February 2004

Dear Friends,

This year marks the eighth year for me at New Ramses College in Cairo Egypt. New Ramses is a private school owned by the Synod of the Nile and is celebrating 10 years of serving the Egyptian community. It has all grades from kindergarten through high school, as is the tradition in Egypt. It was created as part of a commitment to raise standards of private education in Cairo. By forbidding its staff to give private lessons to its own students, it has taken a huge step towards this goal. In Egypt, “private lessons” have become like a disease in which teachers neglect their classroom work (for which they are paid very little—as little as 150 Egyptian pounds a month—about $25) and focus all their energy on their after-school private lessons (for which teachers could receive up to 10,000 pounds a month—around $1600). By ending private lessons within its walls, New Ramses has succeeded in forcing teachers to be responsible for their work inside the classroom. But to do only this would not be enough. Teachers must be paid more reasonably. Even in Egypt it is difficult to live on $25 a month. Therefore, New Ramses also dedicated itself to paying higher starting salaries and giving yearly increases. Teachers still don’t make as much as they do giving private lessons, but can manage and still feel they are maintaining their honesty.

New Ramses, from the day it was established, also committed itself to its staff. Training and development have always been high priorities: classroom management, lesson planning, curriculum development, stress-management, creativity. The list could go on forever. This year, in following with this commitment, a new department, “Teaching and Learning,” has been established for staff development.

New Ramses’ emphasis on activities makes it a vital part of the community—putting on musical/theatrical events; sponsoring sports tournaments; offering lecture series on education, childhood development, or creativity; participating in competitions; presenting art exhibitions, sponsoring programs for giving to the poor; creating and implementing a values curriculum to be used with the students at all levels. New Ramses is well respected within an education system that gains little respect from anyone. (Every year 120 spots open for kindergarten and over 1,000 children apply. That says something!)

Perhaps the thing that makes New Ramses College so special is that it tries to meet its commitments at a reasonable price for middle-class families. Thus, it has sometimes been overwhelmed by the number of applicants each year and pressured to increase the number of slots to accommodate the need. But, holding to its ideals of what an appropriate learning environment offers, it has not done what many other schools in Cairo have—accept 40, 50, or even 60 in a class.

My years at New Ramses have been blessed with many gifts and lessons. The greatest gifts are relationships I have developed. I have several very dear friends from school, including Mary Basta, the principal. She was the one with the vision that made New Ramses happen. Having been a teacher in Egypt and in the States, she had the experience and knowledge to begin a new school that sought to change the face of education in Egypt. Until She inspires the staff to do its best to accomplish what seems impossible. For years she has fought with the ministry of education to keep class sizes at 30, somehow always managing to achieve her goal.

In addition to being a colleague and friend, Mary also opened her home to me and let me experience what life as an Egyptian is like. I saw the struggles she and her family went through. One of them was her mother’s struggle with cancer. Just before I came to Cairo, Mary’s mother was diagnosed with breast cancer. I grew to know Amal and respect her. She was a strong woman who never gave up. Although she had little education herself, she was wise. She wanted the best for her family and with very little money managed to put all three of her children through private schools. Sometimes she seemed to love life so much that her actions seemed crazy. She would insist on inviting the family over to dinner even though she was sick—and she would do all the cooking! (When Egyptians invite someone to dinner, they must make a number of main dishes—not just one!) She loved her children with all her heart and through her life showed them that if they work for something hard enough, they can get it. Because I have known the family for so long, I was very close to Amal. Many times she referred to me as her daughter and I certainly do consider myself greatly touched by her life. With love and sorrow we watched her go in October. She never gave up and always made the most of what she had.

I will miss her dearly.

As we look forward to the new year, the 10th year of New Ramses College, we look forward to more meaningful, fulfilling work. May this new year bring to you happiness, joy and peace.

Jennifer

The 2004 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 318