By Renad Ghanem
Saudi Gazette
CAIRO — Many people consider school days an opportune time to make money by providing certain school-related services, such as driving children to school.
Hoda Hassan, 49, is a widow and mother of three children who are now all grown up. “I used to drive my children to school when they were young, but now they are all adults. Two are married and the third is busy at work. As a housewife, I used to get bored and so decided to buy a minibus and transport children to school. This isn’t too bad especially since the city I now live in does not suffer from too much traffic,” said Hoda.
“I told all my neighbors and friends who have children that need taking to and from school what I was doing and offered them this service at a competitive price, cheaper than the school bus,” she added. “Many people welcome the idea because they know that as a woman and mother, I will ensure their children remain safe.”
Hanaa El-Masry, 33, is a mother of two children who are both in elementary school. She said that the school bus is expensive and costs around 6,000 Egyptian pounds per child for two semesters even though their school is only five minutes away from home.
“My mother suggested I drive them to school to save the 12,000 pounds and so I bought a car and then thought why not offer to take other children to school at a price that is lower than the school bus,” she said.
“I started with two children and now I transport seven. My husband is happy with this as it benefits me. Other mothers trust me because my children are also in the same car. Many parents don’t feel comfortable with the school buses,” she added.
Reda is 25 and decided to make a living out of taking children to and from school while she finds a better-paid job. “I was like thousands of unemployed women and so decided to work until I found a good job. I rent a minibus from my neighbor and drive children to school. I transport some 12 to 15 children a day. That’s more than enough,” she said.
Reda has, however, faced some criticism from her family for doing a manual job though she has a college degree. “There is nothing to be shy about. Society will not feed me or provide me with money to pay for my expenses. I earn quite a bit of money at the moment from work that takes very little effort. I try to collect children from the same school to save time," she said.
“Aside from that, many people have told me that they appreciate what I do and I'm proud that I haven’t sat at home waiting for a job. I make good money from a job that I begin at 1pm and finish at 4pm,” said Reda.
