Adult literacy exams: A momentous day

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Today, Masr Bokra organised a literacy exam at their on-site classroom in the brickmaking district of Arab Abou Saed, Giza. We expected about 30 students.. and got 63!

Unfortunately due to exam regulations, only 35 of those who attended could take the exam. However, among these were the first two women from Arab Abou Saed to take the literacy exam through us; hopefully the first of many.

Literacy means a lot. It means access to the voting system, contracts and other official documents, and to further education to improve prospects. We wish all of our adult literacy students the very best of luck, and hope to be able to offer further exam dates to those who were unable to take their literacy qualifications today.

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Eid al-Adha gifts

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Eid al-Adha, the ‘Festival of the Sacrifice’ marks the end of the time of pilgrimage, or ‘Hajj’ in the Muslim calendar. It is celebrated through prayer and the sharing of food – especially meat – with others. During this time, Muslims enjoy feasts and also donate gifts of food to those who need it. Our Project Director Salwa, and teacher Mohammed, seen below, are giving food packages to the boys of the brick factories. Nutrition is poor amongst the workers, so these gifts will be especially welcome. Please join us in wishing the boys a happy Eid!

Eid al Adha 1 

Eid al Adha 2

Eid al Adha 3Eid al Adha 4Eid al Adha 5

Empty classrooms

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Sadly, our partnership has come to an end with a former funding organisation who are winding down their operations in Cairo. As they are no longer funding us, they have withdrawn the classroom equipment they provided, leaving empty rooms and hundreds of kids in need of learning materials. However, we’re confident that we can turn the situation around so our boys don’t miss out on their education, and will continue our work no matter what.

Empty classroom

Our main on-site classroom following removal of all resources

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Happier times: the same classroom in July 2014

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Another classroom with just one poster left

Empty classroom with Sarwat

Sarwat, who attained his School Certificate through Masr Bokra, continuing his studies against the odds.

Fun in the sun!

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The latest from our 2014 Summer Camp: The children are enjoying a day out at the beach! Opportunities like this are out of reach for most working children in Egypt, which makes this holiday extra special. We hope to be able to provide holidays like this for all children working in the brickmaking district we focus on. 

1 Fun in the sun

2 Building a sand castle 3 Our castle 4 Piggyback  6 Our team enjoying the sea

5 Splash splash!

Arts and crafts at this year’s camp

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Arts and crafts help children to develop their skills in problem-solving and critical thinking as well as giving them the space to be inventive and expressive. Here are our kids making decorations from seashells they picked up at the beach. They’ve also been making candles, which they proudly showed off for the camera!

Boy with candle  Check out my candle!  Happy chirpy face  shells  Boys doing crafts  Finished products

Summer camp 2014

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This year, we’ve managed to gather enough funding to run two weekend summer camps in the popular Egyptian seaside town of Port Said. You can see from the photos below how much the children enjoyed playing in (and out of) the waves! The importance of fun should never be underestimated. Children learn and develop through play. This is the only holiday these working children will get, and for most, it will be the first time they’ve seen the sea. We hope that these experiences will broaden their horizons as well as giving them the opportunity to take a break, forget the responsibilities that come with being a young worker, and simply enjoy being young. We’d like to thank the generous donors and our wonderful staff and volunteers who helped to make this possible.

The boys were a little tired from their journey..

.. but they soon got into the spirit of things!

Playing in the sea In the ocean Lining up for games Little lad Physical games

Games help to teach teamwork, as well as the importance of fun!

 

Ramadan Iftar at Al Radwan brick factory

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On July 13th, Masr Bokra held its annual Ramadan fun day and Iftar (Ramadan meal) for the working children at Al Radwan factory, south of Cairo. The day started with group games, then our staff and guests broke their fast with the kids, who were surprised to see one of our lovely volunteers dressing as a clown and giving away gifts of clothes and food for both kids and adults to share Ramadan cheer! We would like to thank all our friends who contributed to this lovely gathering, and hope to see you all next Ramadan.

Our kids with their surprise visitor

Our teacher Mohammed has his food stolen!

Group games with the kids

 

 

Enjoying a rare evening off!

The factory workers enjoy their Ramadan meal

..Helwa! (Delicious!)

Our staff preparing the food

We received a donation of 100 boxes of groceries

More fun and games

Back to reality .. we hope today’s fun has given the kids a break from everyday life in the factories.

We’re moving!

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mohamed paintingboys decorating  maiza wallpaperboys decorating 2

The children we work with were excited to help us decorate our new building in the Arab Abou Saed brick factory district. Our project workers Mohammed and Maiza are busy doing the grown-up stuff whilst the boys play around with the paint! Having our own office means that we have a place to store our materials and operate the project from, right in the heart of the area we’re working in. We were able to move to these new premises with the generous help of our supporters.

Sarwat’s story

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Sarwat is one of our greatest success stories. Sent to work as a child, he got his education through Masr Bokra. And when his leg was crushed by falling bricks, Masr Bokra found the funds to get him the surgery he needed. Sarwat has now left factory work, and has since passed on the benefits of what he has learned by working as an assistant to a doctor based in the brickmaking district. Take a look at our ‘success stories’ page to learn more about the benefits Masr Bokra has brought to the brickmaking community.

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Primary-level exams at one of our on-site classrooms – 22nd June 2014

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boys men literacy exam

Boys and young adults wait to begin their exam. This primary-level qualification doesn’t just mean access to government schools – it also represents the huge achievement these lads have made in terms of learning to read and write, which in turn will lead to a better understanding and enjoyment of the world around them. Our on-site lessons have helped these individuals to access an education they would otherwise have missed out on, and to open doors to new opportunities both in and outside of the workplace. Fingers crossed for good results!