DALIA SAVES THE VILLAGE - CONNECT PRIMARY 4 Term 2 - رابع ابتدائي

84 UNIT 12 LESSON 1 DALIA SAVES THE VILLAGE! BY NICOLA GARDNER

PICTURE DICTIONARY wheat crop irrigation canal irrigation wheat flour maize 85

86 Dalia lives in a village in Egypt. One evening she is doing her homework on her computer. She is doing research about crops in Egypt, like wheat, maize, and rice, and it is very interesting. Wheat is an important crop in our country and we use it to make bread. Dalia looks at the pictures of delicious Egyptian bread. Dalia likes baladi bread best. Which is your favorite?

Dalia's mom, Gameela, is speaking to Dalia's dad, Waleed, who looks sad. "The crops are not growing well in the village. There is a problem with the water and we have no irrigation," says Gameela to Dalia. "We need to help everyone in the village with their crops." Dalia's brother, Tarek, says, “But what can we do?” Dalia says, “It's very simple. Let's call everyone in the village on social media. We need to help our village." 87

88 Dalia's family gets water from the Nile. But the irrigation canal is not working. She tells everyone in the village about this problem on social media, then meets everyone in the main square. A lot of villagers say they can help. The next day everyone gets together in the center of the village. Some people come on foot, and some by bike. Some people come by boat or by car from another village to help. Everyone is very excited to help with the problem. They meet at Dalia's grandparents' house. Dalia's grandma gives them tea and cookies.

Dalia and her family go to see the problem. The irrigation canal that brings the water is blocked with trash - plastic bottles and household things. There are also some plants in the water. Tarek says, "We need to start work and clean the water." The water is not very deep and they start to clear the trash. They fill 20 trash bags with the trash. Now the water isn't polluted. 89

90 The water comes back to the village and the crops grow again. Everyone is very happy. They can grow food on their land and they can sell their fruit and vegetables to buy other things. Their lives become easier. But some of the crops are not very good. Dalia has a plan. She thinks the villagers can produce more food. She says they should try wheat - she tells them about her research. She says wheat grows very well in Egypt and is great for making delicious bread and cakes. Some villagers like the idea - they start to grow wheat in some of their fields.

From the wheat they can make flour. From the flour they can make delicious Egyptian bread. Grandma can make more of her awesome cookies. The villagers make bread and cookies to sell to other villages. In a few years, everything is better in the village. Dalia walks around the village and sees the changes. She is very proud. When she grows up, she works with agriculture to help other people with their crops. 91 16