On Saturday, I really felt privileged to live where I do. I was in a car, packed into a small space on the backseat next to about 20 food bags, with an Egyptian guy driving through crazy traffic, and a Sudanese man directing us to his daycare. We were followed by another car also packed with food bags, driven by a Dutch man who is on our church council, and the Sudanese director of Naath Community Development.
When I left my house to meet Bayak (the director of NCD), I thought he and I and Arie (the Dutch man) were just going to head over to the daycare and talk for a bit. When I arrived at church, about 10 people were shuttling 50 food bags from the church out to the corner, and it turned out they were all to take with us! Arie's car is tiny and there was no way to fit it all in there, but fortunately Constantine (the Egyptian guy) offered to help drive us and the food.
The daycare/adult education center for NCD is in Hadayek el Maadi, not far from our church, but in a much poorer part of town. We double-parked (there aren't really any parking laws in Egypt) and attracted many stares as we carried all the food bags into the center. The kids inside were supposed to be having a "Rest time," which an older Sudanese woman, Sarah, was unsuccessfully trying to enforce. The daycare is a place where parents can drop their little kids off while they go to work during the day. Sarah teaches the kids a bit of English and reading while they're there. The place is immaculate (except when the kids are eating lunch) with 3 small rooms set up for learning, playing, and sleeping. At night the center transforms into English classrooms for adults, who sit on the floor because there aren't enough chairs. On the weekend it is a place for community Bible study and women's group.
We (Arie, Constantine and I) sat with Bayak for a while after we brought the bags in. We were offered the obligatory soda (the only times in my life when I've ever had an entire can of soda have been while visiting African families) and sat in a few chairs in the office, closing the door so we could hear each other over the noise of the children. The main purpose of the trip was to introduce Arie to the ministry since he's on the MCC council. We've helped NCD out a few times over the last few months and we're hoping to grow that relationship more. NCD is really unique for a Sudanese organization here. For one thing, they've been able to pay the rent by collecting fees from the kids and from the community in general. Another thing, like I said before, is how clean they keep their center. They also have a proper Board of Directors that meets twice a month. All of this was set up by the Sudanese community, no Western help. I am impressed.
Since the revolution, things have gotten harder for this community. Many Sudanese work as cleaners or drivers for foreigners who left during the unrest. Bayak told us that fewer kids are able to pay the fees for the daycare now. There has also been more violence against Africans, probably because of the lack of police. One of our Sudanese church staff was injured by a gang on the streets last week. And just think of the psychological trauma these people would have gone through during the worst of the revolution. Many of them escaped from a violent situation in Sudan to be "safe" in Egypt. I think while the Americans were worried, the Sudanese and other African refugees were really afraid, reliving some of the things they thought they'd left behind.
All this was reinforced for me today as I read the news that North Sudan has taken over the central city of Abyei. Although South Sudan voted for independence, the dividing line between north and south has been highly contested because the country's oil lies in the middle - the South claims Abyei is theirs, the north won't give it up. This could restart the civil war that ended back in 2005. When the referendum happened back in January, I talked to many Sudanese people who were hoping to go back home this summer. Now it looks like, if anything, we'll have more refugees arriving in Egypt.
All that to say, please pray for Sudan and the Sudanese refugees here in Egypt. It's not an easy life, and yet the response I get when I ask how they're getting through things, they'll say, "We're trusting God."
When I left my house to meet Bayak (the director of NCD), I thought he and I and Arie (the Dutch man) were just going to head over to the daycare and talk for a bit. When I arrived at church, about 10 people were shuttling 50 food bags from the church out to the corner, and it turned out they were all to take with us! Arie's car is tiny and there was no way to fit it all in there, but fortunately Constantine (the Egyptian guy) offered to help drive us and the food.
The daycare/adult education center for NCD is in Hadayek el Maadi, not far from our church, but in a much poorer part of town. We double-parked (there aren't really any parking laws in Egypt) and attracted many stares as we carried all the food bags into the center. The kids inside were supposed to be having a "Rest time," which an older Sudanese woman, Sarah, was unsuccessfully trying to enforce. The daycare is a place where parents can drop their little kids off while they go to work during the day. Sarah teaches the kids a bit of English and reading while they're there. The place is immaculate (except when the kids are eating lunch) with 3 small rooms set up for learning, playing, and sleeping. At night the center transforms into English classrooms for adults, who sit on the floor because there aren't enough chairs. On the weekend it is a place for community Bible study and women's group.
We (Arie, Constantine and I) sat with Bayak for a while after we brought the bags in. We were offered the obligatory soda (the only times in my life when I've ever had an entire can of soda have been while visiting African families) and sat in a few chairs in the office, closing the door so we could hear each other over the noise of the children. The main purpose of the trip was to introduce Arie to the ministry since he's on the MCC council. We've helped NCD out a few times over the last few months and we're hoping to grow that relationship more. NCD is really unique for a Sudanese organization here. For one thing, they've been able to pay the rent by collecting fees from the kids and from the community in general. Another thing, like I said before, is how clean they keep their center. They also have a proper Board of Directors that meets twice a month. All of this was set up by the Sudanese community, no Western help. I am impressed.
Since the revolution, things have gotten harder for this community. Many Sudanese work as cleaners or drivers for foreigners who left during the unrest. Bayak told us that fewer kids are able to pay the fees for the daycare now. There has also been more violence against Africans, probably because of the lack of police. One of our Sudanese church staff was injured by a gang on the streets last week. And just think of the psychological trauma these people would have gone through during the worst of the revolution. Many of them escaped from a violent situation in Sudan to be "safe" in Egypt. I think while the Americans were worried, the Sudanese and other African refugees were really afraid, reliving some of the things they thought they'd left behind.
All this was reinforced for me today as I read the news that North Sudan has taken over the central city of Abyei. Although South Sudan voted for independence, the dividing line between north and south has been highly contested because the country's oil lies in the middle - the South claims Abyei is theirs, the north won't give it up. This could restart the civil war that ended back in 2005. When the referendum happened back in January, I talked to many Sudanese people who were hoping to go back home this summer. Now it looks like, if anything, we'll have more refugees arriving in Egypt.
All that to say, please pray for Sudan and the Sudanese refugees here in Egypt. It's not an easy life, and yet the response I get when I ask how they're getting through things, they'll say, "We're trusting God."