(Photo handout to DNE)
A group of student at Cairo University’s Faculty of Mass Communication has decided to leave a positive imprint in a world full of depressing news and negative energy. In an attempt to raise awareness on the serious side effects of a simple unclean glass of water they drink, and the number of diseases they might get because of it, they began a campaign entitled “Hatefre’”.
“Hatefre’” (It’ll make a difference) is a graduation project campaign aimed at highlighting the deadly side effects of water pollution in a new creative way. This is through targeting the last wishes and dreams of people who have been diagnosed with a disease, such as kidney failure, caused by water pollution, and trying to achieve them.
“We wanted to highlight the dangers of the water we drink in a new creative way,” said Passant El-Dahan, a member of the team. “What a better way than achieving the simple dream of someone who believes that he’s about to die and draw a smile upon his face.”
The campaign targets the elderly and children specifically with kidney failure, the most common disease caused by water pollution. “These are the people who believe they are too old/little to make what they dream about happen in reality,” said El-Dahan.
The dreams were as simple as a child who wished to meet his favourite cartoon character, or to know what a plane looked like in reality, or to just go have a hot tasty meal at an elderly man’s favourite place, according to El-Dahan.
The team believes that for the audience to see an ad of an old man who believes that he’s about to die only dreaming to have a walk down the street, yet he’s too weak to achieve that dream, would totally change the way they think about the water they drink. It would also alter their role in water pollution and the results that affects a wider range of other people.
“After intense research on the past campaigns, we discovered that none of them affected people deeply enough to start changing their bad habits that pollute water,” said team member Marwa Sherif.
People’s bad habits play a strong role in water pollution, and such a small action like preventing rubbish from being thrown in the River Nile would make a huge difference.
“That’s why the campaign was named Hatefre’, to deliver the message that each action you take, would make a difference to other people’s lives,” said El-Dahan.
The campaign consists of TV and Radio ads, billboards and flyers to be distributed to people, and only awaits funding by a concerned organisation.
