Partnership Overview

There are huge numbers of poor in Cairo. It is a hub for the poor and for countless generations for refugees. They are spread right throughout the city. SB runs a vocational training centre (EGY01) in Cairo which trains people in various skills. As part of the training, which people need to pay for, the team came across many people who strongly desired training but they just did not have the resources to do so. Part of the budget provided by BHW was to assist those poor students to be trained and to give some relief to their families in times of crisis. 

This new partnership has grown out of that small amount that was set apart to assist the poor. A separate project has been established so that the development of the training is not compromised by the needs of the poor which could so easily overwhelm it.  

This is primarily a mercy ministry. Some of these women will be able make a go of starting a small business but most of them are in survival mode and are unable to care for themselves. The financial pressures are immense for them. 

History of Partnership

Since 2015 BHW has been supporting the vocational training programme established by NB and SB who runs the programme. During that time many people have benefitted from the training and the funds available to assist those who would struggle to pay the fees. Each time the BHW team have visited they have met some of those people and seen the joy that achievement brings. 

During the training the team got to know the students very well and their family circumstances. Many of them, especially the girls, were really struggling. This is an issue in their culture as many of them were going to get married but they were too poor to fulfil their obligations. BS would therefore spend time with the mothers to try and find ways to assist them. The pressure on their families was intense and they would often get into serious debt because of the marriage. 

In 2018 we began to explore the possibility of freeing up funds from the training budget and establishing a separate fund so that more people could be assisted. By doing that, funds would also be released to grow and train more people.  

Beneficiaries

The beneficiaries are the young people who come for training and their families whom SB meets while involved in the vocational training. Many are widows and abandoned women who have been left to bring up families on their own.

There are many more women she wants to assist. We met with two groups of them and they are lovely, desperate, poor, Christian women. Many of these women have severe family issues they have to deal with, especially when their daughters get married. Many are widows or abandoned women. About 50-70 women per year would be impacted by this programme. When a woman is helped the whole family benefits. 

The women are mainly Christian, but they are getting more and more requests from people of other faiths for assistance.  

What We Like About The Partnership

The people who are being served are very poor. These are the people we live to assist. Most are widows or abandoned women with families to bring up. 

SB and her team are well organised and every dollar is multiplied by the way they purchase and their strong network. 

Those being served are treated with dignity and are cared for emotionally, spiritually and economically.  

Key People

Leadership Profile

SB is the key person. She and her husband, NB, oversee the work at the vocational training centre. This work has grown out of that and because most of the ones they are serving are women, it is more appropriate that she does it. She is a mother type person and the women she spends time with just love her. 

SB is a pharmacist and gave up her job at a large government hospital to lead this work. She has three children, one married and two just finishing secondary school. She has wide experience in this type of work and has done it as a volunteer for many years while holding down a job. This has taken over her life. 

Women come into the centre every day and she will be there talking with them and listening to their stories. She attracts people to her. She and her husband have a wide network of influence from their other roles in the Christian community. 

Vision And Annual Strategy

Vision 

To help as many poor women as possible and their families. Ideally they want them to become self-sustaining and many of them are helped to get jobs from the vocational training centre and to start small businesses. 

Strategy

There are several components to their strategy:
1) Many younger women come to the vocational training centre and while they are there relationships are built with them. This often provides opportunities to be able to help as the women tell their stories. Some are older and are needing assistance because of family circumstances. 

2) SB goes out to several communities each week to meet with women's groups. These women are poor and they spend time together for emotional and spiritual encouragement. There are many struggling women amongst them who need help. 

3) They meet with groups of refugees and some of them are desperate for assistance at many levels. 

Usually the women are well known by the group before help is given. The help could be food supplements, small amounts of money to get them through a crisis, assistance when facing a family issue like a funeral or wedding, or perhaps a medical emergency. In some cases, loans are given to assist them to start, or more likely boost, a small business. 

Annual Budget

The annual budget here is US$5,000. SB wants to increase the number of women she helps as the need is far beyond her current resources. 

Personal Testimony

Real "Life Change" Stories

Over the last two years that the BHW team has visited they have gone to meet with the women. Their stories are very traumatic and they are often in tears when telling them. 

Of course this project is about the need for finance but just as much, maybe even more, it is about these women being encouraged and part of a community that cares for them. They told of the dream that their children would be able to finish school now. That some of them have hope for the first time in years because one of their children has just finished at the vocational training centre and has a good job. They tell of being able to give their kids regular meals and to be able to stop begging on the streets. The impact is immense.