Al-Shabab Awalan: Alashanek Ya Balady Association for Sustainable Development
Al-Shabab Awalan ("Youth First") is an online series that spotlights leading civil society efforts working on youth development in the Middle East. Organizations are nominated based on their commitment to youth and their innovative approaches.
The third featured initiative in the Al-Shabab Awalan series is the Alashanek Ya Balady Association for Sustainable Development, an Egyptian non-governmental organization that engages youth from different backgrounds in the comprehensive development of poor communities through various social, cultural, and economic projects.
Please use the navigation to the right to read about Alashanek Ya Balady and to access the Middle East Youth Initiative’s interviews with Raghda El Ebrashi, founder and chairperson of Alashanek Ya Balady; Nada Hamada, Programs Head of Alashanek Ya Balady at the American University in Cairo; and Imane Helmy, President of Alashanek Ya Balady at the German University in Cairo.
Founding of Alashanek Ya Balady at the American University in Cairo
In 2002, a group of students at the American University in Cairo (AUC) had an idea. By bringing microcredit loans and literacy programs to the residents of one of Cairo’s poorest neighborhoods, they could improve the lives of marginalized women and youth and begin to break the cycle of poverty. Simultaneously, they could change the mindsets of their peers and other young, middle- and upper-class Egyptians by involving them in the process of sustainable community development. Initially, Alashanek Ya Balady (AYB; translation, from Arabic: “For you, our country”) was set up as as a student club at the AUC, explains Raghda El Ebrashi, who now heads the organization and was chairperson of the AUC student union at the time.
After establishing a model at the AUC, the club moved to establish sister clubs at Ain Shams University and Cairo University. Raghda explains that, by franchising the club to other universities, AYB sought to provide a tangible way for motivated university students to become civically engaged: “Around 60 percent of the Egyptian population are youth, so this is a great power, however most of [them] are not involved in community development. They might be involved in charity activities, like donating blood, donating blankets … but [they are] not involved in transformation of the society, and community development, and empowerment of other people.” AYB currently operates five affiliate student clubs at the AUC, Ain Shams University, Cairo University, the German University in Cairo, and the French University in Egypt.
Alashanek Ya Balady Association for Sustainable Development Vision Programs AYB’s micro-credit program, based on the model popularized by Muhammad Yunus and the Grameen Bank, provides small loans at no-interest to poor families to implement value-added projects in the community. In addition, beneficiaries are provided a conditional cash transfer (CCT) to help cover certain basic needs, such as health and education for their children. Upon successful completion of the project and repayment of the loan, beneficiaries can qualify to receive additional loans from AYB to scale up their projects. In addition to its original micro-credit program, AYB provides “soft skills” capacity-building for low-income youth from Misr al-Qadima (“Old Cairo”). The capacity building program includes training in computer literacy, the English language, career planning, CV writing, and technical skills. AYB also helps young graduates from its training program to secure employment opportunities in local and regional companies. AYB’s approach is based upon a family-based development model that engages both the individual and those influential family members around them: encompassing women, men, youth, and children in its outreach. Specific programs, however, have focused on the immediate needs of women and young people. Raghda explains how women and youth were identified as AYB’s primary targets: “If you focus on the women, so you focus on the backbone of the household. If you focus on youth, then you focus on 60 percent of the population.” However, she notes that AYB volunteers also engage men and younger children in the community, in order to maintain close connections with their beneficiaries and extended family members, so as to become a trusted and familiar presence to the whole community. In 2005, AYB was registered as a non-profit organization with an office headquartered in Cairo where staff members coordinate the volunteer units across its programs. The organization’s board of directors includes young professionals, many affiliated with the American University in Cairo, with diverse knowledge in the fields of consulting, business management, education and training, and finance and economics.
Please visit the Alashanek Ya Balady website for more information on the organization, its staff and volunteers, and its subsidiary programs.
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