Lent 2006 Appeal

Nawara's Story

On the edge of the desert in Upper Egypt the temperature exceeds 100^oF in summer and drops below freezing in winter. Nawari Fathi lived in these conditions with her husband, relatives and four children. Ten people in one room with their livestock and poultry. Nawara's windows and doors were plastic bags. She had no toilet or running water and her leaking roof was a heap of brushwood. She was always ill.

Everything changed when a local Christian organisation offered Nawara an interest-free loan to rebuild her home and her future.

She still has no furniture, but she has cement floors, plaster walls, a watertight roof, shuttered windows, a door and a toilet. She no longer fears setting fire to the roof when she cooks. But most important of all, she has a home and her health is returning. The cycle of Poverty is broken.

The story of Nawara's house is repeated across rural Egypt:

Walls collapse, killing or injuring those inside
Disease and infection are rife
Snakes and scorpions regularly drop through roofs and cockroaches multiply everywhere
An average family income of £25 means that there is no money and no hope of escape to a better life.

We can't change the world for everyone, but we can make a difference to 558 families of the villages of El Kom El Akhdar and El Sakakrya. Would you:

Make a one off donation.
Make a regular commitment until December 2008 towards the cost of the building project.
Persuade your church / organisation to cover the cost of a house.
Tell friends and neighbours about this scheme and ask them to help.
Volunteer as part of a construction team in Egypt.
Pray for the villagers of El Kom El Akhdar and El Sakakrya.

Donate to this

Appeal Online

Here

or complete

the online response form

Brick by brick we can

build a brighter future

“I cannot change the world, but I can change the world for one person.” (Mother Teresa of Calcutta)

As we move into Lent and look forward to the sacrifice of Christ on our behalf, we give grateful thanks for all that we have and all that He did for us. What better time is there to take the opportunity to think of those who have no hope of a decent future for themselves or their children, and to make our own sacrifice on their behalf?

Some of the world’s poorest people live on the edge of the desert in Upper Egypt, in the villages of El Sakakrya and El Kom Akhdar. Appalling housing conditions have resulted in widespread disease, infestation, injury and illness. The villagers cannot escape grinding poverty as they have no money, no access to credit, and are unable to improve their lives or those of their children. They see no escape from the scorpions and snakes that fall through the brushwood roofs, the raw sewage that floods everywhere when it does rain, the constant fear of setting fire to their home each time they cook and the injuries caused by poorly constructed walls that collapse.

BibleLands has joined forces with Habitat for Humanity, Egypt, to set up an interest-free housing loan scheme to radically improve living conditions in these two villages. The project involves Christian and Muslim neighbours labouring together, providing their own ‘sweat’ labour to renovate or rebuild their houses, giving them secure homes fit to live in. BibleLands has agreed to fund the loan scheme for three years, to enable villagers to buy the bricks, wood and other materials needed.

This is a major undertaking. There are 558 houses are in need of repair, renovation or rebuilding. They will be built as the money is raised to pay for the materials.

A gift of £1 per day (little more than the cost of a loaf of bread) over three years could buy a completely new house, while 50p per day could pay for a total refurbishment, providing a safe, secure home and a future for an entire family. Please use the online response form to pledge a regular commitment to this project. If you prefer to make a one-off donation, the online donation form or the response form on the information leaflet [639kb pdf] lists the cost of individual items – floors, windows, doors and roofs.

Perhaps your church or a local group could be persuaded to work on this appeal together as a project, using the Lent Study Guide [1.6MB pdf] as a focus. Printed copies are available free, on request from our offices.

Over the next three years there will be opportunities for individuals and groups to join volunteer teams in El Sakakrya and El Kom El Akhdar to help with the building work (no experience necessary!). Further details are available on request.

Please pray for us, our partners Habitat for Humanity, the villagers of El Sakakrya and El Kom El Akhdar and for the success of this appeal.

We know, as Mother Teresa did, that we cannot end world poverty, but we believe that as these houses are built, we will be making a difference. Brick by brick and family by family – this is a real opportunity to make a difference to the lives of the poorest of the poor, giving them dignity, health and hope for the future. This IS Christian love in action.

Will you join us?

Yours sincerely