7th Basaisa day at Egypt's AUC: NGOs sell handicrafts

CAIRO: The American University in Cairo (AUC) recently held its annual Basaisa Day, where nearly 50 Egyptian NGOs are given the opportunity to display handicrafts which reflect their regional cultures and rituals. Since 2004, Basaisa Day has become an annual event at the university, under the leadership of its founding organizer, physics Professor Salah Arafa.
“Basaisa Day is a tradition and an excellent example of the university’s outreach,” said Arafa. “The people we invite appreciate the efforts of the university and the fact that we assign this day especially to assist them.”
The idea of Basasia Day was formed in the 1970s when Arafa organized a group of student and faculty volunteers to address the economic development challenges facing Al Basaisa, a small village in Sharqiya.
“We used to bring Al Basaisa villagers to AUC to exhibit their products,” Arafa explained, “and later, other NGOs joined the event, which we decided to hold annually in April.”
“It’s a chance for the AUC community to become aware of all of the NGOs and the role that AUC plays in the civil society”, said Ramza Sedky, associate director of the Office of Student Development (OSD), the main sponsor of the event. According to Sedky, the event provides a dual benefit.
Craftspeople from around Egypt have a market in which to sell and showcase authentic handicrafts and food. At the same time, AUC students – including international students, are offered the opportunity to experience the diversity of traditions and cultures within Egypt.
Sanaa Toba of the Bedaya Organization has participated in the event for four years, selling handmade gift bags, gift cards and accessories.
“Besides helping us to expose our products, Basaisa Day gives us the chance to link with other participating NGOs,” she said. “in addition, every year we get a lot of volunteer students who work on short-term and medium-term projects.”
“The most important thing about the event is the training we get on how to deal professionally with other NGOs”, said Fatma Talaat of South Sinai, who was participating in the event for the second time. “We hope that the event takes place more than once a year; the people who work on those handicrafts are really in need of the profit they get from the exhibition,” she added.
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