Micah Project:
The Fairhaven School and Vocational Training Centre, Alexandria, Egypt www.saraychurch.org
Developed in 1990 as an outreach project by the El Saray Evangelical Church in Alexandria, the Fairhaven School and Vocational Training Centre is a truly remarkable centre which focuses on children and young people with learning difficulties. Led by Pastor Gendi Rizik together with the Director of School, Dr Ashraf Latif Guirguis, the centre offers schooling and training for children and young people with a range of learning disabilities. Children aged between 5 and 12 years old are taught social development, mobility, self care and safety skills alongside their academic subjects. Older students are trained in vocations such as sewing, woodwork and gardening.
A daily meal is provided to every student and fees are charged according to each family’s means, and the school also provides a home for older students who find it difficult to travel, have deprived family backgrounds or are vulnerable to abuse.
A kindergarten for local children helps to fund the costs of the school, as does some of the sales of goods produced in the vocational training facilities of the centre which are sold through the Fairhaven Outlet. These include the woodwork, sewing, candle, paper and card making workshops. All these workshops enable young people to learn through creativity, and to be prepared for simple vocational jobs in the future.
Part of the wider ministry of the church is offered through The Hope and Healing Medical Centre, which is also in Alexandria in a poorer area of the city. This 24 hour clinic is free to local people and is manned by Christian volunteers from various churches across Alexandria. It specialises in eye care, including basic treatment, simple operations, glasses and medicines.
In 2011 Micah68 raised £1000.00 towards the school gardening project by restoring three greenhouses, enabling these important young people to learn to grow lettuce, peppers and cucumbers, and so develop their skills and education. In 2012 Micah68 helped to raise £3,000 towards the school gym project (£1,000), repairing the floor, decorating the walls and buying new equipment, and also the new sales room Fairhaven Outlet (£2,000) which now enables the school to better retail the items made by the young people in the vocational centre. In 2013 and 2014 Micah68 raised £1,000 each year towards the complete refurbishment of classrooms. Six classrooms have now been refurbished.
Micah Target for 2017:
To raise £1000.00 towards…….
New Project details to arrive shortly!
After the success of the 2011 greenhouse project, the 2012 gym project, the 2013 and 2014 classrooms project, and the 2016 outdoor play area, will you and your friends help to raise money towards the 2017 project and this very important £1000.00 target? Click below for fundraising ideas.
Accumulator: £0.00. OThe £1000 2016 target was reached courtesy of some really generous individual and church based gifts and the money was handed over personally in Alexandria in December 2016. Thanks to everyone who contributed in 2016. That’s five years we have achieved the target figure and bought greenhouses (2011), gym equipment (2012), the refurbishment of 3 classrooms (2013 and 2014), and the outdoor play area (2016)!
Micah Project Advocate:
Travelling with Ian to Egypt will give you an opportunity to be challenged by issues around disability, to visit the Fairhaven centre and stay in the residential unit with the young people, meet the staff and local pastors, travel on the historic Cairo to Alexandria railway, and eat some fantastic fish. You come back with the task of spreading the word about this important work – and helping achieve a higher target for the next year!
