Serve & Be Blessed

On the first morning, the group was split into two teams. Team One went to the village of Magly ElWahsh Daycare, led by Evelyn, the head of the daycare program. She explained how she manges the program with specialized development for the children, teachers and parents.
Meanwhile, Team Two visited the daycare in the village of ElHelwa. The team brought toys, chocolates, tooth brushes and tooth pastes, and played with the children with a giant parachute. The time together was a delight for the volunteers as much as for the children!

In the afternoon, the group visited Hanaa to follow up with her from the previous year’s trip. Her house was in need of electricity and a serious renovation. Thanks to the support of a generous donor, Hanaa’s home received the updates that it desperated needed and her family is able to live much more comfortably. They also talked to Hanaa about allowing her eldest daughter learn to sew to benefit herself and her family. By the end of the visit, Hanaa agreed.
Next, the group visited Magdy Aziz’s house, which had been destroyed when a neighboring house collapsed, bringing Magdy’s house down with it. Magdy is currently waiting for his house to be reconstructed and is living with his brother in the meantime.

On the morning of the second day, Team One visited the Special Needs Center in Taha, spending time with the children and teaching them songs. The center has different divisions based on the unique abilities of the individuals with special needs: some sew bedsheets, some create candles, and others make liquid dish soap. The children at the center gave the volunteers apples and in exchange the volunteers gave them chocolate. Afterward, the group stopped by the ancient church of St Mina in Taha, where the servants prepared lunch for the group. In the afternoon, they took the ferry to cross the Nile to visit St. Mary’s monastery in Gabal ElTair.

From the monastery, they went to visit Neama, 23-years-old whose father got married after the death of her mother and left the house with his new wife. Since then, Neama has had to take care of her two siblings. Even though others in the community encourage her to get married to ease her financial burden, she refuses saying she will marry when the time is right for her. SML is currently looking into her case in order to provide her with monthly financial support. The group then visited Ezzat, a former construction worker who lost one of his eyes and has two children in college. He is working hard to allow both children to finish their educations.

The group went to visit the Literacy Class led by Mariam Nabil Abdallah, who starting dedicating one of the rooms in her home a year ago to the service of SML in order to teach the adults of the village to read and write. Her current class has 30 participants and the memebers of the group tested their reading and math skills–all passed with flying colors. We also met with another woman named Mariam who is 26 years old. Her husband left her and remarried, so Mariam decided to open a small business to support herself while she learns to read and write. She believes that her first responsibility is her son and she does everything she can to make a good like for him.
Later, the group went to see the new Misr Al-Mahaba hospital for a short tour and visited the Special Needs department. By surprise, they ran into the group of special needs individuals that they had met the previous day in Taha who were there for a checkup. The children were so excited to see us and spend time with us again.

After the hospital, the group visited two successful income generating projects: a liquid detergent business and chicken business.

The whole group visited the monastiers of ElMaharq and Drunka in Assiut. Then they travelled back to Cairo in style, flying from Assiut the capital.

The group visited St. Mina monastery and met with Anba Kyrollos the Abbot.

“This was my 3rd trip to Egypt with C4NC and you know why? Because every time I visit our beloved needy brothers and sisters I get a blessing from Jesus that last me a whole year: blessings in my health, blessings in my life and blessings in my spiritual life.
Our visit to the needy is not to watch their misery but to provide immediate assistance for families in stress. And trust me–you see the face of Jesus in every smile of the needy.”

-Atef Helmy

“This was my 1st trip with this blessed organization.
I am overwhelmed and I still cannot explain my true feelings.
For the first time in my life, I couldn’t control my emotions or tears while visiting God’s Angels. 
Although they have next to nothing, they have such love a love and appreciation for God. It amazed me.
Several house I visited didn’t even have a proper kitchen, toilet facility or even a roof, yet all were thankful to Jesus for what they have.
The road to Heaven is clear to me now. You dont need GPS–you need a visit to the needy.”

-Christine Helmy