In Egypt, the journey for a family of a child with special needs often feels like walking through a fog. There is no map, no central directory, and very few clear answers but there is a platform called kollena guiding parents through the maze.
Nazli El Leithy and Malak El Batran, founders of the platform Kollena (Arabic for All of Us), decided to build the lighthouse they realized the society desperately needed.
The Spark that lit the lighthouse
Kollena is an online directory of professionals, organizations, and institutions that service individuals with disabilities and special educational needs in Egypt. It’s a non profit organization that aims to connect the professionals with the parents through their journey. Moreover, the directory provides a database of professional therapists or doctors, schools whether public or private, clinics and centers.
This database is a filtered search engine where parents can find specialists by location, age group, and specific needs. Essentially, they have implemented a detailed screening process, Kollena is guiding parents through the maze.
“We are not a booking service,” the founders clarify. “We want to ensure that those professionals are trusted. They fill out a form, provide credentials, and sign a consent form. We even visit schools and centers ourselves.”
The road to Kollena began in London, where Nazli and Malak met while pursuing their Masters in special education at UCL.When they returned to Egypt during the pandemic, they were met with a flood of questions from their social circles. Parents were lost, asking where to go for assessments or which therapist to trust.
For Nazli, the mission was deeply personal. Having grown up with an Uncle on the autism spectrum, she had seen the struggle firsthand.
“I was always thinking about it in the back of my head,” Nazli says. “I grew up always wanting to help him, to give him a purpose and a quality of life. Even when I started at PwC, I felt I was stopping my brain from what I really wanted to do.” After a year of shadowing at a center in Maadi alongside her corporate job, Nazli made the leap.
Identifying the Gap
Throughout her family business, Malak witnessed the systemic gaps from inside the schools system. She saw how schools often shut doors out of fear or lack of qualification.
“When I worked in schools, there was a mother who wanted to enroll her daughter. She couldn’t believe we agreed and that the girl would join her siblings at the school. The problem is many schools reject these cases. Parents become afraid or feel their children won’t be independent.”
Malak reflected that Speech Therapy is usually the first sign or the most common thing parents notice.
“If there is a speech problem, the child might pass all other stages and enter school. Accordingly, you discover all the other needs once they are in a classroom setting or facing academic tasks,” She clarified.
“Many schools block this inclusion because they are afraid or feel they aren’t qualified enough to take anyone with a difficulty,” Malak explains.
She believes that parents need someone to support them and believe in them. “Parents don’t want someone to do the work or research; they want the world to listen.”
The “Life Sentence” Myth
Kollena started with simple questions from families such as “who is a good therapist?” or “ where can I go?”. Consequently, the founders understood the need for a virtual space that provides answers. Despite the social and educational limitations in Egypt, children with special needs can reach their full potential with the right support.
Now, most parents know the early signs. It’s not just about a “disability.” They can intervene early and spot behavioral issues at home before reaching school. The matter is shifting; parents are becoming more aware.
“Because of increased awareness, people focus more on early childhood signs to look out for, what’s typical, what’s delayed. There are behavior checklists now,” Malak said.
Kollena is guiding parents to understand the maze of different kinds of disabilities and specialties. Parents gathered information from various sources, but it rarely fit their child’s specific needs.
“Just because someone works on speech with an Autistic child doesn’t mean they know how to handle cognitive issues,“ Nazli clarified that a therapist recommended by word of mouth isn’t a one size fits all solution, every child requires a tailored approach.
Leaving No Parent Behind
Kollena is currently strong in Cairo and Alexandria guiding parents through the maze, Nazli and Malak are looking toward the rest of the region because they want to reach parents who don’t have high speed internet or easy access to urban centers.
“We want to reach the largest number of people possible,” Malak and Nazli share. “Even if they don’t have access to the website, we want to raise awareness in different cities. We are working on a podcast to engage more with parents and professionals, people love to hear stories they can relate to.”