The True Meaning of Care

IAHPC received many excellent and interesting submissions to its 2025 Photo Contest: more than could be awarded prizes. The photo below was accompanied by an equally compelling story that we are pleased to share. 

Nurturing life & legacy, even beyond death

Nancy Kamal of Hospice Egypt in Cairo reveals aspects of what cannot be seen in her photo, but which help to explain the mood it captures.

Uncle Ahmed and a Hospice Egypt volunteer in a photo by Nancy Kamal. Used with permission.

"In the heart of the workshop, the smell of leather tells the story of Uncle Ahmed. He was a shoemaker whose hands had shaped not just shoes, but the life of his family. When illness made it difficult for him to stand at his beloved bench, it felt like the story was ending. 

"But then, Amani arrived. As a volunteer with Hospice Egypt, Amani saw more than a patient; she saw a craftsman. She didn't just offer sympathy; she offered solid support. She would stand by his side, handing him tools and offering steadying words of encouragement. "You can do this, Uncle Ahmed," she would say, her belief in him as strong as the leather he worked with. 

"With her support and dedicated pain management, his hands found their strength again. The workshop, once silent, echoed with the sound of his hammer—a sound of defiance, of purpose regained. He spent his final days doing what he loved, his dignity intact, his value felt with every stitch. 

"And his story did not end with his passing. Today, the rhythm of work continues in that same workshop. His son, who watched his father reclaim his craft with Amani's help, now stands at the bench. The skills passed down from father to son are now the family's livelihood, a living tribute to Uncle Ahmed's spirit. This is the true meaning of our care: to nurture life and legacy until the very end, and even after."