CAIRO: With the start of the new school year this week, students are in the market for new clothes, books and school supplies - that's besides tuition and transportation fees. However, faced with record-high inflation and skyrocketing prices, many students from low-income families - which usually have more than one child to support - cannot afford the price of education. The Taleb wa Taleba association (Arabic for male and female student) was formed five years ago to address this specific need. The charity organization offers financial assistance to students in need so they can focus on their studies instead of having to work. "We discovered that all charity work focuses on orphans, the poor, patients who can't afford medical treatment.but nobody works with students who can't afford to continue their education although they are getting good grades, so we decided to help them, Ahmed Abdel Aziz Fakhr, chairman of Taleb wa Taleba, told Daily News Egypt. Helping more than 1,100 students, the association provides registered students with a monthly stipend, pays their admissions fees, contributes to the cost of books and provides equipment for students at the faculties of medicine and engineering. For primary and secondary school students, the association provides more helpful books in the curriculum and organizes tutoring sessions for registered students who cannot afford the high cost of private lessons elsewhere. When necessary, the association "provides medical care for students by paying part of the price of their medication and special needs devices. In certain cases, we pay for surgery, Fakhr said. After graduation, students can take out a loan of LE 1,000 to LE 3,000 to start a project. Girls receive LE 500 to LE 1,000 towards the cost of marriage. Students who decide to pursue higher education can receive up to LE 1,000 in tuition assistance from the association. "The association helps me a lot with [university] admission fees and the costs of books. They also help my little brother, who is in secondary school, receive private lessons, Moustafa, one of the students registered with Taleb wa Taleba, told Daily News Egypt. "My mother knew about the association and brought me to work here during the summer. Then when I entered university, they helped me, said Moustafa, who at 20 years old is a third year student at the faculty of law. He tells his colleagues about the help the association can provide, which reaches international students living and studying in Egypt. Taleb wa Taleba helps more than 100 foreign students studying at Al Azhar University. Ali, from the Philippines, is married and in his third year of study. He came to Egypt to escape the war between the north and the south, "like everybody does in Philippine, he said. "The cost of living here is increasing everyday and I have my wife with me. One Egyptian colleague told me about the association so I came and they helped me a lot, Ali said in broken Arabic. Besides financial aid, the association provides students with clothes and food bags provided by the Food Bank. Students are chosen after filling out an application detailing their financial need, including information such as their parents' professions, the number of members in their family and whether they receive assistance from any other charity organization. A representative of the association then pays the family a spontaneous visit to check if the information the student gave is correct before approving their registration. In 2007, the association spent LE 112,000 on financial assistance and adopted orphans, LE 105, 000 on university fees and another LE 39,000 on school fees. In the absence of sponsorship, the association depends mainly on donations. "We have a lot of regular individual donors as well as large corporations, Fakhr said, adding that the association's budget this year posted a surplus because of a surge in donations. "What we collect during the month of Ramadan is enough for six months to come, he said. Taleb wa Taleba, 12 Othman Towers, Maadi. Donations can be transferred to their account in Banque Misr, Road 9, Maadi.
