March 2008

Dear Family and Friends,

Recently God has delighted me with a tapestry of relationships related to the Sudanese refugee community here in Cairo.

First thread. For the past two years, Charles and I have been worshipping at St. Andrew’s English-language church in downtown Cairo. The church has an extensive ministry to Sudanese refugees—it provides educational classes for 200 Sudanese children and English, Arabic, and computer classes for 600 Sudanese adults.

Second thread. I was surprised to learn that two Sudanese families were resettled in Des Moines, Iowa. Together for Family Development (TFD), the Egypt Joining Hands network, is linked to the Presbytery of Des Moines, and Des Moines is near Ames, where my sister Deb lives.

Third thread. Last summer, when I visited the offices of the Presbytery of Des Moines, I was introduced to the Reverend Goanar Chol, coordinator of Sudanese ministries for the presbytery.

Fourth thread. CEOSS, the large Egyptian NGO where I have worked since 1998, is building the capacity of five smaller NGOs to help Sudanese find employment in Cairo. I was able to link the directors of the St. Andrews Refugee Ministry (SARM) to the CEOSS staff so that both organizations might better serve the Cairo refugee community.

Fifth thread. In February 2008, a delegation from the Presbytery of Des Moines came to Cairo to visit their Joining Hands partners, and they brought books to expand the SARM library.

Isn’t it amazing that God has woven these threads together over thousands of miles and given me the joy of discovering them?!

Delegation from Des Moines

Ken Nelson of Ankeny, Iowa, presents certificate to child in Abou Kerkas Elementary School.

The delegation from the Presbytery of Des Moines stayed in Egypt for a week, and the days were brimming with the sights of Cairo, visits to wonderful projects by member organizations of TFD Network, and the gracious hospitality of Egyptian hosts! One of the highlights was the visit to Abou Korkas Elementary School in Upper Egypt, where the New Vision Association integrated children with disability.

The visit took place on one of the last days of the project. School staff asked delegation members to pass out certificates of accomplishment, sketch pads, and colored markers to the children. As each child’s name was called, the child stepped up proudly to receive congratulations, a handshake, a certificate, and a gift. It was impossible to tell if the child or the delegation member were smiling more broadly.

Campaign for disabled children's right to education

TFD continues its campaign to change Egyptian law so that it clearly states children with disability have the right to public education. The amendment TFD has proposed is among a broad range of amendments proposed to the Egyptian Child Law of 1996 to strengthen the rights of children. The amendments, which have now been submitted to Parliament, include raising from 7 to 12 the age of criminal responsibility for street children, raising the minimum age of marriage for both males and females to 18 years, making pre-marriage medical checkups mandatory, harsher penalties for perpetrators of violence against children, especially if the victims are in their care, and completely outlawing female genital mutilation (FGM).

Faciliatator Dr. Alaa Sebeh with Councillor Khalil Moustafa Khalil of NCCM at the round-table on January 15.

Since January, TFD has been lobbying parliament to pass the entire package of amendments. TFD arranged two round-table discussions on the amendments with NGOs and parliamentarians. Mr Khalil Mustafa Khalil, a judge and the legal consultant of the National Council for Childhood and Motherhood, presented an overview of amendments to the participants.

Mr. Khalil said some may wonder why they were aiming to change the existing child law of 1996, but the previous law did not include legislation about street children, violence against children and trafficking in children. When Parliament debated the 1996 law, members turned down the article relating to pre-marriage medical checkup, while female circumcision was then a taboo subject which no one dared broach. Now opinion has changed and both these ideas were accepted, with the FGM issue widely covered in the media.

My proposal work at CEOSS (Coptic Evangelical Organization for Social Services) focuses on proposals for projects that define poverty as a manifestation of exclusion and powerlessness. According to this human rights approach to development, a person for whom a number of human rights are unfulfilled—the right to food, health, education, information, participation—is a poor person. The proposals are designed to organize marginalized citizens—small farmers, adolescent girls, unemployed youth—to engage with local councils, local government, and the private sector to claim their rights. It’s democratization at the grassroots level, something new for the citizens in the communities where CEOSS works.

Charles Collins at 15 dressed for the prom.

Charles turned 15 in February. At 6'1" he looks even older. His school held a prom just before his birthday. In his first suit and shoes borrowed for the occasion from Dusty Ellington (who teaches at the Cairo seminary), he certainly looked grown up. He is playing rugby again this term—a sport in which his physique is an asset.

After a very cold Egyptian winter, the weather has now turned quite warm. Two petunia plants and a geranium are in bloom on my sunny balcony. They make me happy!

Thank you for your outpouring of prayer and financial support for PC(USA) missionaries during Mission Challenge ’07 last October.

Please continue to pray for Charles during his tumultuous teen years and for my patience and energy in managing two challenging ministries while addressing Charles’ concerns. Pray for strength, faith, and hope for the Middle Eastern Christian communities—and for peace and justice in the Middle East, where both seem impossible.

May God richly bless you for your faith, your generosity, and your love in Christ Jesus.

Sincerely,

Nancy Collins

The 2008 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 324