When the Going Gets Tough: On the Value of Community
Kenzy Fahmy
If we look back at the countless wars, pandemics, recessions and disasters, both natural and manmade, that have befallen us over the course of our collective history, there is one thing that has helped us through it all, community. Humans are a social animal, and our tendency to congregate and form solid, supportive communities is one of our most protective traits. A strong community is a resilient one, and when times are tough, resilience is key.
Wissa Wassef Tapestry - Image Credit
Communities can be a great source of support, but they do so much more than that. It’s through our communities that we find connection and belonging, it’s through them that we build our identity. To find your flock is to find yourself. Knowing there are others out there who share your values and goals, your fears and concerns, knowing there are people out there who are willing to fight for the very same things that matter most to you is an essential part of being human.
Communities are one of the most powerful forces for change we have at our disposal. There is power in numbers and there is strength in unity. It’s through our shared values, our shared fears, that we are able to band together into a solid whole, into a more powerful whole. It’s through our shared concerns and our shared needs that we find the support required to bring about positive change.
Maadi has long been a close-knit community, so much so that it’s become a bit of an inside joke among Cairenes. In fact, the developers who built Maadi did it with just that in mind. They wanted to create a new neighbourhood, far from the hustle and bustle of an early-20th century Cairo. They wanted to create a neighbourhood for like-minded individuals and families, mostly expats at the time, to form a solid community, and that’s exactly what they did.
This solid community has protected Maadi over the decades. It has protected its homes, its trees, its animals and its people. Of course, that protection can only extend so far and Maadi has changed drastically. But its identity, and the identity of its community, still stands strong. Places like CSA, with its longstanding reputation as a social, cultural and educational hub of Maadi, play a vital role in keeping the community alive and flourishing. They offer a space where people can come together, where they can both find the support they need, and offer their own support to others.
These community spaces also provide opportunities, for small businesses and vendors, for artists and artisans. They provide opportunities for members of the community to connect with and influence each other. The provide opportunities for us to learn from each other. They offer us a chance to give back and make a difference. They give us a chance to share our stories and be a part of something bigger than ourselves.
Modernity and globalization have given us much. They’ve given us the means to live longer, better lives, to travel and to connect with people all over the world. They’ve given us countless opportunities that would otherwise have been out of reach. But they’ve also taken much. They’ve taken so much of our history, so much of our heritage, sacrificed in the name of development. They’ve altered our sense of identity, of belonging. They’ve altered the ways in which we relate to and interact with each other. Our communities are changing and it’s becoming more important than ever to make sure they don’t disappear.
Community has always been one of the most important facets of our lives and our culture, and we need it now more than ever. It’s through our communities, be they local or global, that we will find our way forward, together.