The selection of the NGOs/CBOs approached by ArabDev in Phase I was based on an excellent developmental track record. A diversity of developmental activities was thought to give more intra-cooperation among the NGOs/CBOs from the beginning of the project. In addition to offering substantial in-kind contributions, each NGO has dedicated two of its most promising staff members to attend our training workshops on computer and Internet usage, as well as web-development to become the trainers/focal points (TOTs) for their organizations in the ArabDev network.

The following are the seven NGOs/CBOs that build the first tire of the ArabDev network within the various governorates of Egypt – Menia, Assiut, Cairo, Alexandria and Sinai.

I. Menia Governorate

The Association of Upper Egypt for Education and Development (AUED)

Target Locations

Menia, Assiut, Sohag, and Luxor

Main Target Groups

youth (women & men), the poor and civil society

Key Activities and Achievements:

The Association of Upper Egypt has been working for over 60 years and has established 36 elementary schools and 34 kindergarten classes for poor and underserved communities. These schools are free-of-tuition. The Association is promoting civil rights activities, environmental awareness and civic education through their educative channels. The Association focuses on improving education in public schools. In addition to formal education, the Association is implementing community development programs in 70 locations in Upper Egypt. The community development programs include, among others, activities such as: adult education, health, youth activities and leaders training, cultural development, and small loans for income generation.

II. Assiut Governorate

Assiut Childhood and Development Association (ACDA)

Target Location

Assiut

Main Target Groups

children, youth (women & men) and poor communities.

Key Activities and Achievements:

ACDA was established in 1991 under the name ‘Disabled Child Care Association’, then proceeded to register itself under its current name in 1995. The main belief of ACDA is that “the Children are the Future” and therefore it is vital to attend to the health, education, nutrition and the general basic needs of the children and their to improve their quality of life without the discrimination of sex, color or religion.

The NGO operates its activities in collaboration with other bodies (governmental and non-governmental), to take advantage of building networks and effectively sharing information to enhance their developmental efforts. Since its founding, it has promoted health and social care awareness to 3,000 disabled children and their families through mobile teams in 60 villages in Assiut, set-up a center for ready-made apparel and handicrafts, established a fund loan program catered to helping disabled children, and formed an NGO Support Center, among others.

Among ACDA’s main objectives are:

• To care for disabled children and their families.
• To conduct health education and environmental awareness.
• To build capacity for the Family Development Fund.
• To achieve and integrated development intervention in the deprived areas of Assiut through community schools, health units and loans for women.
• To promote the participation of the civic society through the capacity building of grassroots organizations.

III. Alexandria Governorate

Friends of the Environment, Alexandria (FEA)

Target Location

Alexandria

Main Target Group

civil society

Key Activities and Achievements:

The Friends of the Environment are one of few civil society advocacy groups in Egypt; their focus is environmental advocacy. This NGO, established in 1990, has won several court cases against the government and the private sector to protect Alexandria's environment. FEA works as a pressure group for environmental protection, making participatory education and training as its central focus. FEA furthers its goals through public hearings, peaceful processions/marches, negotiations and pressure and legal appeals.

FEA is interested in creating additional advocacy outreach for its activities, by passing on its advocacy strategies and methodologies to other grassroots organizations in Egypt.

IV. Greater Cairo Governorate and Beyond

The Association for the Protection of the Environment (APE)

Target Locations

Mokattam and Tora, Cairo; Dahab and Nueiba, South Sinai

Main Target Groups

El Zabbaleen (garbage collectors), with special emphasis on women and girls.

Key Activities and Achievements:

APE was established in 1984, focusing on environmental preservation combined with community development. APE has extensive recycling activities that include organic composting, rag and paper recycling, and at source separation of municipal solid waste. The recycling activities are income generating, in addition APE is offering training in recycling techniques, waste management, primary health care programs, literacy instruction, and computer literacy classes. APE is promoting cottage industries and offers marketing venues for the recycled products.

APE has been working in the Tora region for 16 years now and the community development initiatives have been changing the local community. Today, most of the youth, girls and boys, attend schools and there is a literate group that needs to be encouraged to make the extra steps to break the barriers of generation induced poverty and social segregation due to illiteracy and poverty.

The Arab Office for Youth and Environment (AOYE)

Target Locations

projects in Cairo, Suez and Ismailia and awareness campaigns all over Egypt

Main Target Groups

youth, poor communities and civil society

Key Activities and Achievements:

AYOE was established in 1978 with the focus to involve Egyptian and Arab youth in activities to further environmental protection. Since 1993 AYOE has been organizing youth volunteer programs that have involved over 4,000 young persons from both genders all over Egypt for environmental activities in their respective regions.

AYOE’s main objectives are:

• To mobilize the community to adopt new environmental patterns of life.
• To increase environmental awareness among students and youth in different areas.
• To prepare and implement programs and projects that aim at sustainable development.

On the national level, AOYE founded the Arab Union for Youth and Environment in 1983 with the purpose of activating youth concerned with environmental issues and in 1993 saw the beginning of the youth volunteer program for about 4,000 youth volunteers from various governorates, who were then hired as part time and full time employees.

During 1998-99 the Arab Office for Youth and Environment (AOYE) implemented the Community Solid Waste Management Program (CSWMP) in 3 target areas in Cairo (Zeinhum, Manial, and Zahraa) as a demonstration project with comprehensive, technical and social activities that address one of the major problems of the Egyptian environment - the sustainable management of solid waste. This pilot project is being assessed by AOYE for replication in other areas of Egypt.

Central Egyptian Society for Consumer Protection (CESCP)

Target Locations

Cairo and all over Egypt

Main Target Group

civil society

Key Activities and Achievements:

CESCP was established in 1994 to promote the rights of the Egyptian consumers through public education, awareness and empowerment. EACP targets the Egyptian society as a whole, with special emphasis on women as the caregivers for children and their families.

The Association’s objectives are to assist the Egyptian consumer to get his/her rights in regard to:

• Being offered quality products that are free of any defects and/or products that do not conform to the health and legal standard;
• The right of acquiring products through a free market that is not being controlled by monopolies;
• The right to have all product information without any withholding or forgery;
• The right to legally persecute and have an effective implementation of statutes concerning consumer violations in products and/or services.

CESCP is applying its objectives through cooperative work with relevant governmental organizations to ensure that Egyptian consumers are given sufficient and valid product information to establish the quality of the merchandise. CESCP is further conducting a nation-wide consumer rights awareness and education campaign and is offering assistance to consumers that have questions or complaints about product safety and quality. CESCP has conducted a vast product health campaign against some of the most powerful processed meat producers in Egypt. The Association is presently involved in a lawsuit against these producers as it has been proven through governmental laboratory tests that their product does not hold up to governmental health guidelines.

CESCP also plans to create a database that will offer information regarding the laws, decrees and verdicts regarding consumer protection in Egypt.

V. Sinai

HEMAYA

Target Location

the area from Noweiba to Taba

Main Target Group

civil society

Key Activities and Achievements:

HEMAYA was established in 1997 to promote environmentally sound practices within the community and protect the natural heritage of the surrounding area. Since its inception, it has organized several ‘clean-up’ workshops to reduce waste in sporadic dumping sites and on roadsides, conducted training programs to care for the Children in Need’, i.e. the street children of Cairo, and planted palm trees to beautify the area. One of its main activities is to promote proper waste management and recycling practices. In its efforts to eliminate problems of waste disposal HEMAYA set up a solid waste management center, targeting tourist, commercial and residential properties.

Among its main objectives are:

• To educate people on applying environmental laws in the day-to-day activities.
• To promote environmental protection measures through proper awareness.
• To attract a pool of volunteers to aid in the clean-up of villages on the bay.
• To undertake projects to preserve the traditional handicrafts produced by the families within the community.
• To work on developing the knowledge of social, economic, and health issues.

Though HEMAYA is a relatively new NGO, it has acquired a successful track record of developmental activities within its community and continues to make significant contributions in the realm of environmental protection.