have many other people whom we consider heroes and heroines -- mothers who work hard to bring up their children and make them good citizens; soldiers who fight for their countries. Anyone who works hard and does his best to help others is considered a hero.

While we were working on this project, we were greatly affected and it made a change in us. We all started to notice the difficulties others go through and how they overcome them. We found that you can be a hero by a simple action, like helping a person go through a difficulty, removing an obstacle from the road or supporting a sick one.

So, to all who think that becoming a hero is impossible, all you need to do is to remember those who have worked hard and to have their faith and self-confidence to be a hero.