CAIRO: Egyptians are, generally speaking, charitable. It's an essential element of our cultural values. We're all familiar with the mobile phone messages petitioning on behalf of a charity case. In fact, I received one last night requesting financial aid for a widow who cares for her four daughters as well as an elderly mother. "Things are so bad that she can only afford to buy the necks and wings of chickens to feed them, the SMS said. My heart went out to them, and I considered sending LE 100 or so. It was the least I could do. But a handful of individuals were not satisfied with making a simple donation, and asked themselves: "What more can I do? A group of friends and work colleagues decided that responding to the SMS pleas was simply not enough and took it one step further. They pooled together their resources - both financial and networking - and established Khayrazad Organization for Social Care. They describe their organization as being driven by "the efforts of a few people who are convinced of the necessity of helping all the Egyptians who are in need - regardless of their color, sex and religion. Earlier this year, they received an SMS about Ahmed Hisham, a seven-year-old who was paralyzed since birth. For the duration of his short life, he has been bedridden, fed through intravenous tubes. The government has allocated LE 400,000 to his care, about 25 percent of the total costs. Upon hearing about his case, Khayrazad donated supplemental funds to Hisham. Through the founders' personal contacts Khayrazad was able to raise about LE 1.25 million during Ramadan of 2006 - quite an impressive kick start to their charitable campaign. Rather than spreading themselves thin, they decided to concentrate their investments on children's healthcare. They started with individual cases, explained Khayrazad's Vice Chairman Farida Khamis, also vice president of Oriental Weavers. They would receive an SMS pleading a medical case, and then send one of their team to investigate, corroborating its legitimacy and assessing the level of necessity. "That's my job, said Treasurer Omar Elwan Rizk, an accounting manager at Oriental Weavers, and one of the founding board members of the charity. Though it means a considerable time commitment, in the midst of an already busy work schedule, he personally investigates a large number of the cases. Aside from their personal enthusiasm, they feel that it's a job that they cannot delegate. "You never know who's honest in these hospitals, Khamis said sadly. Many of the founders are very hands on, which reflects their commitment to the cause. Khamis said, "No matter how much water you put into it, it's like a sponge. They wanted to make a charitable commitment that was both long-term and consistent. So, last Ramadan they decided to formalize their fundraising, believing that a creating a legal entity would give donors more confidence. The impetus for legitimizing their charity was driven by their desire to compensate for the lack of funding at Abu Rish Children's Hospital. Earlier this year, a cardiologist at Abu Rish, Dr Hazem El Leithy, appealed to them for supplies because they only had two to three days worth of surgical string. With three months until the end of the hospital's fiscal year, and a new injection of funds, they were in dire straits. Performing on average two or three operations a day, this would leave over a 100 children unattended. Khayrazad stepped in to bridge the financial gap. Since its conception, Khayrazad has been running on the efforts of its founders. "Right now we don't want to hire someone, explained Lamia Fahmy, the organization's general secretary and projects coordinator at Oriental Weavers. "Why pay them, when we could spend it on the kids? The founders have volunteered their time and spread the word about their organization by word of mouth. Last Ramadan, they raised an additional LE 500,000. "What's really touching is the amount of responses from the SMS I sent to everyone on my phonebook, said Khamis. A jeweler that Khamis patrons called her up wanting to make a donation. When they picked up the donations, they found that his other clientele had left envelopes with donations too. Generous donations are what have allowed Khayrazad to provide sustainable financial support to their key charities. They have specialized nurses at Abu Rish hospital on their payroll, and Rizk goes himself once a month to issue their paychecks. The organization also makes ongoing quarterly donations of medical equipment to the hospital. With less than two years since their unofficial launch, Khayrazad has made quite a considerable contribution. And it's all down to the people who founded it and keep it going. They're a good example of the grassroots efforts in Egypt that help support those who the overstretched government cannot, and how individual efforts can make a difference in people's lives. For more information about Khayrazad, call (02) 2268 5166. Donations can be made to BNP Paribas, bank account number 45000.
