CAIRO — Turmoil
in Egypt that
began Jan. 25 has left thousands of families struggling to make ends meet, and
Southern Baptists are responding to the need through their World Hunger Fund.
Working with humanitarian partners in Egypt,
food, clothing and medicine are being distributed to families struck
particularly hard by the soaring cost of provisions. Small business loans also
are being offered to Egyptians facing job loss or having trouble staying afloat
in a floundering tourism industry and suffering economy.
“The Middle East has experienced what has been described as a political
earthquake that has shattered people’s lives, and that ‘earthquake’ has
affected Egyptians in ways that are difficult to deal with,” said Abraham
Shepherd, who with his wife Grace directs work in the Middle East for Baptist
Global Response (BGR), an international
relief and development organization.
The project, which focuses on both immediate and long-term needs, is being
funded with $200,000 from the World Hunger Fund. About 150 households in 23
Egyptian communities — more than 20,000 people in all — will be touched by the
immediate-need gifts. The food parcels distributed also will strengthen local
economies, as all supplies will be purchased in-country.
BGR partners in Egypt
will provide ongoing counseling and guidance to those receiving business loans.
“Please pray that through the physical hunger and significant personal loss
that many Egyptians are feeling their hearts will be turned to the One that can
satisfy their deepest needs,” Shepherd said. “Pray that many lives will be
changed by this act of love.”
(EDITOR’S NOTE — Kelly is senior writer and assistant editor for Baptist Press.
Baptist Global Response is on the web at www.gobgr.org.)
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