Cairo Update
Hi,
In
Egypt it is so easy to see time slip away. I was only planning
to be away for a couple of hours today to do a meeting in the
morning. The drain on time comes with the hospitality afterwards.
In this culture it would be grossly impolite to refuse hospitality,
and even worse to leave by saying "I must see someone" . . .
I
went at 9:30am and managed to get back at about 6:30pm- so bang
goes another day!
It
was a good time though, I really enjoy working with these kind
of children. The children live in a very poor part of the city
outside Cairo called "Medeenit Salaam" i.e. The City of Peace.
The children are from very poor backgrounds and would normally
be living and playing in the streets (filled with rubbish) during
the day and sleep in the family home at night. These kids come
with many psychological problems and illnesses. The group that
I have been working with clean the children and give them new
clothes. Then they are treated with medicines to deal with the
pysical ailments, the most common of which is anaemia (a low number
of red blood cells, due to a deficient diet).
The
psychological problems take more time to heal. There are cases
of children who curse their families for the way that they have
been treated, others have been glue sniffing but most of all there
is a lack of love form their families. The environment into which
they are accepted show His love to them and explain why they are
valuable to Him. I've been helping with this side of the program.
One
of the workers explained to me that within a short time there
is a complete turn-around in their attitudes and a real healing
takes place in their lives. I could see what he meant- the children
appeared to be happy and well-balanced but this belies some of
the situations from where they have come.
I
give Him all the glory for the transforming power that I have
witnessed in the lives of these kids- it was a privilege to speak
to them and I've promised to return, even if it takes another
whole day.
That's
all for now,
Another
busy day becons,
Lots
of Love,
Jason,
Alison, Hannah and Esther
Return to Cairo
Update Index
|
It's
a Fact!
Facts
about Egypt:
- Egypt's
population is 66 Million
- Egypt
is four times the size of the UK
-
Only 3% of the land can be used for arable crops
- Cairo
has 18 million people and is growing by 1 millon each year.
- Cairo
is the Largest city in Africa and the Middle East
- Official
literacy rate is only 45%
- A
total of 11 languages are spoken in Egypt
- Public
Debt per person is $790
- Average
annual income is $630
- Unemployment
is estimated to be 17%
- Religion:
Approx. 85% Muslim and 15% Christian
- Most
Christians are affiliated to the Orthodox Church, less than
1% of the population are Protestant
- There are
an estimated 100,000 street children in Egypt
|
