Ayman is a husband, father, and utensil vendor living in a village in the Assiut governorate of Upper Egypt. Before applying for a loan from one of HANDS local partner organizations, Think and Do, this entrepreneur had been facing significant financial difficulty. His house in the village of El Gawly was at risk of collapsing […]
CONTINUE READINGBreaking the Glass Ceiling: Tunisian Women Pursue Gender Equality Olfa Arfaoui, an alumna of HANDS Professional Fellows Program, has a passion for women’s empowerment that began during her childhood in Tunisia when she realized that men and women did not have equality in public spaces. In her own words, “I was surprised that there were […]
CONTINUE READINGSamira is a widowed mother from Ezbet Rida, a hamlet in Upper Egypt. With no work experience and only an elementary school education, feeding her children is no easy task. Before receiving a life-changing loan sponsored by HANDS, she survived on small donations from a local community organization, which barely covered her family’s monthly needs. Samira’s situation changed, […]
CONTINUE READINGA Universal Mission: Advancing the Deaf Community of Morocco Mounir Naili, an alumnus of HANDS’ Professional Fellows Program, dedicates his life to serving the deaf community in Morocco. His passion for helping the disabled was inspired by his close friend, the first deaf Moroccan to earn a Ph.D., who also established an non-governmental organization that […]
CONTINUE READINGLeaving Law for Lotions Mona thought she was among the fortunate ones. She had graduated from college in Upper Egypt with a law degree. She has worked hard and excelled in school and — like all her law school classmates — expected to find a job. However, like 71% of Egyptian youth, Mona was finding employment […]
CONTINUE READINGMary, a wife and mother of three, began flexing her entrepreneurial muscles before she had ever heard of microloans sponsored by HANDS. When she was young, Mary would purchase ready-made clothes and sell them to the people in her village. Due to the success of her initial sales, Mary saw potential for a bigger business […]
CONTINUE READINGAmal Youssef is an artist, trainer, and entrepreneur from Egypt who has founded a center for the economic empowerment of women in poor communities of Cairo. Last year, as a participant in HANDS’ Professional Fellows Program, sponsored by the US Department of State, Amal was able to hone her skills and create new projects through […]
CONTINUE READINGOn October 1st, friends of HANDS in New York City gathered at the Harvard Club for a benefit dinner to celebrate HANDS’ work in Egypt. Co-chaired by Nimet and Suzan Habachy, the event raised valuable funds to further HANDS’ efforts at raising the quality of life for underserved communities in Egypt. Board member Alex Shalaby […]
CONTINUE READINGIn a poor village in Upper Egypt, a photographer struggled to support his wife and four school-aged children on 700 Egyptian pounds a month (approximately $90). Shohdy found that this income was not enough to cover the expenses of raising a family. When Shohdy heard about the HANDS-sponsored microloan program, he decided to use that […]
CONTINUE READINGYosra Hassyaoui, an alumna of the HANDS Professional Fellows Program (PFP), sponsored by the U.S. State Department, is making an impact in the lives of rural women in her home country of Tunisia. As Vice President of the Positiver Association, which focuses on the development of women in rural areas, Yosra is providing women […]
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