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NEF is registered with the Egyptian government as an international NGO. In its Egypt programs, NEF collaborates closely with the Center for Development Services, an Egyptian organization founded and staffed by former NEF employees.
1) Agro-Ecology in Lake Nasser: NEF is operating a pilot agriculture extension project in three villages in the southwestern desert where the Egyptian government plans to resettle one million people over ten years. The project includes a nursery and experimental fields where 2,500 participating farming families are selecting appropriate varieties, seeds, planting cycles and methods and fertilizer and pesticide use. NEF emphasizes an ecological approach to agriculture, along with value-added production and niche marketing, and an eco-health approach to community development. The Canadian International Development Research Centre has funded the project, initially with $450,000 over three years.
2) Vulnerable Urban Youth: In 4 diverse communities across Egypt, NEF works with highly vulnerable Egyptian youth 12-18 years old who live on the street or are forced to work to provide income for their families. Misconceptions about sexuality are widespread among adolescents and youth, and sexual practice put their reproductive and general health at risk. The NEF project, supported by a $262,000 grant from the Ford Foundation, seeks to improve the quality of health and well being of youth in poor urban communities through leadership training and enhancing life skills and sexual knowledge.
3) Community of Practice for Eco-Health: NEF is managing the establishment and development of a collaborative network of researchers, practitioners and policymakers in the Middle East and North Africa in the growing field of eco-health. The project promotes innovative critical thinking and knowledge generation and sharing and seeks to broaden the participation of development specialists in this field. The project is supported by two grants totalling $413,946.00 from International Development Research Centre of Canada and the Ford Foundation and has facilitated more than a half dozen research activities in Lebanon, Jordan, Morocco and Egypt to date.
NEF's History in Egypt: NEF has operated programs in Egypt since 1989 with many partners and donors, including the Ford Foundation, the International Development Research Centre, the Swiss Fund, the Sawiris Foundation, the World Bank, the World Food Program and UNICEF.
In 2005, NEF won the Agfund prize for its nursing project in Upper Egypt, funded by the Sawiris Foundation. The project encouraged poor, unemployed women to study nursing, improved the curriculum and teaching in nursing schools and enhanced the quality of nursing services in hospitals and health centers. It created a core team of nurses to continue the improvements and nursing quality measurement tools to enable ongoing project evaluation.
In November 2005, NEF issued the first report on corporate social responsibility in Egypt, reviewing the private sector's role in environmental protection and natural resource management and proposing strategies for cooperative partnership among government, industry and NGO's.
Latest Reports From the Field:
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Reports From the Field ; Egypt - Wednesday, August 15, 2007
'Working with NEF was a significant paradigm shift in my life on all levels--personal, academic, career'-- Another NEF Alumnus Reports Back
By Hassan Hussein
I am the kind of person who follows his hope. Since I created my vision and future plan, my self-sufficiency has always overcome the inadequacy of my resources. Let me explain.
Raised in a modest Egyptian family, at the age of 10 I started working with my father during summer holidays. At 19 I had a full-time job to make possible my management studies at Cairo University. My first salary was $26 a month. This led me to think differently about myself and be independent ... (more) |
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Reports From the Field ; Egypt - Wednesday, August 15, 2007
Getting Sexual Violence on the Radar Screen
Sexual violence--rape, forced prostitution, coerced sexual activity--is a violation of human rights and a serious public health problem with profound impact on both physical and mental health immediately and for many years after assault. Yet, to date sexual violence has received insufficient attention from researchers, policy-makers and program designers.
That long struggle to have sexual violence recognized as a legitimate public health issue is being addressed by the Sexual Violence Resear ... (more) |
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Reports From the Field ; Egypt - Thursday, July 19, 2007
Egyptian Weekly Newspaper Features NEF Aswan Agricultural Project
"Al-Ahram," an English-language weekly publication associated with the giant Arabic daily of the same name, this week paid tribute to NEF's (Near East Foundation) multi-faceted efforts to improve the lives of residents along the shores of Lake Nasser. In the words of journalist Nashwa Abdel-Tawab--
"For three years now the non-profit Near East Foundation has attempted to provide relief in three village communities west of the lake, working closely with representative members and especially d ... (more) |
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Reports From the Field ; Egypt - Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Egyptian Philanthropy Conference Caps 3-Year Investigation & Attracts Nearly 600 Participants
NEF (Near East Foundation) and its local affiliate, The Center for Development Services in Cairo, Egypt, hosted a ground-breaking event in the capital city on February 28th--a forum discussing Egyptian philanthropy and its contribution to the country's development.
Culminating a three-year study funded by the Ford Foundation, nearly 600 people attended, including representatives from business, nongovernmental organizations, government ministries, academia, the media, and religious communiti ... (more) |
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Reports From the Field ; Egypt - Thursday, February 22, 2007
3 Years Of NEF Research To Debut At "Philanthropy & Development" Conference
Egyptian policymakers, academics, philanthropists, media, civil society, and private sector representatives will come together in Cairo on February 28th for a day-long examination of the topic, "Philanthropy and Development." The event is funded by the Ford Foundation.
The national conference will be the occasion for publication of a three-year study of philanthropy in Egypt--both quantitative and qualitative--conducted by NEF's (Near East Foundation) Center for Development Services. The bo ... (more) |
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