23 March 2007

Dear Family and Friends,

I have to pinpoint when in June Charles finishes his end of year examinations. They are over a week or two before the end of school! I'll call his school on Sunday for the exact date. Then I can figure out when I can come to the United States for itineration.

Yesterday I went to Alexandria to attend the Mother's Day program put on by Fairhaven School  and Saray Church, one of the member organizations of Together for Family Development network (TFD). The young people did a terrific job. They performed a series of skits portraying the situation of the disabled. In one skit, the sister of the brother with disabilities asked the mother to hide the brother when her suitor came to call so she would not be embarrassed and the suitor would not know about the brother. Very revealing.

The Reverend Emil Zaki has decided he is unable to continue as chairperson of the TFD board so we are having elections for Board officers. It’s hard because people don't think strategically about who would put the network in the strongest position for advocacy. They think in terms of their cliques. But I think God has blessed us in this. At our last board meeting we ended up with a nominating committee composed of Rev. Emil, Mrs. Soad, Dr. Nabil Sisostres (network coordinator) and me. Getting that far took up most of the two-hour meeting!

We asked the board members to send in their nominations. Everyone did not submit nominations, but based on what we did receive, it appears Mrs. Nada Thabet will be chairperson, and Adel Badre will be vice chairperson. They should make a very strong team because Nada is a woman and is nationally recognized for her nomination for the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize as one of the 1,000 women, and because Adel is Muslim and has by far the most sophisticated understanding of advocacy and makes a huge contribution to the network.

Next Wednesday and Thursday we will have a two-day training workshop­—one day about being interviewed by TV news and talk show programs; one day about presenting issues to the newspapers and conducting a press conference. Should be good.

The English edition of our annual report is finalized but not yet printed. It focuses on our advocacy campaign. It will probably be more cost-effective if we do English and Arabic in one booklet, so we are holding up the English until we finish the Arabic. We are also in the middle of developing our Web site. I have completed most of the information in English and Haidy, our secretary, is translating into Arabic. Philip Zaki, who designed the Web site for one of the member organizations, Village of Hope, is doing the programming.

Next fall we expect TFD and its broader coalition will participate with other NGOs and schools in Egypt to form a human chain along the waterfront (the Corniche) in Minia, Cairo, and Alexandria to advocate for quality education for all—especially the most marginalized groups. The target is 30,000 participants. We will hold banners and posters with our media message about inclusion for children with disabilities.  It will be the biggest event held in Egypt! Please pray for our work.

Blessings,

Nancy

The 2007 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 158