In a world of iPads and technology stealing away our little kids’ childhood, some people out there are trying to utilize technology in our little ones’ favor. A great example would definitely be Randa El Sawi, an Egyptian mother who started her own YouTube channel dedicated to telling her very own bedtime stories.
Unlike what you’re probably expecting, Randa El Sawi’s Bedtime Stories is not an animation video channel, it’s rather an auditory one. Randa comes up with different stories inspired by real-life situations as well as suggested topics by her followers and records them in her own bubbly voice. Her final touch is her 8-year-old son’s illustration that’s related to the story she’s telling; that’s the only visual that comes along with her audio creation. “I am not planning to develop the videos as I insist on having the stories as audio stories and not animated videos,” she told us. “What we really lack is audio stories. Kids need to use their auditory senses more to grow their imagination and these audio stories help them do so,” she added.
Randa, who’s originally the Regional Director of News and Media at Ericsson Middle East and Africa, started her project with simple voice notes! She used to send her stories over WhatsApp, and then when demand grew for her audio creations, she created her first WhatsApp group. As soon as the group reached its maximum capacity of 257 members back then with a demand for joining still ongoing, it was time for a second one. But then, it happened all over again, and Randa’s bedtime stories groups grew into a third one, then a fourth, and finally a fifth group!
That was exactly the moment when El Sawi realized she had to take her project to a more convenient channel. That’s when she decided to move to YouTube and start her very own channel. She thought that Soundcloud wasn’t as popular as YouTube and that the free and accessible channel was a better one for her target audience.
Each of El Sawi’s stories has a moral; she believes that storytelling is a great method of teaching children important morals and that it’s one of the most effective techniques. “I would love to reach more children around the Arab world,” she said. “I’d like to spread positive behaviors and fundamental learnings towards Arab children through my stories.”
