Adores reading and perfecting leadership

Everyone who knows her agrees that she likes reading too much, she is accurate and creative in her work. She has a leading, independent personality, capable of taking responsibilities and getting her team to the aspired target. She has the courage to say the right and tell the truth. Her creative ideas are always renewed and she seeks others benefit through her constructive opinions. Her kindness, spontaneity, her high-taste in decoration and cooking, her love of joy and having fun, her striving for others happiness, and her unique way in welcoming people, all of this makes of her an extraordinary role model and a really unique person.
She describes herself: “I’m an ordinary person, I know my aim in this life and I know why Allah has created us, shortly I know who I am and why my mission is to construct earth besides praying and fasting, for the construction of earth is measured with what I have done to serve my religion. “
Rana Ragheb graduated from accounting department, she was known for her academic excellence. Her overwhelming passion of reading motivated her to make a home library rich of valuable books. She took a lot of complete religious courses, believed in voluntary work and joined it since she was a college student. She volunteered in many charitable organizations and participated in many festivals and charitable activities. Rana has started her journey with Life Makers Charitable Association in 2005 when she joined the Charitable Aids Team, and she was able to prove superiority in voluntary work and this qualified her to be the secretary and amanuensis in the administrative board of Life Makers Association. We had an interview with her, and had the chance to ask her about her life and work…

1.    Rana, you were known of your academic excellence and your uniqueness in the voluntary work. Does your family have a role in this uniqueness?
-Yes. My family has a major role in encouraging me to do voluntary work, especially my father – may Allah bless his soul ــ, he encouraged me since the first grade and insisted on my participation in various activities and determining the goal of each one.

2.    Tell us about your work after graduation, and how can anyone become unique in his work.
-I worked at a company after my graduation in the field of my specialization and I gained a magnificent experience, but I couldn’t develop myself and at the same time some familial circumstances occurred at that time; my mother wasn’t feeling well and she needed health care so I decided to leave my work and stay next to her because taking care of my mother is my first priority in this life, and proving myself depends on what I offer to Allah. You can be unique in your work just when you put fear of Allah always in your mind and that he watches you in every moment. Some might say and what about unbelievers, to those I say loving your work is sufficient to make it unique, but that won’t get you merits leading to Allah’s forgiveness!

3.    When has your passion towards reading and realizing the importance of it, raised in you?
-My love of reading is attributed to the encouragement of my first grade teacher (Miss Sukaina). She accompanied me to the Book Fair and picked small booklets for me to read and she always used to say: “I’m a reader”.I still remember this phrase to this moment because it motivated me so much towards reading. From that time , every year, I became used to going to the Book Fair and buying books to read. In the fourth grade my teacher “Miss So’ad” requested me to read “Kalila and Damna” (Panchatantra) book and to submit an abstract of it. She told me not to put obstacles in my way by saying it’s too long and that I can’t finish it.  I took her advice; I read the book and made the abstract and got a set of stories as a present that I still keep till now.

4.    Tell us about the specialty of your small home library which you have organized in Life Maker Association.
-Miss Sukaina adviced me to collect all my books since I was a child, and arranged them in a nice way with flowers amongst them. Each book has a place in my heart.

5.    We heard about your extreme love of philosophy what is the reason of this fondness?
-Because it has a convincing answer to questions for philosophy is the basis of knowledge and science.

6.    What is your advice to those who are not used to reading or find reading something difficult and boring?
-People take reading as a hobby but in fact it’s the first action that our holy Quran has commanded us to do. Anyone can start and accustom himself to reading booklets of fluent and simple language, and then have a variety of topics like reading history, geography, philosophy, literature, novels and basics of religion, what I mean is not to stick to a specific topic. For example the style of (Magdy El Helaly) is so fluent and flexible and this is clear in his books: “How to change ourselves”, “smash your fetish”, and “Be humble.”Also Professor Ragheb ElSerjany has splendid writings and I recommend his tape (How to read).
 
7.    You started voluntary work while you were studying, can you tell us about your journey with voluntary work? What did it add to you and what did you add to it?
-It’s true that I have started voluntary work since school days; I was a guiding scout-girl and we used to go to scout camps and make projects. One of them was the cultivation project where we were breeding rabbits and taking care of them, we were also handing out agricultural products that we had planted to places in need. This is shortly how my journey with voluntary work has started. In university I got the chance to join the students’ council, and of course one of its tasks was making unsystematic activities for students. We made a Woman Fair about "veil and its importance" and thanks to Allah it was written about in "El Ra'y" newspaper in the corner dedicated to orphans. We have visited orphan units and we asked each child to draw a painting and write his name on it, then we hanged up these paintings in the fair and brought presents to the children, and every college student chose a painting and a present and wrote a message to the child who drew that painting. This activity resulted in 40 orphan guarantees. After that we visited the children in the center and we were extremely happy, it was like a family "gathering" day and each student felt that he found his little friend. After this experiment we increased the unsystematic activities, for voluntary work doesn't only make others happy but it makes the volunteers happy as well, and in need of them more than they do.  
After graduation I joined "Hara' " a Quranic center where I met a sister her name is Rana El Bana, she told me about Abu Tharr Al-Ghafari center and there I taught participatory learning for children and gave computer courses for 3 years.
As for what I have added to the voluntary work, actually I can't tell because I am not to evaluate myself but if I am to say a anything, it would be simply working with love and a smile and especially that big smile.  

8- How did you join Life Makers Association and why are you still a member in it?
-A sister named Arwa El Sutary was the reason that I joined Life Makers Association. I joined the charitable aids team and the orphans’ team in 2005, I joined those teams in particular due to my experience in dealing with orphans and making studies on families’ status constantly to know their needs. After 3 years, brother Hany Halawa and I, took over the tasks of charitable aids team and it was not as much an honouring position as anyone would believe because it’s a huge responsibility... In the same period I became the secretary of the administrative board.
The reason that I'm still a member in the association is the close relationship that formed within the members making me feel as if I'm among my family that's why I can't leave my dear family.

9- Being the head of Charitable Aids "Ramadan Team" can you tell us a little about its activities and achievements in helping others?
It's one of the most terrific teams, and I love all its members for the sake of Allah. The Charitable Aids Team is a collective team and it doesn't depend on a certain person, sincerity of our intentions toward Allah is its most important feature thus every thing done is thanks to the grace of him.
Of course when I joined the team at first both brother Hany Halawa and Hamza Anany helped me so much.
 

Watch some situations that evoke within the soul/sentiment/conscience the spirit of giving

Satisfaction and altruism of families are some of the things that had a great effect on us as Charitable Aids Team; each visit to these families brings us back to the path of right and reminds us of our duty in this life.  
I feel that I have been chosen by Allah Allmighty to be a part of Life Makers Association.

10- Being one of "Ramadan Team" members we would like to know what has the team prepared for Ramadan this year? And what are your plans after Ramadan ?
-We have changed the framework of the team this year to exchange roles and experiences because each member in the team should be familiar with all the team's activities. For example, how to divide work and make studies on people. Also, this year we will hand out CDs about Jerusalem as a humble present to make people aware of the current situation in addition to some booklets, this is of course besides the frequent work of Ramadan like handing out supplies and clothes.  
Each group of the team will be in charge of a certain area and they will make studies about families’ status and their needs, and if the need arises, we will coordinate between the families and between the associations to help them until they become able to rely on themselves.
Charitable Aids team after Ramadan :
Every year after Ramadan we make a detailed report about everything that have been accomplished in the holy month, as the voluntary work should be legal and very much organized, which is not what many people believe.
In this year if Allah wills we will work on attracting new volunteers and train them to make studies about families and write reports about each status, so step by step they can suggest ideas and start to execute them, because when the person suggests an idea, his performance gets more creative when he applies it because it's his own idea.

11- How does Rana Ragheb find her team and Life Makers Association after 3 years?
My team: an increase in the number of volunteers and hoard, and making projects for families to serve their needs.
Life Makers Association:  more efficiency of volunteers and increase of Renaissance projects.

12- In your opinion is it necessary to take courses and have deep knowledge in religion? Or is reading alone is enough?
Well, I took religious courses given by professor Ahmed Hawa in the Quranic center "Hara' ". The courses were about The Prophetic Biography, Banks Jurisprudence, Inheritance Jurisprudence, calling to Allah, polishing souls and Purification Jurisprudence. Taking these courses puts person on the start of the way and provides him with the basics of religion that all people should have. I hope from Allah that the subjects of Islamic Law (Shari'ah) which are related with various specializations be taught; like medicine, transactions and engineering jurisprudence and etc.., because every thing in life is related to Islam. Whereas the Shari'ah department remains for anyone who wishes to specialize and be a jurisprudent and a scholar from Ummah's scholars who illuminate our paths. For example the way I welcome volunteers who come to the association is derived from religion, as our religion commands us to welcome people with a smile, this might be the simplest example. If work is accompanied with good intentions the reward of Allah will be great.

13- You had the chance to attend professor Jasim El sultan courses series, tell us about these courses and what did it add to you?
Renaissance is really a pioneer and great project; it instilled within my soul a firm fact that what I'm in now belongs to Renaissance , for each person with his work, fulfills one of  society's many gaps in this life.  
Concerning my point of view about the future, I wish that the idea of Renaissance would be more widespread and Renaissance unsystematic projects which have a strong effect on people would increase. I even  consider spreading the culture of voluntary work and unsystematic activities which benefit people and have impact on you and the society, belong to Renaissance. And the most important thing is to focus on ethics because Renaissance without ethics is an incomplete equation.

14- It came to our knowledge that you intend to make a social committee, can you tell us about this project?  
I'm social by nature and I like to communicate with people so much and to make lectures and activities determining specific goal from each activity, and I hope to do so through a social committee. We can suggest a particular topic in these activities which aim to correct a wrong habit or call for specific behavior and consequently we will be able to influence others in a nice way without commanding them… the thing that I don't prefer personally. And as professor Abdul Rahman Zaher states: "We are workers for Allah" and indeed every word you say has its reward even if it had an effect in the future!
Personally I had applied this on the girls of my team and the relationship developed from the level of meetings in the association into a strong familial relation. That's why I wish to make a social committee that has a significant impact on people.

15- Who is your role model in life?
My father ــ May Allah bless his soul ــ, my mother and my friends Sana' Jarar and Ghadeer Badr.

16- Someone you would like to meet?
Magdy El helaly, because of his books and the brilliant, fluent and simple style of his writings which were my references to suggest my ideas fluently.

17- The reason of your smile?
She answers …smiling : I like to smile all the time, and I was raised up on this thing since I was a child, as my father was always telling me :  "Things are in the hands of Allah so there is no need to worry about anything", he also used to say: "Let your eyes smile" which means to smile from my heart thus I got used to smile since I was a little girl.

18- A word you would like to address to your family, your team, volunteers of the association, the administrative board, and Muslims.
My family: I will never be able to pay them what they deserve and words are not enough to thank them. I ask Allah to help me in honoring my dad ــ May Allah bless his soul ــ and my mother may Allah grant her long life.
My team: My small family that I love and if any one deviated from the road our small family would guide him back to the right path.
The Administrative Board: I love them very much for the sake of Allah. They have a major effect in my life and they always motivated me to continue in the voluntary work, and I ask Allah to gather us together in Paradise.
Muslims: I love them for the sake of Allah and I ask his forgiveness and guidance for them everyday. I wish that they go back to reading again in any topic not necessarily in religious topics. And finally I ask Allah to have mercy upon us all.

Conducted by: Noor Hassaan, Ghsoon EL Hendy, Rola El lozy, MAis Tayeh and Ramy Fares.
Translator: Heba Daba