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Writer's pictureZeinab Eltaher

My First Pro Bono Anniversary

September was very special as it was the Pro Bono anniversary. October is no less special for a variety of reasons. 


In the northern hemisphere, the temperature cools down. But maybe this isn't exactly the case in the south of Egypt where I live as the hot weather stays with us a bit longer, which I don’t mind at all. On the 6th of October, Egypt celebrates the war that paved the way to regain our Sinai from the colonizer, regardless of the severe restrictions imposed in the afterward “unequal” treaty. In our family, we have an October-born women’s alliance which is made up of my mother, my sister, my niece and me. Above all, October is my anniversary as a Pro Bono volunteer. 

My First Pro Bono Anniversary - Zeinab

On the 5th of October 2023, which marked my birthday as well, I received the “Be Part of the Pro Bono Program” email. By the following day, I was already a member of that great team. However, it took me almost a month until I plucked up my courage to apply for the first translation. I remember the first piece I worked on was for IRC titled: “Choices for wellness”. It was reviewed by our sunshine reviewer Shams. To date, I translated over 10,000 words for roughly four nonprofits. 


A year has passed. A year full of ups and downs. In my life, I have been like someone who learned to walk with a stick. The moment someone kicked the stick away, I fell. However, I could have learned to walk without it and saved myself from the fall. I shouldn’t have gotten used to the "fake" comfort of having a stick. I fell, failed and broke a leg. If I don’t get rid of the stick, I won’t be able to walk my path on my own. 


I’m looking back through that year and beyond not to blame myself for falling and failing over and over again, but to spot the mistakes and avoid repeating them. And I’m learning a great deal about myself and about dealing with people. Throughout the year, I found out the true colors of some people I knew. Bonds were reinforced with some while growing apart was destined with others. I wrongly thought some had my back but they turned their backs on me in my weakest moments. 


I learned lessons the hard way. My hearing got worse and I received a new pair of hearing aids. I gained a lot of understanding about my hearing loss. I’m also coming to terms with my past and who I am now. 


I’m trying to prioritize my physical and mental health. I go for a daily walk. I traveled to different places. That year's list included one country abroad: Sri Lanka and seven cities in Egypt: Cairo, Dahab, Damietta, Alexandria, Aswan, Qena and Safaga. I speak out about my social difficulties and mental health problems. I've had my first therapy session and hopefully, I will make some progress with that. 


In my past three years, volunteering has been a godsend when I felt like cracking up. With Pro Bono, I don’t only keep my mind active but I build up translation experiences and I try my hand in writing. I also brainstorm to come up with different ideas for writing Pro Bono blog posts


Thank you, Pro Bono’s team for having me and special thanks to Andrew for all the effort he’s been dedicating to this project. 


In the end, let me ask you, dear colleagues, do you remember when you joined Pro Bono? What was the first translation you contributed?


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Thank you, Zeinab! I hope you are doing well. I remember to join at the beginning of this year, and my first project was a refugee application document. Even though, translating for Proz Pro Bono is really good, writing is my thing. I think that we have that in common. Finally, I wish you the best Zeinab!

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Thank you, Óscar!

I wish you the best too!

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Wishing you all the best!❤️

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Thank you!

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