‘It’s December and Summer is here. As we put our Christmas trees up, Christmas Carols are heard on the radio, in our homes and in shopping centers and we are all rushing out to purchase many Christmas presents. Please remember that there are millions of people living below the poverty-line in Egypt. They are quietly and patiently awaiting any form of hunger relief’!
Firstly, from the Board of Directors and the team at Shepherd of Egypt, we wish you a very Merry Christmas. May the celebrations of this sacred season fill your hearts with joy and happiness!
Secondly, we would like to thank the community here in Australia for their phenomenal support over the past four years. It never ceases to amaze us how we all rally together to support people affected by poverty. As a Not-for-profit Charity, we pride ourselves on our long running community of connections within Australia and our deep umbilical connection with the people of our ancestry nation, Egypt.
Our legacy in Australia has seen growth and we thank our supporters for your generosity and kindness in providing us with ongoing donations & financial support, this is crucial to our ongoing operations and core existence. In turn, this has assisted many hundreds of thousands of people living below the poverty-line in Egypt.
This year we want to express our sincere gratitude, as we are so humbled by your support. The past couple of years were very intense with the pandemic, but we survived! The challenges were real, but we conquered together and stood tall! Resilience navigated our way through the hardships. However, we still have a journey ahead of us, and we will triumph!
Thankfully, our organisation has continued to expand and grow and this demonstrates our dedication and strength. Through recent adversities we have managed to achieve incredible success and achievements!
We hosted a successful & most historical Gala Event in March this year, which was attended by the international affluent supporters of our Charity, Mr. Kareem Abdel Aziz, Mrs. Elham El Shaheen, and Mr. Hany Ramzy, all renowned and successful artists of Egyptian television, radio and broadcast productions.
In September this year, we accompanied 31 Helping Hands Volunteers from Australia, who traveled abroad to Egypt to serve the less fortunate in Cairo and Minya, followed by a trip to El Gouna where Raie Misr (Shepherd of Egypt Head Office in Cairo) hosted an amazing 3-day retreat for over 500 Orphans and Widows.
Also, in September this year, we attended the Kasr El Kobba Presidential Palace in Cairo, Egypt and celebrated a historical Inauguration Ceremony of the launch of our newest 11 Australian Sponsored Medical Mobile Clinics. The event was hosted by our Chairman, Counselor – Mr. Amir Ramzy, the head of the board of trustees of the foundation and a member of the National Coalition for Civil and Social Work Cairo, Egypt. The Inauguration was attended by Dr. Suha Al-Jundi, the Minister of State for Immigration, Ayman Abdel Mawgood, the Deputy Minister of Social Solidarity, the Deputy Minister of Health, Dr. Mohsen Sarhan, the head of the Food Bank, President of the Orman foundation and Misr El-Kheir associations, many members of the National Coalition for Civil and Social Work, and a large number of participants in charitable and social work from Australia, New Zealand, Canada, the United States and Europe. Also, various renowned artists, including actress Elham El Shaheen and actor Hany Ramzy. Members of the House of Representatives were also present, including MP Ehab Ramzy from the Republican People’s Party, as well as a group of media professionals and journalists involved in charitable and social work.
This year alone, the support and giving from our Shepherd of Egypt Sponsors and Donors has aided and provided essential and critical medical care to over 600,000 patients living in severe poverty. You have also assisted in building many homes in our Housing Development Program. You have provided household appliances for many newlyweds, you have provided many school scholarships to thousands of school students, you have assisted thousands of elderly pensioners. You have supported thousands of young orphans and widows.
Shepherd of Egypt / Rair Misr started our Medical Mobile Clinic Program with one clinic in 2017, three in 2019, and reaching 28 clinics in 2023, with each convoy serving approximately 80,000 patients annually across various medical specialties.
We believe our greatest successes in 2022 – 2023 stemmed from putting our less advantaged community first.
Five core principles guided our strengths:
• Serving with compassion and honesty
• Understanding the poverty crisis in Egypt
• Delivering continuous and consistent service with the help of our team in Egypt – Raie Misr
• Ongoing campaigns, fundraising events and exposure of Shepherd of Egypt in Australia
• Fulfilling our purpose through Shepherd of Egypt cultural values, vision and practices
Our charitable community embraced the importance of humanity and living as truly remarkable examples of humanitarians. We ask from each and every one of you to please continually be the lifeline of hope and survival to those in need. Poverty is ongoing and Charity must continue!
We Look forward to a successful year ahead. We are confident we will continue to work through any challenges that come before us. We stayed true to the values that have fueled our success over the past four years and positioned ourselves to continue serving the community, which is our number one goal.
So once again, from our home to yours, we wish you, your families and your loved ones, a very Merry Christmas and a safe and prosperous New Year!
Carl Elassal & Edward Zaki
Board of Directors
Shepherd of Egypt – Australia
