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From left to right, Mrs. Ghada and Mr. Naguib Sawiris,
Ms. Mimi Geerges, Ms. Nermien Riad |
Leaders
from the Egyptian diaspora honored Naguib Sawiris and Ola Ghabour
as joint recipients of the 2008 Leading by Example Award during the
Coptic Orphans 20 th anniversary gala at the Marriott New York Downtown
on Saturday, October 18 th , 2008. Sawiris and Ghabour stressed the
need for supporters of Egypt’s development to focus on programs that
move beyond charity and serve to raise up all humanity.
The
Leading by Example Award honors those who, through their life and
actions, have set an example for others by overcoming great obstacles
to build a better future for children.
Both
Sawiris and Ghabour praised the non-sectarian and unifying nature
of the work of Coptic Orphans over the last 20 years. “It is not about
whether you are Christian or Muslim or Buddhist. The cause today is
larger... the cause today is humanity,” said Ghabour. Ghabour was
the catalyst for the donor-supported establishment of Egypt’s Children’s
Cancer Hospital, the first state-of-the-art hospital in the Middle
East dedicated to children with cancer, which provides care to qualifying
families completely free of charge.
Naguib
Sawiris, Chairman and CEO of Orascom Telecom Holdings, emphasized
the importance of development programs that include all Egyptians,
regardless of religion. Sawiris also recognized the power of a united
Egyptian diaspora to solve the common problems of Egypt, and warned
against relying on the great achievements of the past alone to keep
the country strong. “Sometimes I think we should demolish the pyramids
so that we will have to build something new to show the world what
we can achieve,” he joked, adding, “The roots of this civilization
are in all of us. I am sure we will have our comeback- though it may
take time.”
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From left to right, Mrs. Ola and
Dr. Raouf Ghabour, His Excellency Ambassador Sameh Shokry |
Nermien
Riad, Executive Director of Coptic Orphans, summed up the common call
of both Sawiris and Ghabour when she shared a personal and organizational
dream of “all the friends of Egypt, coming together to offer the best
asset that each of us has to give.” Riad made clear that the development
efforts of the Coptic diaspora, while faith-based, involve all players
at every level both in Egypt and in the nations of immigration.
The
diversity of the audience reflected Riad’s words. The gala was the
first public function attended by the new Egyptian Ambassador to the
U.S., Sameh Shoukry. Ambassador Shoukry addressed an audience of nearly
200 prominent members of the Egyptian community and supporters, including
UN Ambassador Maged Abdel Aziz, and Hussein Mubarak, the Egyptian
Consul to New York, along with the President David Arnold of the American
University in Cairo. Ms. Dina Powell, the Director of Global Corporate
Engagement with Goldman Sachs and a former Assistant Secretary in
the U.S. State Department, presented Ms. Manal Moussa, a participant
in Coptic Orphans’ programs in Upper Egypt, with an award from the
Goldman Sachs 10,000 Women Partnership that will allow her to pursue
graduate business studies at the American University in Cairo. The
Partnership sponsors women from underserved areas to pursue higher
education in business so that they can contribute to the development
of their countries.
The
event raised more than $200,000 for children in Egypt, and a portion
of the proceeds will benefit the “Ola Ghabour Children’s Health Fund”
of Coptic Orphans.
Coptic
Orphans is an award-winning international Christian development organization
that unlocks the God-given potential of disadvantaged children in
Egypt, and so equips them to break the cycle of poverty and become
change-makers in their communities. Since the founding of the organization
in 1988, Coptic Orphans has touched the lives of over 14,000 children
in Egypt.
