Egypt has a long and distinguished record of charitable organisations, notably among the country's Coptic community, writes Samir Sobhi What we now call civil society organisations owe much to the legacy of the charities of the past. More than a century ago, Egypt was introduced to the world of non- governmental organisations, referred to as gamiat ahleya, or community-based societies, which supplemented government efforts by stepping in to help the poor and improve education and healthcare where the efforts of state-run institutions seemed to be wanting. Christian charities, offering welfare services to all Egyptians regardless of creed, have a long and distinguished history. The earliest Christian charity was founded in 1881, a year before the British occupied Egypt. Called the Gamiet Al-Masaei Al-Khayriya Al-Qibtiya, the Society of Charitable Endeavours (SCE), it was founded during a meeting held in the home of Youssef Moftah in the Azbakiya district of Cairo attended by Christian and Muslim dignitaries including Sheikh Mohamed Abdu, Adib Ishaq and Abdallah El-Nadim. The SCA, presided over by Boutros Pasha Ghali, dedicated itself to improving the lot of the poor. It collected donations from its members and from the public as a whole, gathering anywhere between LE100 and LE400 annually in its early years. By 1908, when the society changed its name to the Coptic Charity Society (CCS), it was collecting some LE3,000 annually, enabling it to start a small hospital in Clot Bey Street in Cairo. By 1926, the society had become prosperous enough to build the impressive Coptic Hospital on what was then Malika Nazli Street in Cairo, now Ramses Street. One of the country's best-known doctors at the time, Naguib Mahfouz, praised the hospital for offering its services to patients of all creeds. "The public is grateful to the [Coptic Charity] Society for making this hospital a national one that does not differentiate between one poor person and another, but offers treatment to all patients, regardless of race or creed." Speaking at the hospital's opening ceremony, the CCS president said that it was dedicated to helping the public as a whole. The Coptic epithet in its name was a tribute to the society that had founded it. The cost of building and equipping the hospital is estimated at some LE70,000. In 1910, the CCS established the Al-Mashghal Al-Boutrosi, or Boutros Workshop, in which girls were given a basic education, as well as training in home economy and needle work. The CCS also dispensed monthly allowances to poor families and alms to the needy on the occasion of various holidays. Several beds in the Coptic Hospital were earmarked for free treatment. Another influential Christian charitable society was the Gamiet Al-Tawfiq Al-Qibtiya, or Coptic Guidance Society (CGS), which was formed in 1891 to support the Al-Maglis Al-Milli, or Communal Council, which at the time was in conflict with Pope Kirollos V over the use of church funds. The founders of the CGS included Coptic reformer Raflah Girgis, who served as its first president, Guindi Ibrahim, owner of the newspaper Al-Watan, historian Michael Bey Ibrahim, brother-in-law of Boutros Pasha Ghali, Atiya Bey Wahba, Morqos Bey Smeika, founder of Cairo's Coptic Museum, counsellor Mina Bey Ibrahim, and Dr Ibrahim Mansour. The CGS set up a magazine, Magallet Al-Tawfiq, and created two technical training schools, one for boys and one for girls, in Birket Al-Ratl not far from the Coptic Hospital. The Gamiet Al-Nashaah Al-Qibtiya, or Coptic Inception Society (CIS), was founded in 1896 with the aim of encouraging scientific endeavour. In 1898, it issued what may have been the country's first ever tri- denominational calendar. Along with the Georgian calendar, used by government and business, the composite calendar set out the Coptic months, which supply guidance for agriculture, and the Muslim months, which provide guidance for religious practices. Before long, a plethora of other Christian charities also came onto the scene. These included the Gamiet Al-Mahabba (Amity Society), the Gamiet Al-Iman (Faith Society), the Gamiet Asdeqaa Al-Kitab Al-Moqaddas (Friends of the Holy Book Society), the Gamiet Thamarat Al-Tawfiq (Fruit of Guidance Society), the Gamiet Al-Ikhlas Al-Qibtiya (Coptic Loyalty Society) in Alexandria, and the Gamiet Abnaa Al-Kanisa Al-Orthodoksiya (Sons of the Orthodox Church Society) in Faggala. One man especially well known for his involvement in Coptic voluntary work at the time was Father Dawoud, originally Wadei Said. Egypt's first college- educated Coptic monk, Father Dawoud was a man of extraordinarily wide culture, having also developed the first-ever Coptic-language typewriter and being the publisher of the Arabic-language weekly Al-Anwar. Other charitable societies worth noting from the time include the Gamiet Al-Khayria (Charity Society) in Maasarat Samalut and Gamiet Al-Tarbia Al-Qibtiya (Coptic Upbringing Society) in Giza. In addition, there were the Gamiet Al-Sayedat Al-Qibtia Li-Tarbiet Al-Tufula (Coptic Women's Society for Children's Upbringing), founded in 1940 by Futini Hanna, Emilie Abdel-Masih and Iris Habib Al-Masri, and the Gamiet Sadiqat Al-Kitab Al-Moqaddas (Women Friends of the Holy Book Society). To these should be added the Al-Gamia Al-Khairiya lil-Aqbat Al-Katholik (Charity Society for Catholic Copts) in Cairo, the Al-Gamia Al-Qibtia Al-Katholikia li-Riaayat Wa Talim Awlad Al-Foqara (Coptic Catholic Society for Helping and Educating the Children of the Poor) and the Gamiet Al-Said Lil- Tarbia Wal-Tanmia (Upper Egypt Society for Children's Upbringing and Development). The government of the time allowed such societies to operate in recognition of their role in helping the children of the poor, this being guaranteed by the 1923 constitution, which stated that all Egyptians were equal, regardless of race or creed. In 1939, the Ministry of Social Affairs was set up to regulate the work of the country's charities, and a law organising civil society organisations was passed in 1949. After the 1952 Revolution, presidential decree 84 of 1956 placed all charitable organisations under the supervision of the state. Today, there are 43 Christian charities operating in Sohag, 33 in Minya, 32 in Qena, and 167 in Cairo. However, Coptic historian Malak Luka comments that the number of Coptic charities in Egypt may be dwindling, since the churches themselves are taking a more active role in running educational and health services.
