Income generation
Job creation
Vocational training

Gender roles and responsibilities
Gender specific needs
Women empowerment
Access to resources
Control of resources
Removing barriers to equity
Social integration
Women's safety

0-9 years
10 years to adult
Education and vocational training (including
day care, after school care)
Children's participatory planning and
leadership development
Community support programmes
Especially difficult circumstances
(abuse, child labour, war)
Youth at risk

 The purpose of the initiative is the comprehensive development of the eastern Nile district of Minia governorate in Upper Egypt and the empowerment of groups especially the youth, women and children.

First, the purpose of the initiative is to raise the targeted community awareness of economic, social, political, civil human rights, and enable them to get them, in addition to raising their awareness of women and children's rights in particular as set out in the international conventions and the Egyptian law.

Then, enabling the irregular labor in the area such as quarry workers, fishermen and farmers economically by raising their awareness of their rights as workers that were organized in formal entities and were trained to claim their rights from the right's holders, whether the Egyptian government or private employers in determining their working hours, occupational safety, organizing their work, utilization of economic resources' dividend, social and health insurance.

This is in addition to the goal of the initiative in the development of key trades and professions in the region to protect their livelihood, such as quarrying industry to make it safer for workers and more economically feasible, the development of fishing and farming systems and techniques used to serve the people in the region.

The initiative also aims to improve the economic conditions of the inhabitants of the region of low-income workers by lending them to implement small projects for income-generating either collectively or individually that are designed to develop the individual and the entire region.

The initiative also aims to activate the role of members of the elected Local Popular Council in the Eastern Nile area through training them, increasing their knowledge, developing their skills, enabling them as active individuals in the accountability of the government, demanding the rights of the people in the region, finding solutions to their problems and their benefit at reasonable rate of economic resources.

Also the initiative aims at the establishment and strengthening of a number of grassroots NGOs in the Eastern Nile to strengthen the activity of the civil society and convert them to civil organizations that are able  to participate in the development' march.

Also the initiative cared of empowering women and changing patterns and concepts prevailing in the Eastern Nile, which devote the inferiority of women and discrimination against them by raising awareness of the community members on women's rights, forming women's movements in each community that aim at leading change for the better. The initiative also cared of issuing birth certificates and identity cards (national IDs) for women of Eastern Nile, training women vocational training on a number of different trades and professions to make small projects, and their economic development. The initiative also made listening counseling  centers for battered and violenced women especially who are subjected to special domestic violence for the first time in the villages of Eastern Nile and also at the level of all villages of the republic.

The initiative also aims to eliminate the phenomenon of "female circumcision" that is widespread by 98% among girls of the Eastern Nile, which constitutes a serious violation for children and women's rights through the using different strategies .

The initiative also cared of education issues. So it began to establish a number of schools in the region to increase access to education for the children of the region. It also made a number of projects for the development and quality of education by the upgrading the teachers' level and organizing strengthening classes for children to prevent them from drop out because of the weak level grades.

Proceeding from the importance of education and its impact on communities, the initiative combated the widespread illiteracy by organizing literacy classes for women and men in the Eastern Nile, then, facilitating their procedures to submit to the test the government and enabling them to get a certificate of literacy.

This is in addition to combat the phenomenon of children labor in quarries, which are the worst form of children labor in quarries by raising the awareness of people in the area on child rights and social responsibility of the parents. The initiative also could raise the educational level of children, return all dropouts to schools, train children who exceeded the legal age on alternative trades and professions that are safer and less vulnerable and provide loans to families on condition that they prevent their children from working in quarries.

The initiative cared of activating the role of media people in favor of development issues and recruiting them for the benefit of the different issues of the Eastern Nile area particularly in the various levels of local and national media .
 From the beginning, the initiative focused on the good recruiting of Islamic and Christian leaders through their rehabilitation, training and raising their awareness of the different development issues.

The initiative aimed to improve the environmental conditions for housing, use the cheap environmental raw materials environment for the construction and develop housing in the Eastern Nile to provide economic and healthy adequate housing for the poor and find solutions to problems such as: the separation between human and animals in the living, building roof for the house, delivery of potable water, making latrines for the houses that were the basic needs of the inhabitants of the region.

Date of the starting the Association : May 1995
Date of the first funded project: July 1997
Date of the first funded project by private sector in Egypt : June 2006
Date of the Social Entrepreneurs Award : May2006
Date of Ashoka Fellowship: May2004

SITUATION BEFORE THE INITIATIVE BEGAN
 The target Eastern Nile occupies about 30 km east of Minia City in Upper Egypt. It consists of 18 villages. The population of this region is about 10000 people. There is a small agricultural area in the region that is surrounded by the River Nile from the West and there are Limestone Mountains from the East. The main occupation of the population in this region is quarry workers who cut stones and export them to all parts of the Republic, but by using primitive and antiquated machines that violate all human rights in general and workers in particular. The region suffers from lack of jobs and large rate of widespread unemployment. There are some men who work in Agriculture or as fishermen from the water of the River Nile e.g. most category of this region is an irregular marginalized employment that is away from the umbrella of the social and health insurance. They suffer from the violation of many of their economic and social rights.

The region suffers from lack of educational opportunities, shortage of schools and poor quality of education. Child labor in quarry sector is widespread due to economic motives and also the absence of awareness of the child rights.

The Eastern Nile Community suffers from poor participation and representation of women in different fields and there is a clear discrimination against women so women's illiteracy increases, the lack of employment opportunities for them and the lack of their political participation. Around 90% of the population of this region practice bad habits such as female genital mutilation and wedding night.

There is apparent Environmental degradation in houses of this area as they are built of red bricks and combining the housing of both human and animal together. They suffer from a lack of clean water supplies, lack of latrines, cracks walls and roofs built of palm branches or natural raw materials in which air penetrates.

There are Local Popular Councils that represent people of this region but they are not effective and do not contribute obviously in improving the conditions of this region.

ESTABLISHMENT OF PRIORITIES
List of initiative's priorities:

1. Improving the economic conditions for the inhabitants of the region.
2. Combating and reducing poverty among the region's population.
3. Defending the rights of irregular employment (quarry workers / fishermen / farmers) in the region.
4. Improving housing conditions and supplying them with water and latrines.
5. The elimination of children labor phenomenon.
6. Empowering women economically, socially and politically.
7. Combating female circumcision.
8. The establishment and strengthening of formal or informal entities that advocate the rights of inhabitants of the region.
9. Activating the role of the Local Popular Council.

  How to identify these priorities: it was done by implementing community-based study using participatory rapid appraisal in 18 communities of the Eastern Nile villages. This study was implemented by the association's staff together with people of these communities. Different means and tools were used for the study include:

Tool	Number of residents participants
1.Community Mapping	200 persons	150 male / 50 female
2- Individual Interviews	1000 persons	600 male / 400 female
3- Focus Groups Discussions	5000 persons	3000 male / 2000 female
4- Questionnaires	1000 persons	500 male / 500 female
5- Meetings with government sources	100 persons	80 male / 20 female
6- Meetings with members of LPC	10 persons	10 male
7- Meetings with representatives of grassroots NGOs	50 persons	40 male / 10 female
8- Analysis of income sources and expenditure of the population	100 persons	50 male / 50 female
9- Daily routine and seasonal Calendar of residents	100 persons	50 male / 50 female

 Through the implementation of these tools with the same members of the community, the list of priorities has been monitored for the residents of the region, which resulted from the analysis of the various problems and monitor violations in the Eastern Nile. The study resulted also in monitoring the various community resources, which could be exploited in Comprehensive development of the region.

This is in addition to a number of specialized Social Studies carried out by the association about conditions and needs of specific groups such as: study of quarry workers (new ousters) - study of the fishermen (the other side of the river) - study of the farmers - study of child labor in quarries and another one about children labor at workshops - study of women (insecure women) so that we can identify and accurate analyze the problems and resources to be able to intervene effectively to improve these conditions.

FORMULATION OF OBJECTIVES AND STRATEGIES

The main objectives of the initiative:

1. Improving the economic conditions for the inhabitants of the Eastern Nile.
2. Enabling irregular employment in the region (quarry workers / fishermen / farmers).
3. Combating poverty the Eastern Nile region and achieving better life for the people.
4. Achieving gender equality and eliminating all forms of discrimination against women.
5. Defending the rights of the people of the Eastern Nile.
6. Eliminating the phenomenon of child labor in quarries.
7. Developing Environmental conditions and housing in the Eastern Nile.
8. Activating the role of the Local Popular Council the benefit of the inhabitants of the region.

Strategies:

1. Participation of beneficiaries (target group) of residents of the area in all development operations such as planning - Implementation - Follow-up - evaluation
2. Using the Right based approach in development by defending the rights of poor deprived groups.
3. The empowerment of residents of the area in the Eastern Nile to solve their problems and find solutions for them.
4. Advocacy and networking for the benefit of marginalized deprived groups.
5. Exploitation of governmental and non governmental local resources.
6. Creating permanent development partnership between the government sector, the private sector and the civil society.
7. Strengthening and building the capacity of NGOs in the target community.

  These objectives and strategies have been prepared in partnership between representatives of people of the Eastern Nile region and the Board of Trustees of the Association composed of 5 members under the supervision of the social entrepreneur / Maher Bushra and also under the supervision of some donors, including: Oxfam Novib, Ford Foundation and the Egyptian Swiss Development Fund.

 MOBILISATION OF RESOURCES
 After community study, identifying priorities and formulating objectives and strategies of the initiative, all that was drafted in a number of Specific term development projects that we target its implementation in the Eastern Nile. Then the Board of Trustees of the Association carried out a large-scale campaign to attract funding from a number of donors inside and outside of Egypt. The Association has succeeded in bringing Funding from various points, with a view to mobilize resources and financial sources for the development of the region, such as:

• Funding partners :
• Oxfam Novib Netherlands
• The Egyptian Swiss Development Fund
• Ford Foundation
• DIAKONIA Sweden
• UNICEF
• The National Council for Childhood and Motherhood
• El-Fanar Association England
• CIDA
• Christian Aid England
• European Commission

  This is in addition to the government local units and what did it provide such as resources and capabilities, and also the contribution of the inhabitants of the area by land and real estate or assets  in addition to some of the Egyptian private sector companies such as: Hermes Company.

As for the mobilization of human resources, the association selected the staff of each project, some of them are employees others are volunteers. All human resources for the initiative were selected by the people of the community themselves, whether from the Eastern Nile or Minia City itself which is responsible for resource management.

Concerning the mobilization of technical resources, each project of the initiative has been prepared and designed by developing a training program for human resources in order to raise their capabilities on topics, knowledge and skills depend on the project in which they work. In addition to some technical advisory offices, consultants and trainers inside Egypt, such as:

• Development Support Center Cairo
• Centre of appropriate means of communication for development ACT
• Egyptian Centre for Women's Issues Cairo
• Arab Office for Youth and Environment
• GETRAC

PROCESS

Obstacles that faced the implementation of the initiative:

1. The refusal of communities to raise issues of reproductive health / female circumcision and giving them religious nature against Islam. How to overcome it: raising awareness of Islamic leaders and their own act to make awareness by themselves for the people of communities.
2. The absence of formal entities reflect the target groups (quarry workers - fishermen - farmers) How to overcome it: the establishment of the union committee for quarry workers and making association for the fishermen.
3. The refusal of people after their awareness of Child's Rights to prevent child labor in quarries How to overcome it: finding economic alternatives for the family such as a small project as an income generator for the family or vocational training for the children on more secure alternative crafts that generate income.
4. The existence of pull and push between the association and some of the governmental parties because of advocacy and lobby campaigns for some issues in the Eastern Nile. How to overcome it: the formation of advisory facilitative committee of governmental leaders in Minia in order to discuss several matters relating to the comprehensive development in the Eastern Nile of Minia.

 Problems that have remained unresolved:

1. The needs of target groups focus on direct services (lending - health services - the installation of water and latrines - improving housing ......) and their rate interest in the activities of intellectual development and awareness.
2. Intellectual intolerance and considering donors of developmental projects as external agents who wish to intervene in the affairs of citizens, because of the ignorance and lack of awareness of some people in the community.
3. The problem of extreme poverty found among classes of people, which detract their sense of the citizenship concept within the community. Most groups are busy with the problem of loaf of bread as a priority thus weakens their political participation.

Groups and organizations participate in the initiative:

The participation of target groups in the development process is one of the strategic approaches for Better Life Association. The groups' participation started through raising awareness, defining many issues and then identifying needs, monitoring the various problems and finding solutions for them. The target groups participated in the formulating development projects for the application of these solutions. These projects have been implemented by members of the same communities. Better Life Association for Comprehensive Development works in partnership with the various institutions of the society such as educational institutions: the Directorate of Education and various schools, also with the members of the Local Popular Councils, religious institutions represented in mosques, churches and training religious leaders. There is also a partnership with governmental youth centers. Better Life Association participates also in some networks and local alliances at the level of the Arab Republic of Egypt, the Middle East level and the global level.

 RESULTS ACHIEVED

2. Supplying 6500 houses with potable water
3. Supplying 5500 houses with health latrines.
4. Improving houses status of 1000 family .
5. Raising the awareness of 10000 male and female about humane rights specially women rights and children rights.
6. Establishment 8 grass root organizations in local communities .
7. Organizing target groups in official entities like syndicates or unions , or non formal entities such as alliances.
8. Implementing large number of social researchs about women , quarry workers , fishermen , children labour .
9. Improving the performance of members of popular local councils and getting female members for the first time in the area.
10. Accomplishing literacy classes of 5000 male and female in the area.
11. Motivating the role of governmental stakeholders and forming many committees which have great role in the accountability of governmental bodies. 
12.  Changing many bad old traditions and customs concerning women , such FGM and Dokhla Balady with a percentage of 50% among inhabitants.
13. Raising Issues among national level such as quarry workers issues.
14. Attracting the attention of famous companies of private sector to fund and motivate their social responsibility.
15. Improving the knowledge and skills and of humane resources in the targeted area to positively participate in developing themselves and their communities.
16. Women shared for the first time in such area in political life not only in election but in being a candidate.

SUSTAINABILITY

The initiative presents different kinds of loans either individual loans or group guarantee loans , the system of these loans is revolving loans for achieving the use and benefits for the largest number of beneficiaries, every time loan is revolved ,the number of beneficiaries is doubled ,and by this way it is a sustainable resource for the inhabitants of this area for improving them economically . 

 The initiative ensure enough grants to emphasize repayment , the average period of repayment is one year , the benefit percentage from 8-12% , the conditions of these loans varies from target group to another.

Social :

The initiative started development work by improving the humane resources of the community , so it implemented large number of awareness meetings , training workshops, sessions for improving the skills and knowledge of inhabitants , and by this way we guarantee the sustainability of this process.

Cultural :

The initiative workes with media through different ways either television or radio and newsletters , we have trained them to be qualified to deal with community problems , in addition to working with religious leaders who are also are responsible of that sustainable change.

Environmental :

The initiative motivated and created using the primitive environmental materials in constructing houses , reducing using the clay of the agricultural land in Egypt.

Institutional :

The initiative established number of entities which will continue after the initiative will be ended , such as : grass root organization in local communities, unions and syndicates, alliances , members of popular local councils which approve sustainability .

LESSONS LEARNED
 Participation :

1. It is impossible to achieve real development in a certain area without the participation of the local beneficiaries in all steps from choosing problems and deciding priorities , planning , implementing , , monitoring and evaluation .
2. Using both right based approach and services approach :  In such poor communities in Egypt , you must use both together providing basic needs services and demanding different right holders about all violated humane rights.
3. Working with all stakeholders : In all planning process we should think of all different stakeholders such as governmental bodies , private sector , civil society organizations and individuals.   

 
TRANSFERS
a) Transferability: 

 We have transferred our initiativeby establishing number of other NGOs which have similar objectives such as :

• Wadi –el –Nil association for protection of quarry workers.
• Al-amal association in Nazlet Hussein village
• Bent –el –reef association in El-dawadeya village
• Fishermen association in El-matahra
• Fishermen association in El-hawarta
• Fishermen association in Gabal-el-taear
• Fishermen association in Dear el barsha.

 Those associations have been trained and had capacity building program by the initiative , now they are very successful in communities.

BLACD in the News

Date of Publication	Title	Newspaper	Author	Language	Download
2006	Sewage outlet discharges 9000 m3 daily in the Nile	El-Masry El-Yom	Saed Nafie	Arabic	PDF
Dec 2007	Minister of Environment, help us, our children are dying	El-Shabab	Amal Surur	Arabic	PDF
12 Jan 2004	Workshop to improve the Livelihood of Fishermen in the villages on the East side of the Nile in Minya	Watani		Arabic	PDF
29 July 2007	Civil Society Associations assist fishermen but the profession is hard and the income low	Watani	Dr. Tharvet Fathy	Arabic	PDF
Feb 2007	Girls of Upper Egypt protest against circumcision	El-Musawwer	Wafa Abd El-Raheem	Arabic	PDF
27 Jan 2007	March for girls to fight FGM	Al-Ahram	Nehad Saleh	Arabic	PDF
16 Feb 2007	March for girls demands criminalization of FGM	El-Masa	Mostafa Abid	Arabic	PDF
30 Jan 2007	Minya: March for Girls demands criminalization of FGM	Al-Masry Al-Yom	Saeed Nafie	Arabic	PDF
30 Mar 2006	No to circumcision in Minya	Al-Ahram	Nehad Saleh	Arabic	PDF
1 Feb 2007	Girls in Minya protest against circumcision	El-Tariq		Arabic	PDF
Aug 2006	Children in the grips of the wind	Sawt El-Ganub	May El-Awami	Arabic	PDF
1 Aug 2007	Sherbat, a witness in the operating room, tells the reality behind Bedour’s death	El-Masry El-Yom	Saeed Nafiee	Arabic	PDF
19 Nov 2006	Intensive workshop to counter unofficial marriages	Watani	Dr. Thervat fathy	Arabic	PDF
2007	A picture is worth more than words sometimes	Awladna		Arabic	PDF
18 May 2007	EFG-Hermes Foundation donates funds to Menya Water Project	Daily Star Egypt	Deena Doura	English	http://www.dailystaregypt.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=7286
21 May 2006	Prime Minister of Egypt, H.E Ahmed Mahmoud Nazif, to present award to winner of the social entrepreneur of the year award in Egypt	World Economic Forum Press Release		English	http://www.weforum.org/en/media/Latest%20Press%20Releases/PRESSRELEASES30
April 2005	Taking the campaign for FGM abandonment to the community	UNICEF	Lucy Ashton	English	http://www.unicef.org/egypt/reallives_1077.html
June 2006	Community Empowerment for the Better Health of Women and Children in Upper Egypt	UNICEF	Tiziana Barrucci	English	http://www.unicef.org/egypt/reallives_3209.html
25-31 May 2006	Minya Calling	Al-Ahram Weekly	Amira El-Noshokaty	English	http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2006/796/fe1.htm
21-27 June 2007	Briefs/ Housing and Sanitation projects	Al-Ahram Weekly	Eman Youssef	English	http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2007/850/ec2.htm
2004	Changemaker: Maher Bushra	Ashoka		English	http://www.ashoka.org/node/2994
2006	Education in Egypt: out of the darkness	Oxfam Novib Network		English	PDF

Partner	Year 2003	Year 2004	Year 2005	Year 2006	Year 2007	Total Budget
Oxfam Novib	95233	113665	180936	84913	379564	854311
Ford Foundation		100000		100000	100000	300000
Christian Aid		91821	38636	48015	211060	389531
Diakonia		80638	48771	47874	67109	244392
Unicef		24573	39768	69403	42291	176035
Hermes					190909	190909
Swiss Fund	93258					93258
Misereor			30960			30960
Fenland embassy	47943					47943
Germany embassy	23325					23325
Total	259759	410697	339070	350205	990933	2350664
Average of $ exchange to LE	3.7	6.2	5.7	5.7	5.5	5.4

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