- Title: 'Inside the cooking pot': woman creates cook-book for the visually impaired
- Date: 2nd August 2021
- Summary: GIZA, EGYPT (JULY 27, 2021) (REUTERS) COOKBOOK LOGO (Arabic): "GOWA EL7ALLA (INSIDE THE POT)" VARIOUS OF VISUALLY IMPAIRED WOMAN, REEM ABDELKAREEM, READING COOKBOOK IN BRAILLE AUTHOR OF "GOWA EL7ALLA" COOKBOOK, EMAN EL-HUSSEINI, LEADING REEM INTO KITCHEN REEM PREPARING INGREDIENTS (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) AUTHOR OF "GOWA EL7ALLA" COOKBOOK, EMAN EL-HUSSEINI, SAYING: "We started by utilizing hobbies that I and my sister and partner Israa had. My hobby is cooking and Israa's hobby is photography. So we started a blog called 'Gowa El7alla' (inside the pot). I would write the recipe, cook it, and Israa would photograph it. After six months of work, Israa stopped me and said she wasn't happy with what we were doing and that we should be doing something that helps the community. There are plenty of blogs and channels that provide people with recipes, but we wanted to be unique. If we put our finger on a problem that exists in society and fixed it, then we would be providing something special that has value." VARIOUS OF REEM CHOPPING VEGETABLES (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) AUTHOR OF "GOWA EL7ALLA" COOKBOOK, EMAN EL-HUSSEINI, SAYING: "Another thing that makes the book very special is the dependence on the four senses for the visually impaired, with the exception of sight. So we don't say in the book, 'look or see'. We say, 'listen and smell, taste or touch.' So for example, when the water is boiling, we don't say, 'look at the water until it boils.' Instead, we tell them that they will hear bubbles in the water. So we substitute all functions related to sight with touch, smell, and hearing for the visually impaired." REEM SQUEEZING LEMON INTO A PAN ON THE STOVE REEM FEELING STOVE FOOD SIMMERING ON STOVE (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) AUTHOR OF "GOWA EL7ALLA" COOKBOOK, EMAN EL-HUSSEINI, SAYING: "The most important goal of the book is giving every visually impaired man and woman the chance to enter the kitchen and depend on himself or herself. That way they can prepare their recipes on their own, without asking their families for help. That way, they can have the chance to start a family or open up a household, where they complete all their duties." REEM POURING FOOD INTO PAN REEM STIRRING FOOD ON STOVE REEM'S EYES REEM STIRRING REEM READING COOKBOOK IN BRAILLE (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) VISUALLY IMPAIRED WOMAN, REEM ABDELKAREEM, SAYING: "Things that help me include the element of safety in the kitchen. I used to face a lot of problems (in the kitchen) before. People around me would tell me not to enter the kitchen, enter it less, or ask them to accompany me. The book, however, provided me with elements of safety from the beginning, it is helping me stand alone and depend on myself in the kitchen. That's something I really liked about the book. It also helped me find easy and quick recipes that don't require a lot of effort and that don't need me to stand by the stove a lot." EL-HUSSEINI LEADING VISUALLY IMPAIRED WOMAN, ELHAM ABDELKAREEM ELHAM READING IN BRAILLE (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) VISUALLY IMPAIRED WOMAN, ELHAM ABDELKAREEM, SAYING: "Before finding the 'Gowa El7alla' cookbook, I used to have to ask people to tell me what the colour of the meat or the macaroni was. I would ask them if the sauce was heavy or light. But because of how much I read the book, I really understood how it works, it really explains how we can determine all these things on our own." ELHAM FILLING PAN WITH WATER VARIOUS OF ELHAM MAKING PASTA WITH SAUCE ON STOVE ELHAM CARRYING READY MEAL AND WALKING VARIOUS OF ELHAM AND REEM EATING WITH DAUGHTERS (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) DAUGHTER OF VISUALLY IMPAIRED WOMAN REEM ABDELKAREEM, SARAH KHALED, SAYING: "The book was the solution. I feel like it helped my mother a lot. I think it is a good thing, and I am glad that mom was able to use the kitchen on her own, doing everything without needing my help." VARIOUS OF ELHAM EATING SIGN READING (Arabic): "Gowa El7alla"
- Embargoed: 16th August 2021 13:26
- Keywords: Braille Cooking Cooking book Disabilities Egypt Visually impaired
- Location: GIZA, EGYPT
- City: GIZA, EGYPT
- Country: Egypt
- Topics: Middle East,Society/Social Issues
- Reuters ID: LVA001EOL7TXX
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: When visually impaired sisters and mothers Reem and Elham would first try to use their kitchens, their families would accompany them, saying it is unsafe for them to cook without supervision.
Today, a cookbook that is specially designed for their disability has become a gateway for independence and self-sufficiency.
Dubbed "Gowa El7alla" - Arabic for "inside the pot" - the book is written in braille, and contains recipes and instructions that solely focus on the visually impaired's four main senses: touch, smell, hearing, and taste.
For example, instead of watching water boil in a pan, users are told to wait and listen to the sound of simmering bubbles.
"There are plenty of blogs and channels that give people cooking recipes, but we wanted to be unique," said Eman El-Husseini, the book's author, adding that she and her sister and partner Israa wanted to create something that added value to people's lives.
"I am glad that mom was able to use the kitchen on her own, doing everything without needing my help," said Reem's 17-year-old daughter, Sarah Khaled, who used to worry about her mother hurting herself in the kitchen.
El-Husseini launched her book around a year ago but has only so far printed a handful of copies that she distributes to friends.
She hopes to partner with a publishing house in order to make it accessible to the wider population.
(Production: Sherif Fahmy, Hamuda Hassan, Nadeen Ebrahim) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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