After graduating from a technical institute, Mary worked in tourist bazaars as an accountant for various artisans. Each day, she watched the craftspeople create and sell their products. She was intrigued by watching the process of transforming copper, silver, and leather into marketable products–and became one of the bazaar’s best customers. Eventually, Mary was inspired to join […]
CONTINUE READINGSamira–like many women living in Egypt’s underserved communities–never attended schooling above the elementary level or had any paid work experience. Devastated by the passing of her husband, Samira found that feeding her children was no easy task. She used small donations given to her by a local community organization, but they barely covered her family’s […]
CONTINUE READINGLooking for the perfect holiday shopping opportunity? Look no further! Please join HANDS for our 2018 holiday handicraft sale at our office on Saturday, December 1 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Our products are made by artisans at the Association for the Protection of the Environment (APE), a job skills training program for women living […]
CONTINUE READINGLooking for the perfect holiday shopping opportunity? Look no further! Please join HANDS for our 2018 holiday handicraft sale on December 7, 8, and 9 from 12pm to 7pm at the St. Mary & St. Mark Coptic Orthodox Church 241 East 62nd Street, New York City (Between Second and Third Avenues). Our products are made by artisans […]
CONTINUE READINGHANDS is pleased to announce our new online seminar “Understanding Contemporary Egypt,” which will explore Egypt through a variety of topics over the course of six weeks from October 2 to November 6. The seminar will bring together speakers from Egypt and the U.S to discuss some of the most pressing issues facing Egypt today. […]
CONTINUE READINGFatma is an Egyptian businesswoman with high ambitions. Together with her four employees, who are also her sisters, she makes wedding dresses at her workshop. She has markets in Alexandria and in Cairo and advertises her dresses through social media. Her Facebook page has over eight-hundred likes! […]
CONTINUE READINGHANDS is pleased to announce another successful exchange in our annual American Egyptian Dialogue program. The distinguished leaders who were members of the Egyptian delegation included: Mr. El Sayed Mahmoud Ahmed Hussein Elsherif, Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives and Head of the Ashraf Council Dr. Emad Gad Badras, Member of the House of […]
CONTINUE READINGThe community of Manshayet Nasr, nestled on a hill inside Cairo, is home to over 500,000 residents, whose livelihood is earned mostly by collecting and sorting the city’s trash. This special group of Cairenes, known as zabaleen or “garbage people,” also manage to recycle over 80% of the trash they collect! One challenge of this business model is […]
CONTINUE READINGSofia, from the village of Manhary in Upper Egypt, always has a smile on her face despite the difficult life she leads. Sofia was thrilled to hear about HANDS-sponsored microloans in her community. With her active entrepreneurial spirit, she applied for a microloan and to start her own small business, selling cheese by the kilo. […]
CONTINUE READINGHow can we make our societies more inclusive for people with disabilities and women? HANDS’ American and Egyptian Professional Fellows Program participants are currently exploring this topic during an exchange visit to Egypt–as did our American delegation during last month’s exchange to Morocco and Tunisia. HANDS’ Professional Fellows Program engages young development professionals from the […]
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