Australian Volunteers Raise $9,500 for Health of Egyptian Children

Australia director Elizabeth Hanna speaks at the event.

Close to 150 supporters attended the Coptic Orphans Black Tie Dinner on May 17 th , 2009. The event, conceived and organised by a team of dedicated Australian volunteers, raised $9500 which will go towards the purchase of school supplies, hygiene products for the Rise and Shine Australian initiative and gifts for the children they will serve in Egypt.

The volunteers are part of the 2009 Serve to Learn team. Close to 30 youth from around the world will travel to Egypt from 27 th June to 18 th July this year, to lead activities for children in underserved communities throughout Upper and Lower Egypt. This year, volunteers from Australia created an initiative to address a critical issue a returning Serve to Learn volunteer from last year brought to their attention:  the lack of proper hygiene practices among many of the children involved.

The Rise & Shine Initiative was developed in response to the need for improved healthy habits among children from impoverished areas in Egypt. The main objective is to nurture healthy habits among children to ensure a brighter future for them and their families.  The volunteers have come together to prepare fun activities and lesson plans that will convey the importance of good hygiene practices, which can help prevent an array of diseases ranging from tooth decay to diarrhoea and hepatitis C. They also hope to distribute kits of vital hygiene supplies to go along with the activities and encourage the children to develop healthy habits.

The money raised from the Black Tie Event will go towards purchasing products for the hygiene kits for approximately 3,000 children who will participate in activities with Serve to Learn volunteers. The hygiene kits will include items such as:

•  Tooth brushes
•  Tooth paste
•  Tooth brush containers
•  Soap
•  Soap containers
•  Shampoo
•  Hair brushes
•  Combs
•  Nail brushes
•  Loofahs

Thank you to all who attended and contributed, and a special thanks to the Conca D’oro Events centre ( http://www.concadoro.com.au/ ) , Hany Ibrahim of Splash wedding ( www.splashweddings.com.au ), who took fantastic photos on the evening. Last but definitely not least thank you to our fantastic volunteers who put so much time and effort into organising the night.

Here are some photos from the event:

Auction lets rip	Copts supporting Copts from around the world
Wally Attia shares a moving testimony about his sponsorship relationship	Volunteers enjoy the night
More volunteers enjoying the evening