Many think of Egypt as a beautiful and exotic tourist destination, not a country struggling with dire poverty. In fact it is both. More than 16 million Egyptians live in poverty – more than 20% of the population.
Power: Poor communities often lack the confidence and knowledge to demand their rights – from services such as health and education, to labour or human rights.
Livelihoods: For the poorest, just providing sufficient food, clothing and medicine for their families is a daily challenge.
Our work
We are working with some very different beneficiary groups – fishing communities along the banks of the Nile, rural communities across the country, and the workers of Egypt’s limestone quarries.
But what unites all of our work in Egypt is that it is about ensuring that poor and marginalised people have the confidence and skills to claim their rights and become masters of their own development.
Our partners
• Better Life provides training and support to fishing and farming communities, helping them organise into associations that have the power and confidence to go to the governorate with the problems that that the state should rectify – such as provision of health services and literacy courses.
• Work in the limestone quarries of El Minia is hazardous and badly paid – but with the support of Christian Aid partner Wadi el Nil workers are demanding their rights, such as safety protection, health insurance, and the right to unionisation. Wadi el Nil also help child workers get out of the quarries and back into school.
• Coptic Orthodox Church BLESS is the development wing of the Coptic Church. It works throughout Egypt with Muslims and Christians giving rural communities training and empowerment so that they can undertake their own initiatives to end poverty. It also works to eradicate female genital mutilation (which has a prevalence rate of 96% in Egypt).
Further content
• From Beirut to Cairo - marking International Women's Day in the Middle East
• A Better Life on the Nile - An audio slidehow about how a Christian Aid partner is helping communities learn more about their rights.
• The grind - otherworldly images of Egypt’s limestone quarries show the back-breaking work, and how our partner Wadi el Nil is helping workers claim their rights.
• Cooperatives transform communities – this photo gallery for the UN day of cooperatives showcases the work of COC BLESS among other partners around the world.
What you can do
• Help us continue our support of partners in Egypt by donating.
• Take action to help eradicate poverty and injustice across the world.
