Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Cairo (Agenzia Fides)- “In June last year our work had been in a situation of stall for several months. We wanted to start a course of adult primary education but the prospects were not very hopeful” says Italian Comboni missionary Fr Luciano Verdoscia, who have worked for years in Cairo to help children living in the Mansheya district, home to the garbage collectors known as the Zabbaleen. The programme started by Fr Luciano three year ago provides the children with a clean and healthy place to live, the opportunity to go to school and train in view of finding a job. The programme also brings into contact people of different religions, culture and ethnic origin and this promotes tolerance and peace (see Fides 24 October 2005, 22 November 2005 and 24 March 2006).
“Despite difficulties we have made progress. Last year in August we did give adult Summer classes and then started regular school classes in October” the priest said in a report to Fides. “Our relations with the Education Ministry have improved greatly and various officials have offered us support.
The parents are pleased and the children come regularly and eagerly to school and most make good progress as we see from how they learn to express themselves. Many children from Mansheya who started with us but had to stop coming when we moved to another school further away, now come on a bus donated by a multinational media company.
At Heliopolis we have two classrooms one of which is equipped for computer studies. Moreover we no longer need a school to train teachers and we are free to choose the subjects and the teachers. School ended on May 20 and will start at the end of September with the new school year. In mid June we started Summer adult classes: three hours of study and one hour for art, theatre and so on”. (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides 14/7/2006 righe 42 parole 496)
