CAIRO - Egyptian citizens overseas have unleashed an ambitious initiative to help bail out their motherland. They have established the first-of-its-kind non-profit financial institution to boost the national economy and investments. One of the project's founding members explains that they are especially concerned with low-cost housing projects, educational reforms and land reclamation. According to Dr Mohamed el-Gamal, the founding members want to end the trauma haunting young couples, who cannot afford a new family home in new residential areas on the outskirts of the big cities. In collaboration with the Ministry of Housing and New Urban Communities, Egyptian expatriates will finance the construction of one million low-cost housing units. The non-profit institution also has plans to improve local education, which has come under fire at home and internationally for several decades. In addition to key amendments to the curricula, poor schoolboys and schoolgirls in villages and towns nationwide will have their own PCs at home. The founders of this great project are also determined to help narrow the alarming food gap, caused by a shortage in home-grown agricultural products, which means that huge amounts of basic foodstuffs have to be imported from foreign markets. Large agricultural projects have been planned in Sinai, Nubia and Toshka. This great initiative should have a positive impact on the community of striking workers and employees. Protesters suffering from economic hardships should stop demonstrating and go back to work – otherwise the financial help and investments from abroad won't bear any fruit. With the help and sincere co-operation between Egyptians at home and abroad, the motherland will undoubtedly surmount its post-revolution difficulties, leading to a prosperous future.
