A Word Can Build
Al Manshiyya Village, Mallawi District, Egypt | A Word Can Build - Monshaat Al-Maghalqa Shifters | 2025
Ahlan!
We are the Monshaat Al-Maghalqa Shifters, a passionate group of young people fighting to protect children from emotional abuse and psychological harm. In 2025, we launched A Word Can Build (Kalima Betebny), a campaign addressing the invisible violence of harsh words, neglect, and constant criticism that children face from parents, teachers, and even their peers. Ultimately, we want to shift harmful beliefs about tough parenting and replace them with positive, respectful communication, because every child deserves to grow up feeling valued, heard, and loved.
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17 to 23 years old
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The Right-Sized Problem
Harsh commands, constant criticism, and emotional neglect cause children to develop feelings of inferiority, isolation, sleep disorders, and aggressive behaviour. This invisible violence damages children, leaving deep scars that weaken their ability to build healthy relationships and achieve their aspirations.
What We Did
Over six months, we brought together theatre, workshops, sports, and digital storytelling to reach families, schools, and communities with one clear message: children need care, respect, and unconditional love, not just discipline.
Offline Impact
Interactive Theatre Performances Staged plays about psychological harm that brought the issue to life through powerful storytelling and emotional performances.
Parent Awareness Sessions Opened conversations with parents and caregivers about positive discipline and the real impact of hurtful words on children's mental health.
Teacher Training Workshops Equipped educators with practical tools for positive discipline and child protection practices.
Sports Awareness Day Used play and team activities to teach kids how to use encouraging words, accept differences, and support one another instead of teasing or bullying.
Children's Drawing Competition Created a safe space for children to express their emotions through art and creativity.
Community Engagement Distributed 120 illustrated storybooks on children's rights and emotions, installed banners and posters with the child helpline number throughout the village, and used toys, puppets, songs, and culturally inspired celebrations to deliver key messages.
High-Level Partnerships Collaborated with Public Child Protection Committees and invited a university mental health professor to deliver specialised sessions.
Online & Media Impact
Joint Social Media Campaign with ACCM Partnered with ACCM to unite Shifters, children with disabilities, and refugee children in creating shared messages about the different forms of violence children face.
Digital Content Creation Produced awareness videos, short reels, an original rap song about psychological harm, and podcast episodes with psychological experts.
Television Coverage A campaign representative appeared on local television to discuss the team's work and community impact.
Campaign Impact
Empowered children to recognise hurtful words, stand up against bullying, and support their peers.
Built strong partnerships with child protection committees and mental health experts.
Total reach on TikTok and Facebook is 145,000 (from September till December 2025)
One of our most powerful transformations came from 12-year-old Samir who started paying close attention to how he speaks to his friends, making sure not to use hurtful words. He became more supportive of classmates experiencing bullying, standing beside them and refusing to laugh along with bullies.
"I learned that we all need kind words, children and adults. So now I tell my mom and dad good things to make them happy, the same way they do for me."
His mother shared, "Samir has changed a lot. He listens better, talks to us more, and even encourages me when I'm tired. I love when he tells me that he will try again even if his grades are not perfect."
Another defining moment came during a parent session when a mother realised she had been calling her son "a failure." During the "positive and negative words" activity, that exact word appeared. She became fully aware of how hurtful it was and committed to stopping negative labels, speaking with encouraging, positive language instead.
Children shared powerful reflections:
"I learned that one word can lift us up to the sky, and another word can bring us all the way down to the ground."
“I learned to cheer others on and avoid using negative words, because hurtful words can break a heart; they are not just something we say and forget."
This story was lovingly curated by the SHIFT team with the help of Claude (Anthropic) based on submitted source materials from our Fun Adults and Shifters.
