Site visits

The way that CEOSS, our organization, generally works is that it finds/forms small associations in underdeveloped communities, builds their capacity to implement positive change, trains and funds them, and watches them do their thing. The relatively organic and empowering nature of the process has impressed me.

On Thursday we visited a couple local NGOs in eastern Cairo with which CEOSS has partnerships. We met the leaders of each organization in their offices and learned about how they started and what they do. Medhat, our supervisor, translated. I've already forgotten many of the specifics, and am not sure that our translation was always spot on, but the first NGO focuses on housing improvement and sanitation (it's right next to an open sewer ditch, with flies everywhere) and the second on education/literacy, targeting the children who work in the streets.

Both NGOs offered us drinks; the first offered cake too. Both NGOs were Muslim, and therefore everyone was fasting until evening, yet they still wanted to be hospitable. Milli and I hesitated, and politely refused. But they insisted, saying playfully that the spiritual testing would be good for them. Two of the CEOSS (Christian) field workers took a piece of cake so we wouldn't be the only ones eating. Milli and I picked up our cake, and thanked them.