Egypt: restoring childhood
In Egypt child labour is a real social emergency. Out of population of about 80 million people, the work force includes more than 2 million children between the ages of 7 and 15. Many of them have to leave school to keep their families. In Cairo, working children often live on the streets and are exposed to many kinds of violence and the risk of serious illness.
AMU (Azione per un mondo unito, meaning Action for a United World), an NGO inspired by the spirituality of the Focolare Movement, which for years has working with the Foundation ‘Koz Kazah’ (‘Rainbow’ in Arabic), has continued its commitment in 2013 to work for the children of the Shubra district of Cairo. They are minors between 5 and 15 years old, doing unskilled work and coming from extremely difficult home situations. The prime objective is to give them back their childhoods by creating conditions suitable for their ages. A centre has been established and the children come to it one day a week, when they are off work, and they have the chance to learn how to read and write and, through games, sport and art, they learn how to recover their self-esteem and their ability to interact positively with others. The older children, who have been coming to the centre for several years, help the new ones fit in with the various activities. A club has been set up called ‘Edn Masr’ (Child of Egypt).
Seeing how successful it has been over the years, led the centre to venture into offering job training courses: as electricians and carpenters for the boys, as dressmakers for the girls. An interesting confirmation of this activity is taking place with a theatre course held by a professional director. In September they managed to offer a first performance at an important peace day run by Koz Kazah together with two Muslim associations, one that cares for orphans and the other for people with disabilities.
Hanaa Kaiser, the local representative of AMU for the project said, ‘The peace day was a unique opportunity for our children to feel appreciated and part of society. The performers came from every social category among both Christians and Muslims.’ She went on to say, ‘We have seen that sport plays an important part in educating boys, and so we have organized a football tournament with other sport’s centres in the city. For girls things are very different and in our various activities we find we can help them overcome several prejudices deeply rooted in some parts of society. For example, R., among the brightest girls in the school, was supposed to finish her studies after middle school in order to get married, which was all that was thought possible for her. Our support made it possible to convince her parents to let her carry on and become a nurse. This was an important sign of change also for other families.’
Another important achievement has been attained by four boys who passed the government literacy examination. With the certificate obtained, they will be able to get a job and a driving licence, and work, for instance, as taxi drivers. This will certainly be an example for others and encourage them to better their living conditions.
Project data for 2013
Project: Children at risk – in the country and locally: Egypt, Cairo
Beneficiaries: 120 minors
Local partner: the Koz Kazah Foundation
Total cost of the project: €27,624.37
Local funds: €12,352.63 – funds asked from AMU €15,271.74
Source: AMU Notizie and AMU Newsletter
http://www.amu-it.eu/2013/03/08/egitto-andata-e-ritorno/?lang=en
http://www.amu-it.eu/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/NEWSLETTER-formazione-giugno-2012.pdf
http://www.amu-it.eu/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/AMU-Notizie-n%C2%B04per-web.pdf
It all began with a question: What can we do for Jànoshalma, our city? “Our first step was to make a pact with each other,” M. C. recalls. “We promised each other that we would put into practice Jesus’ New Commandment: “Love one another as I have loved you” (Jn. 15:12). This would mean sharing one another’s joys and sorrows, possessions and experiences. And we tried to extend this same measure of love to our city as well. It was a pact of mutual love that would require time, energy and sacrifice. We often found ourselves beginning again.
One activity involved the restoration of the city park, which was in a state of disrepair. We were aware that there were no monies for this project in our Association, nor in the City Council, so we came up with the idea of collecting paper for recycling. We contacted shops, but the results of the project didn’t render much revenue. So then we decided to organize a benefit ball in the centre of town. This time the profits were beyond our expectations. We contacted City Hall and our proposal to use these funds for restoring the park was accepted. A short time later there was the inauguration and, since the park did not have a name, we had the idea of involving schools and kindergartens in a naming contest. More than 100 children participated in the contest and when the winner was announced, we had a grand feast with the children.
Cristina continues: “Three images stand out and represent the variety of meetings with EoC businesses that we have encountered on this trip. A few farm families reminded us of what lies at the basis of the EoC and the simple and familial and communitarian environment in which it can grow and develop, beginning from the cooperation between small producers and by the gift not of profits but livestock A quite different scene. A large company operating in the field of food and commercial agriculture highlighted the challenges and dilemmas involved in reconciling values of communion and of size and growth, share and investment relations with the local community and with the banks. Finally, there is the image of the EOC with its strong determination to ensure the quality of its products and the jobs of its employees, of expanding its business slowly without borrowing, even offering its customers interest-free loans in a solid mutual trust. It is clear that the Serbian economy still suffers from the consequences of the war. In some areas of the country there is widespread poverty and unemployment is high. For this reason, the spontaneity, consistency and passion that we have encountered in the three examples cited above and in many other regions of Vojvodina provide us with important evidence for the study. It has become even more evident to us that the Economy of Communion does not merely involve an impersonal gift of money, or the application of a particular system of management. It mainly means to live fully immersed in the local scene, finding energy to invent new work from small family production, becoming animators of a community who are able to provide services and be near to those in need.” 
Jena Debbaneh adds: “Seeing the reality in person is always very different from ‘reading it’ from the numbers. We have met so many people. All of them were ready to share their stories: how and why they received assistance, for how long and how they used it. It was important for us to understand their stories in order to have a precise idea of what “assistance” really is. But their hopes for the future were also important. Their answers contained hope for the future, which made us think that these people are not prisoners of a ‘poverty trap’. I remember one family living on the Belgrade countryside. The questions we had before meeting them became fewer when we were face to face with the reality of their home. There we found extreme poverty, but also joy and hospitality and sharing of food and drinks. We were offered an abundance of food, but also as much happiness and love. It made us realize that this family gave and shared like the poor widow of the Gospel. They were in fact rich because they understood what a culture of giving means.” Jena concluded: “During this trip I came to understand what Chiara Lubich was talking about when she first launched the Economy of Communion in Brazil (1991): Eliminating poverty and inequality by creating businesses with a new culture. The poor are the final goal of the EoC, and their involvement in the business is the means for evaluating its effectiveness.” By Antonella Ferrucci
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