Young and old, the 40 travellers on a recent Tourmagination/MEDA tour to Egypt found meeting “real” Egyptians an eye opener. Bob Kroeker, MEDA director of member relations, led the tour with Wilmer Martin, president of Tourmagination.
The group saw a Cairo that most tourists would not, Bob reports, meeting locals and visiting clients in MEDA’s PPIC Work project – Promoting and Protecting the Interests of Children Who Work – “a big highlight.” The project is aimed at helping businesses create a safe environment for working children, who have no voice and no advocate for safety. By providing educational opportunities to children, they are giving them a voice.
Tour members also met Dr. Achmed and Hoda El Diwany and their two grown children. This couple, both scientists, were landlords to Bob and his wife, Joyce, when they lived in Egypt for three months in 2005. Through this opportunity for intercultural dialogue, “The group found them to be peaceful people who are sad to be misunderstood by the west,” says Bob. “The visitors were struck by the misperceptions of Muslims they have from what they hear on the news here in Canada.”
Bob was impressed by Tourmagination. “I was happy to be part of it. Wilmer’s objective is for participants to come away from the experience as better human beings by learning about other cultures and thinking about the differences they see compared to their own life and culture. Tourmagination is an ideal partnership for MEDA at this time.”
At the end of the day, the group was encouraged to share their thoughts on what they found meaningful from the day’s activities. “It was a diverse group – families with children and older adults – but our shared experience gave us a real feeling of family after two weeks together. There was an atmosphere of acceptance and appreciation for each other, and intergenerational connections.”
For Bob, it was also a chance to see the changes that MEDA’s work has made in the two years since his brief residency in Cairo. “I saw a lot of progress – our partner in Cairo has adopted our philosophy on working conditions and now is watching out for the children.
“I saw differences in a laundry business that I first visited in 2005. Then, the equipment was open, with pulleys and wires running everywhere. It was unsafe for adults and children alike. Now it has been cleaned up, and the equipment is covered to protect workers.”
MEDA’s partner in Aswan, a highly respected microfinance institution referred to as EACID, is using some of its earnings to offer the children’s program at a grassroots level. Over 500 children have gone through the program in Egypt, and another 100 are now actively involved, whether through computer training or basic literacy and numeracy education.
PPIC Work’s success can be measured in ways both big and small. In the words of one child the group met: “I have learned so much – now I can give the correct change – so my father treats me better.” The MEDA template is being promoted locally and may expand to other parts of Egypt. Also, work is underway to try to move it to other Arab countries such as Tunisia, Morocco, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine and Yemen.
