 |
Nermien
here writes from a journey through a few places throughout Egypt
where Coptic Orphans works. She began in Aswan, moving northward
back to the Nile delta. Here is the route she followed. |
I've
been travelling through Egypt this month to oversee the work being
done. There’s so much I want to share with you from my travels. Here’s
just a taste:
We
started in Aswan (111 degrees!) and attended a workshop for widowed
mothers. They had to determine how to manage their households on 400
Egyptian pounds (about US$72) a month. Some of the mothers answered,
“The first LE40 to God.” Wow.
We
traveled to Komombo, to a small village in the gabal (mountains)
and visited a very small NGO (built almost literally out of mud - el toub el nay ) that received a grant from us. Yet even
with incredibly few resources, they are teaching the village how to
use computers. Further up north in Luxor we saw the mother who opened
up a hairdresser shop in her home so she could support her family
after her husband died. She told us that one of the reasons she likes
the Not Alone workshops for mothers so much because they
not only give her a chance to meet and talk with other women, she
also gets to talk in front of a group, something she has no opportunity
to do in her small village.
We
continued north to Sohag to visit another grantee site in El Hawaweesh
that teaches skills to handicapped and the deaf. Abouna (the priest)
there is filled with passion and commitment that they will succeed
no matter what. I love to see people who let nothing stand in their
way, and this Abouna inspired me to figure out a way to make this
kind of spirit a criteria for our grant program!
 |
Nermien
Riad with two girls at a workshop for widowed mothers on household
finance management in Aswan at the Southern extreme of Egypt. |
After
seeing this year’s Serve to Learn youth from abroad in action in Tahta,
I am confident that they will carry the mission of CO into the next
generation. They have truly immersed themselves into the world of
the children, and have their hearts and minds rooted in the country.
You know how sometimes in a crowd a child will wander over to his
father or mother and lean on them while the parent nonchalantly puts
his arms around the child and continues the conversation? That's what
I saw with the kids and George, one of the Serve to Learn volunteers.
Later, we met with His Grace Bishop Ashia of Tahta, who said to us,
“ Coptic Orphans has proven itself by having its programs last this
long. It’s apparent that there is continuous improvement.”
The
Valuable Girl Project site in the small and remote village in Nazlet
Omara is a beehive of activities and creativity. What was designed
as a one year project is now going on its 5 th year, and this site
is competing with many others who want to have the VGP. One girl at
another site that will be closed said, "If my own father had
died, I wouldn't have cried this much over him.”
 |
Nermien
talks to two boys at a Coptic Orphans-funded computer center in
King Mariut, Alexandria - the only one of its kind in the village. |
We
took a bus from Sohag to Hurghada (6 hours) on a road that is littered
with vehicle remains of deadly accidents. Our Reps travel on these
roads and other ones like it all over Egypt as part of their duties
with us, and we definitely need to continue to pray for their safety.
There are close to 100 Reps here at the annual Middle Egypt Rep training,
and it is getting close to being too big to manage. And this training
is happening three more times in the three other areas. You can imagine
the logistics and expenses. But seeing all the Reps gathered here
makes it worth it; you can almost see them growing together as one.
Now the speaker is here talking about discovering talents. His first
question is, "Are we underdeveloped ( motakhalifeen ),
thus we are poor? Or we are poor, thus we are underdeveloped?” Just
think what is possible if we don’t allow ourselves to be defined by
our circumstances.
He
tells us that our power is in our ability to affect people. It is
about us as people; we are the ones who make the real difference in
the lives of the children and mothers, not the activities in the program,
he says. Without being "hot"--not just lukewarm, it can't
be done. So now here I am, participating in a training which begins
by working on unlocking our own potential. I guess it is true how
what goes around comes around…
In
Christ,
Nermien
