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AMMAN – A commitment to ensure that their son properly speaks his native language in light of the lack of “catchy” educational content in Arabic has prompted a family to compose its own learning materials, which are now going viral.
What began as simple songs to teach their son Adam basic language skills, became a flourishing project that is contributing to filling the gap in Arabic educational content.
Through songs and cartoons, “Adam Wa Mishmish” is providing children aged between zero and nine the knowledge of the alphabet, shapes, numbers, colours, animals, voices and musical instruments.
“Since Adam was born, we have been searching for innovative and entertaining educational content in his mother tongue. It was easy to find such material in English, but, unfortunately, not in Arabic,” said Lama Adnani, Adam’s mother and co-founder of Adam Wa Mishmish, which was created around two years ago.
When they could not find the alternative, Lama and her husband Ibrahim Taha started to compose songs with the help of Adam’s aunt, Lina Adnani, who sang them to the child.
“Adam loved the songs! My nephews and nieces also loved them, which prompted us to start working on them professionally,” Lama noted, adding that the idea of Adam Wa Mismish was later crystallised.
With the fourth season of the cartoon series to be launched soon, Lutfi Zayed, the art director and a family friend, explained that each episode is committed to introducing educational content in a way that attracts children without carrying any underlying messages.
Ibrahim Taha, Adam’s father, agreed, saying that Adam Wa Mishmish is directed to all children, regardless of their backgrounds.
Adam’s aunt, Lina, also noted that most of the fans of the cartoon series are from Jordan, the UAE and the US, saying that Adam Wa Mismish is available on nearly all online platforms.
After self-funding the first season of the project with the help of the online method of crowdfunding, the family received help from the Abdul Hameed Shoman Foundation, which “loved the series and decided to fund the following seasons”, Lama said.
“We decide the ideas of the episodes with the help of mothers. Our songs are original: we do not take well-known tunes and just change the lyrics,” Lama added.
“I still feel that this is the start and we still have much in store,” Zayed said.
