Egypt

Our presence in Egypt

Good Shepherd Mission in Egypt 

The Good Shepherd Sisters have been present in Egypt since 1845 with 6 missions across the country. In 1859 a house was founded in Choubrah, (neighbourhood of Cairo), followed by the construction of an orphanage and a school. In 1865, the sisters founded a hospital in Harbor Saïd in response to the call of Ferdinand de Lesseps (a French diplomat in charge of the construction of the Suez Canal). That same year, a school and a hospital were opened in Suez. In 1966, a new community was established in Minia where the religious of the Good Shepherd took over a school from the sisters of Saint Joseph of Lyon. In 1985 the community of Minia was transferred to Fekreya where the sisters devoted themselves to social work. In 2008 a house was built in Fekreya to enable the sisters to continue their mission there, and locate a centre for women empowerment. 

Their missions have focused particularly on education of youth and assistance to women in distress. They follow the belief that through education, particularly of the young, they can reach the complex social strata in the population and thus inaugurate a positive and strong relation based on dialogue and cultural exchanges between Muslims and Christians. 

The Sisters are aware of the prevalence of drug-addiction and sex abuse among children, and their social service outreach is aimed at prevention and education. They also offer residential programs for women and girls experiencing situational difficulties, and rehabilitation centers for single mothers, drug addicts and ex-prisoners, in Upper Egypt and in Choubrah, Mousky. Their professional staff includes full-time doctors, social workers and counselors. 

Country Background

Egypt is the third-most populous country in Africa and the most populous country in the Arab world, with a population estimated at over 83 million people (CIA July, 2009). Its population presents some religious diversities: 90% of the Egyptians are Muslim but an important Christian minority, called the Copts, exists. 

Economy

The Egyptian economy relies heavily on tourism, oil and gas exports, and Suez Canal revenues, much of which is controlled by the public sector and is also vulnerable to outside factors. According to the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) the contribution of the travel and tourism sector to employment is estimated at 2,882,000 direct and indirect jobs in 2009. This sector is also supposed to generate 15% of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) in 2009. The World Trade Organization predicts that Egypt will be the largest tourist-receiving country in the African continent by 2020. However the terrorist attacks in Luxor, in October 1997 and again in 2004 and 2005 against resorts in the Sinai Peninsula were followed by a downturn in tourist numbers, especially immediately after 1997. Since Anwar El-Sadat’s presidency, Cairo has aggressively pursued economic reforms to encourage inflows of foreign investment and facilitate GDP growth. Therefore, the economy is rapidly developing as proves the GDP growth rate of 7.2% (CIA, 2008 estimation). Moreover, the U.S. has a large assistance program in Egypt and provides funding for a variety of programs in addition to some cash transfers. 

Health and Education

According to UNICEF, Egypt has made significant progress over the past decade toward achieving the Millennium Development Goals, with substantial gains in child survival rates, school enrolment, immunization coverage and access to safe drinking water. Indeed, some 98% of the population has now access to clean water and 94% of children are enrolled into primary school today compared with 87% in 1994. Education is free through university and compulsory from ages six through 15. Rates for primary and secondary education have increased in recent years. However, significant gender disparities exist: 83% of the adult men are literate whereas it is true for only 59.4% of the women (UN development report). Egypt is also renowned, in particular in the Arab world for its major universities like Cairo University (100,000 students) and Alexandria University. However, according to the World Food Program (WFP), striking geographical disparities exist between the region of Upper Egypt - which is one of the country’s poorest areas with high levels of food insecurity and malnutrition; and between the more developed Lower Egypt region - where Egypt’s manufacturing, construction and trading take place. For instance, 42% of rural households lack hygienic sanitation systems (UNICEF). 

Political and Cultural influence

Geography, population, history, military strength, and diplomatic expertise give Egypt extensive political influence in the Middle East - Egypt is a key actor in the resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict - and within the Non-Aligned Movement as a whole. Cairo has been a crossroads of Arab commerce and culture for millennia, and its intellectual and Islamic institutions like the 1,000-year-old Al-Azhar University, are at the center of the region's social and cultural development. Cairo is the region's largest publishing and broadcasting center and Egyptian movies and soap operas are watched in the entire Arab world. 

Poverty

Despite the achievements in economic development, the government continues to struggle in its efforts to raise living standards for the average Egyptian. Indeed significant amount of assistance is provided in subsidies for basic necessities- amounting to roughly 7% of the country’s GDP. At present more than 20% of Egypt's 83 million people live below the poverty line on less than US$1/day (CIA, 2005 estimation). International aid agencies and experts say that as food prices grow in the country, the incidence of children working is almost certain to grow proportionally, as poor families struggle to cope. Illiteracy is still problematic in Egypt since about 42% of the adult population is illiterate. Egypt is also a transit country for women trafficked from Eastern European countries to Israel for sexual exploitation, and is a source for children trafficked within the country for commercial sexual exploitation and domestic servitude.